Cut mountain ash

Cut mountain ash

The mountain ash and its importance for the bird world

The mountain ash is used as a fodder plant for many bird species. This property gave the mountain ash the popular name "rowan" or "rowan tree". The bright red fruits not only attract numerous birds, but are also a main reason for the tree's popularity in numerous park landscapes in Germany.

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Rowan berries as a garden plant

Because of its only moderate foliage, the mountain ash is a popular ornamental wood in the German garden landscape. The characteristic of initially showing rapid growth and later growing only moderately make rowan berries a popular plant object in German gardens. But what care does the mountain ash need and, above all, how is it cut back in the garden?

Cutting back the mountain ash - this is how it works

Even if the mountain ash is a frugal plant in terms of growth conditions, with the exception of heat sensitivity, and pruning is only rarely necessary, pruning is always recommended if the tree is to be limited in growth or if there is an infestation with pests.

The best time to prune is shortly after the flowering period, i.e. between May and June. When pruning, it is important to ensure that the branches and twigs are removed directly from the trunk.

Due to the high ornamental value of the berries, it should also be noted that when removing inflorescences no berries will grow at this point and the tree will therefore have numerous “bald spots”. It is also important that the cutting tools (knife, scissors) have to be cleaned extremely carefully and, if possible, should be pretreated with a surface disinfectant.

Aseptic work at the interfaces prevents possible infections of the plant with pests or microbial germs or fungi. If the rowanberry is already infected with germs, it should also be cleaned and disinfected after using the cutting tool to avoid the spread of germs.

Recent research has shown that post-treatment of the cut surfaces by coating the cut surface with special sealants is not only unnecessary, but can damage the tree rather than prove useful. If you follow the instructions for pruning the mountain ash, you will enjoy the sight of the red berries for a long time and you will also be able to feed numerous birds in the garden.