EMMENOSPERMA alphitonioides (Yellow Ash)

Yellow Ash (Emmenosperma alphitonioides) is an Australian rainforest tree that makes a clean, upright shade canopy at around 10m tall and 6m wide in a garden. It is evergreen, despite the common name suggesting otherwise, holding glossy foliage year round on a straight trunk. This listing is field grown stock, lifted ex ground as an advanced specimen, so it arrives as a tree rather than something to wait on.

Why you'll love it

• An Australian native shade tree. It belongs in eastern Australian gardens, and it reads as native without the untidy habit some rainforest species bring.
• Evergreen structure. The canopy stays furnished through winter, so the shade and the screening value do not disappear for half the year.
• Serious bird value. Cream and green flowers give way to orange yellow fruit that native birds strip, which is the tree's best known feature.
• Handles humidity and dry spells. It is comfortable in a wet subtropical summer and holds through dry periods once established.

Where it works best

Shade tree on a lawn. A single specimen throws useful shade over a seating area without the surface roots and litter of a fig.

Driveways and avenues. Working from a mature width of about 6m, plant 6m to 8m apart for a formal avenue, or 8m to 10m where you want each crown read separately.

Screening with height. For a tall green boundary, space trees 5m apart so the canopies knit into a continuous upper screen while the trunks stay clear below.

Growing yellow ash in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It takes light frost only, so hard frosting inland districts, the tablelands and cold southern gardens are outside its range.

Soil. Deep, well drained soil suits it best, and it responds strongly to organic matter. On clay, plant slightly proud of the surrounding level so the root ball never sits in water, and mulch 75mm deep kept clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Field grown stock loses feeder roots when lifted, so water deeply three times a week through the first summer and taper off across the second. Wait for new growth before feeding, then use a controlled release native fertiliser in spring and again in late summer.

Pruning. Little is needed beyond formative work. Lift the lower branches over the first few years to the clearance you want underneath, and remove any competing leaders while they are small enough to cut cleanly.

What to expect when it arrives

This is a single field grown specimen, dug from the ground with a root ball and delivered on a truck rather than in a carton. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and site access matters, since machinery or several people are needed to move and place it. Plan for staking through the first two years, and expect the tree to sit quietly for a few months while the root ball knits into the surrounding soil before real growth resumes in the following warm season. Delivered Australia wide, with a minimum order of $300 before delivery and our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse ex ground advanced trees
• Compare Australian native trees
• Native plants that bring birds into the garden
• Settling a transplanted tree into its new site

Common questions

Is it deciduous?

No. The common name misleads people, but yellow ash is evergreen and keeps its canopy through winter in the climates it suits.

How big will it actually get?

In rainforest it can reach 30m. In an open garden with less competition for light it typically settles around 10m tall and 6m wide, which is a manageable size for a large suburban block.

Will it grow in a frosty garden?

Only where frosts are light. In cold inland or southern gardens the young growth burns and the tree never gets ahead, so a frost hardy native is the better choice.

How soon will it look established?

The tree looks the part immediately because it is advanced stock. Root establishment takes the first full year, and you should see strong new growth from the second warm season onwards.