Ash trees, we love them! These fast-growing trees are ideal for use as a street tree, lawn or patio tree, and they can create plenty of shade, too! If you are looking for the right tree that can complete your beautiful yard, any of the ash varieties can do it!

Another reason to love these beautiful trees is that they love to grow in our local climate. Most of them can tolerate hot summers, cold winters, and many kinds of soil. With proper placement, specimen sized trees can help cool hotter parts of a home, and they can help lower utility bills. At Moon Valley Nurseries, our professional landscape design specialists will be happy to help you select the perfect tree for the perfect spot in your yard.

Best Ash Trees We Can Grow for Our Climate

A wide variety of ash trees, members of the genus Fraxinus, can grow in our climate, which is great news for anyone looking for a tree that keeps on giving. The branches are strong, and the wood is heavy, so we can also use the wood as excellent firewood. Of course, where we live, a shady spot is always on our mind in the summer, and an ash tree can  provide a spot in your yard to cool off. No doubt about it, they are an excellent tree to fill in that empty space in your yard!

Berrinda Ash (Fraxinus velutina ‘Berrinda’): This is a tough, cold hardy tree with a nearly perfect shape that can improve the look of any landscape. It is a seedless variety and a very low-maintenance tree that can also provide a good amount of shade. It can put on a spectacular show in the fall when the dark green leaves transform to a vibrant gold or bright yellow color.

Fan Tex Ash (Fraxinus velutina ‘Fan Tex’): The Fan Tex ash variety thrives in hot, dry climates and when mature, it can develop a spreading, rounded canopy that can block the sunlight during the hot summer months. In the fall, watch and enjoy as the glossy green leaves turn to shades of yellow and gold. This smaller-sized deciduous ash variety is ideal for small to medium-sized yards.

Modesto Ash (Fraxinus velutina ‘Modesto’): This is the perfect shade tree for the Southwest! It is deciduous so that it can let the warmth of the sun in during the winter and when the leaves reappear it can cast a considerable amount of shade. It puts on a show when the glossy green leaves turn to a bright golden color in the fall. Bonus points for its tolerance to heat, cold, and smog.

Arizona Ash (Fraxinus velutina): This is a beautiful deciduous shade tree with attractive velvety, gray-green leaves that turn to a bright yellow color in the fall. They are also cold hardy and heat resistant so that they can look lush and full even in adverse conditions. This seedless variety is an ideal street tree, and in the summer, its spreading canopy casts the right amount of shade!

Raywood Ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa ‘Raywood’): Plant Raywood Ash trees now for summer shade! As it matures, its bold round-headed form can cast the perfect amount of shade to cool off homes and create a refreshing resting spot in your landscape. These deciduous trees also feature dark green foliage that transforms to an attractive wine-red color in the fall. Bonus points for its resistance to Ash blight.

Majestic Ash (Fraxinus uhdei ‘Majestic’): This evergreen Ash is a seedless variety and stays greener than other ashes. They feature large, glossy green leaves and its narrow, upright shape makes it an ideal shade tree for a wide range of housing developments. These are low-maintenance, virtually pest-free shade trees that are ideal for the yard or street plantings.  

Shamel Ash (Fraxinus uhdei): These trees are a favorite throughout Southern California and the Southwest, where they are prized for growing a large canopy that can cast a considerable amount of shade. They have a fast growth rate so you will not have to wait too long to enjoy the benefits of a mature Shamel Ash tree. Plant this classic-looking tree to shade a hot side of a home or as a beautiful street tree.

#FREE PLANTING! Buy Specimen Sized Trees!

Ash trees are beautiful at all stages. However, specimen sized trees can create an instant landscape and provide a considerable amount of shade. Moon Valley Nurseries makes it easy to take full advantage of these natural beauties with free planting! Let us do all the work and come home to a beautiful new yard!