Arizona ash is referred to as “Arizona trash” by many people. Personally, I don’t really agree with this attitude. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t perfect trees, but ash can grow into large trees quickly and provide significant shade from the hot summer sun that is much needed in Texas.
Their bad name comes from a short life span. The typical life expectancy of an Arizona ash is about 20-30 years if left up to mother nature. It is important to know that how long they live is more related to structural integrity than health or vigor. Without proper pruning from a good arborist, this tree will start to experience limb failure sometime around year 15-20. Once the first limb breaks out it is a domino effect. That wound begins to decay which makes the rest of the tree weaker. Before you know it there isn’t enough canopy left to consider it a functioning tree. Arizona ashes need trimming about every three years to help avoid this problem. And, defective joints should be cabled or braced. If you do keep up with maintenance, these trees are capable of living 50 years.
Aside from pruning needs, Arizona ash trees don’t need much else most of the time. The only two common ailments I run into with Arizona ash are borers and anthracnose. Borers are beetle larvae that feed on the vascular system of the tree. Anthracnose is a foliar disease that usually rears its head in the early spring. Borers can be very problematic, however there isn’t much you should do to prevent them. Anthracnose is comparable to the flu. It’s not good and really drags down the tree, but it’s not the end of days when the tree gets it. The best things to do to avoid insect and disease problems is to maintain good irrigation and fertilize appropriately.
There are a few “inconvenience” issues sometimes related to Arizona ash. They produce surface roots which can be unsightly and produce a tripping hazard. And, too near your house these surface roots can become more than a mere inconvenience causing foundation problems. Arizona ash also will produce a robust amount of seeds when they are stressed which can make them messy (but, in fairness, all trees are messy).
All things considered, an Arizona ash can make for a nice shade tree in your yard. Just don’t forget to keep up with the maintenance; they aren’t forgiving. Ashes are one of the few trees that will consistently produce vibrant yellow foliage in the fall. They are beautiful trees and their broad canopy will cast much needed shade. So before you start calling them “trash trees” give them a chance.
Update – April 28, 2010
The Austin area experienced two cold snaps late winter / early spring this year. Since Arizona ashes are some of the first
trees to start leafing out for the year, their newly emerging foliage were exposed these late freezes. As a result the trees’ leaves have many dead spots that resemble anthracnose symptoms. And, some trees were heavily defoliated. The best treatment for trees stressed by the late freeze is to engage in proper fertilization regimen and watch them closely. Many insects are opportunistic for stressed trees.
Related posts:
- Tree Pruning: volume 4, When to Prune Trees
- Fall Color on Live Oak Trees? Senescence.
- Tree Pruning: volume 2, What to Prune on Trees
- Tree Rings – Using Dendrochronology to Age Trees – Counting Rings
- Tree Pruning: volume 3, How to Prune Trees
I'm Keith Brown, owner of Austin Tree Experts. This is my repository of tree knowledge. I hope you find what you are looking for.
Hola toda la gente que tienen estos maravillosos arboles.. yo vivo en san antonio tx y aqui se ve mucho tipo de problemas con los arizona ash, pero el punto es que la gente no les da el cuidado que requieren y de ellopues derivan todos esos problemas.. he visto algunos que tienen mas de 40 anos y estan en excelentes condiciones, claro. la gente los cuida como debe.. otras personas los tienen abandonados, sin regar, podar o fertilizar.. asi cualquier arbol esta en condiciones deplorables..
Convengo. Esto puede ser un árbol muy bueno si usted poda y fertiliza correctamente. Es muy importante tomar el cuidado apropiado de los árboles de ceniza de Arizona.
I have 2-3 large roots running through my yard. I plan on resodding my yard with grass, would cutting these roots kill the tree? Also my house is 28 years old and these two trees in the back are 10′ above the peak of my roof, are they “done” living?
If they are alive, they are not done living! It is possible to prune roots without killing the tree. Fall is the best root pruning season. Can you send some pictures that show the roots. If they are really big roots and you cut them too close to the trunk you can get into real trouble.
I live in San Antonio.I have an ash tree.I’m not sure if it’s an Arizona or not.It’s 15′ from the house and we’ve had foundation issues. We’ve also had several large limbs fall over the past 4-5 yrs. and the roots are sticking up out of the ground.The tree has been “trimmed” but not by a “good” arborist.The tree is probably 25-30 yrs. old.Pruning it only seems to promote sucker growth on the tree and at the base of the tree.I’ve had several people tell me it’s reached it’s maturity and should be cut down.What do you think ?
Sounds like a bad situation. If its been poorly pruning, located near the house and 30 years old, then, yes, it is probably time for the tree to come down. Can you upload some pictures for me to look at?
We have two beautiful Arizona Ash trees in a desert section of our back yard, both more than 20′ from the house. However. two years ago they sent out roots into the grass portion of our yard. I chopped them off and dug the largest sections from the yard. Now I’m getting smally leaf shoots coming up throughout the grassy portion of the yard. I there a weed & feed product that will kill the ash shoots? If not, what would you suggest I use to discourage those shoots? (I am deep watering the trees at their base once a month presently.)
Weed n Feed is likely to kill the tree; especially if you just stressed the tree with root pruning. The sprout generation is a natural response. The only thing that is going to slow it down is the healing of the root wounds and improvement in the trees’ healths. Make sure there is proper irrigation and look at the do-it-yourself tree fertilizer post. It will take several years of TLC to get the trees’ healths back to good; if it is possible at all.
In Manor I have a 12 year Arizona Ash. This year when it started leafing we noticed the rolled up leaves and discovered white flies. After a couple of treatments the white flies seem to be gone, but most of the new leaves continue to roll up instead of leafing out. Do you have and idea what’s causing this? Thanks
It is possible that the spray you used earlier in the spring has worn off and white flies are moving in again. You’d have to look at the residual effects on the label of the product you used. Could also be heat stress related; it has been getting hot lately. I might be able to give you some useful feedback if you can send me a digital photo to keith at AustinTreeExperts dot com.
Our Arizona Ash is 25 years old, we have it pruned regularly and fertilize it and it is in good health. We are in Arlington and have gotten many comments on how nice a tree it is. We do have the large roots coming up. However, this year especially, it is dropping messy gooey seeds or something all over the driveway, cars, roof, etc. I cannot get it cleaned off the driveway with a hose although it partly comes off the cars with a hose. Can you advise me on how to clean up after this tree and what is going on? Thanks.
It could be sharp shooters or leaf hoppers, but I have to see it to be sure. If you are in Arlington you might call Arborilogical or Preservation Tree Care.
Shirley,
This sounds like the same problem I had with our trees in my front yard and the problem we had was Aphids. If you look on the bottom of the leaves there will be like small yellow eggs and a white sticky substance. The sticky substance is what is falling on your driveway and vehicles. We had to have an exterminator come out and spray our trees to get rid of the Aphids. Since it is the first of spring I use the Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub around my trees instead of having an exterminator which has controled the problem for me for the last three years.
One more thing…although it’s a mature tree(~20 years old), it’s been hacked up pretty good. It’s got three main limbs about 15 feet high, but were cut improperly a long time ago and are rotting…so it’s only about 20 feet high total including all the little scrubby limbs. Also, it’s encased in a 1 foot retaining wall, so I think the root ball is actually above ground.
I doubt the root ball is a major factor in your scenario, but I’d have to see it to be sure.
I’ve got a mature arizona ash about 12 feet from my foundation. That part of the foundation sank 3.5″ during the drought in Austin Texas last year. My insurance company says it’s the tree’s fault, by sucking the water from under my foundation. But I just had an arborist come by and say it’s root ball isn’t big enough to have affected the slab.
My question is “How big is the root system of a mature arizona ash, and how close is too close to the house?”
Thank you!
My rule of thumb is to try to keep trees at least 15′ from the house. Ash trees have extensive root systems that are very close to the surface. Often their roots protrude from the ground. Normally, when I see a tree’s roots damage a foundation, it is lifting the foundation, not causing it to sink. Blaming the tree for a sinking foundation seems suspicious to me. You should definitely check with a foundation expert. Feel free to send me a picture if you want some more specific feedback.
Is the same true of all sh species? Last year, I planted a hazel tree in a nature reserve. The ethos is to let nature do as it will undisturbed. This year, I was considering planting an Ash. I like the eco system that grows on, around and is sustained by Ash. Maybe I should choose a different tree?
In Austin, all Ash have similar growth characteristics. Depending on where you live, this may be different. If you aren’t from Austin, I can’t really give you quality feedback because regional difference are significant.