Velvet Ash
Fraxinus velutina
Velvet (Arizona) ash is a drought-tolerant Southwestern ash of desert canyons and a popular irrigated shade tree, with velvety twigs and yellow fall color. As with all ashes, consider emerald ash borer risk before planting. Like other ashes, a bitter syrup has occasionally been drawn from the tree, though it's unclear this was ever really used as food rather than medicine.
- Family
- Oleaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 40–40 ft
- Spacing
- 25–40 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- April, May
- Bloom colors
- yellow
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, pollinators, mammals, songbirds
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~149 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen
- Native states
- AZ, CA, NM, NV, TX, UT
Related native plants
More Fraxinus species
- Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)
- White Ash (Fraxinus americana)
- Oregon Ash (Fraxinus latifolia)
- Texas Ash (Fraxinus albicans)
- Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra)
- Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata)