Ash Update

The first Raywood Ash I planted is doing superbly. I'm so awfully proud of this big boy. He started out four years ago as a seven-foot-tall bareroot tree. Now he's at least twice that tall. His trunk is sturdy and growing bigger around each year. I imagine his taproot is down into a good water source, and I water and feed him well each year. A few weeks ago, I left the water running in his basin, then forgot I'd left it on. He got a good soaking that day, as did the surrounding yard.




The second Raywood Ash I planted lost its main leader in a windstorm. Since then, I've been attempting to create a new leader out of the remaining limb. I can't imagine what it's going to look like when it's a big fella. One other thing about this poor guy, he's planted between two structures, and doesn't get full sunlight until mid-day, so he's grown more slowly than my other Ash, which is in full sun. This little broken guy doesn't leaf out in the spring as soon as the big boy. I expect when this little guy is taller and stands above the structures into full sun, he might leaf out earlier. We'll see. But with him, I'm learning about how and where it's best (and not so best) to plant a tree.