| General Description | Fraxinus angustifolia ‘Raywood’ is a medium sized, fast growing deciduous tree that is oval shape when young but matures to become more rounded. It has narrow serrated pinnately compound leaves that are dark green and shiny with small clusters of inconspicuous reddish-maroon flowers in the spring season. Its autumn colours begin with red into a purplish-maroon colour. The cultivar ‘Raywood’ is infertile and does not produce fruit. Has large brown bud scales with crescent-shaped leaf scares. |
| ID Characteristic | Has large, brown, leathery-like buds with smooth grey-green twigs. Has narrow-serrated glossy green leaves that are pinnately compound. Smooth grey bark when young that becomes textured with maturity. Beautiful reddish-purple leaves in the autumn. Flowers grow in clusters on a branch with a green base and purple tips with no pedals or sepals. |
| Shape | Medium size oval shaped tree with an open crown at full maturity. The main trunk grows straight with branches that grow diagonally upward. |
| Landscape | It is commonly used as a shade and accent tree because of its attractive reddish-purple autumn colours and rounded shape. It can also be used as a street tree and urban plantings because it can tolerate salt, a variety of soils, paving, has an attractive oval shape, and produces no fruit. The wood is fairly strong so it is commonly used to make furniture and tool handles. |
| Propagation | The main method of propagation is through cuttings, because this cultivar rarely produces seeds. If there are seeds available, they need to be sown in the fall and require stratification. The most common propagation is done through cuttings, that need to be done in the spring season. To propagate a Raywood ash; collect a cutting that is 15 – 20 cm long just below a leaf node on a healthy tree that contains at least 2 leaves. After the cutting is collected, dip the exposed end in rooting hormone and place the cutting in moist potting soil. New growth should appear in 4-6 weeks. |
| Cultivation | Prefers full sun and moist, well drained soils with alkaline or neutral pH. Can withstand wet soils, but prefers well-drained soils and is drought tolerant once matured. Will Grow in a variety of soils, including loam, clay, sandy, and chalk soils. The growth rate will slow in poor soils which may be ideal for street trees to avoid breaking branches. It is a fast-growing tree in the correct conditions, so pruning may be needed to establish a strong structure. Autumn colours thrive in warmer climates. |
| Pests | No major issues with pests or diseases; resistant to anthracnose foliage disease and Ash lygus bug. |
| Notable Specimens | A Large beautiful specimen can be found in RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom. |
| Habitat | Horticultural origin. |
| Bark/Stem Description | The bark is grey/brown in colour and is smooth when young, but becomes textured with maturity. New stems are smooth with a grey/green colour and small white lenticels. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The leaf buds are large, oval shaped, and brown in colour with leathery bud scales. The flower buds are also brown in colour with leathery scales, but appear in a smaller triangular shape. |
| Leaf Description | Dark green, glossy odd-pinnate compound leaves that produce 5-9 leaflets 4-5 cm long that are narrow and serrated. In the autumn, the leaves start to turn red and develop into a deep purple. |
| Flower Description | The flowers grow in small clusters along the branch with a green filament and purple anthers. They do not possess any pedals or sepals and blooms during the spring season. |
| Fruit Description | The cultivar ‘Raywood’ primarily produces male flowers so no fruit is produced. |
| Colour Description | Dark green glossy leaves in the summer that turn red/purple in the autumn. Flowers are also red/purple in colour. The bark is a grey/brown colour with possible white spots on the trunk. |
| Texture Description | Smooth when young but becomes fine texture when mature. |