tree

Rowan

Sorbus aucuparia

Native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Sun or shade

Soil moisture

average, moisture-retentive

Heat tolerance

Up to about 34°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -35°C

Waterlogging tolerance

3/5

Drought tolerance

3/5

Mature size

5–10 m tall, 5 m spread

Seasonal interest

Spring flower, autumn berry · White and scarlet

Maintenance

low

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 5/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

Known risks or warnings

Struggles in hot, dry, compacted city soil.

Toxicity: mild

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name: Sorbus aucuparia L.
Family: Rosaceae (Rosales)
Rank and status: species · accepted
GBIF record: Taxon 3012167

Recorded native range: Belgium, Brussels-Capital Region, Flanders, Flemish Region, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Portugal Continental, Walloon Region

Recorded as introduced in: Alaska, Alberta, Argentina South, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Falkland Is., Idaho, Illinois and 38 further regions

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Sorbus aucuparia, commonly called rowan (, also UK: ) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. The tree has a slender trunk with smooth bark, a loose and roundish crown, and its leaves are pinnate in pairs of leaflets on a central vein with a terminal leaflet. It flowers from May to June in dense corymbs of small creamy-white flowers and develops small red pomes as fruit that ripen from August to October and are eaten by many bird species.

Description from Wikipedia — Sorbus aucuparia (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

United Kingdom: native
United States: climate-suitable
Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

Eeno11 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where to buy

Real retailers serving UK. Garden Forward publishes no prices of its own — each link opens the retailer's own search results, where their current price and stock are shown.

Search Ashridge Nurseries for Sorbus aucuparia
Bare-root trees, hedging and fruit in the dormant season.
Search Sarah Raven for Sorbus aucuparia
Perennials, bulbs and seed, delivered across the UK.
Search Farmer Gracy for Sorbus aucuparia
Bulbs and perennials shipped direct from Dutch growers.
Search Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants for Sorbus aucuparia
Specialist hardy perennial nursery.
Search Marshalls Garden for Sorbus aucuparia
Fruit, vegetable plants and seed.

No affiliate relationship is in place with these retailers, so nothing here earns Garden Forward a commission. Search links checked 2026-09-17. Availability of a species is never a reason it is recommended.

Companion palettes

Not currently in a sample palette.

Climate-resilient alternatives

Data sources

Taxonomy and native range: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
Species description: Wikipedia — Sorbus aucuparia
Photograph: Eeno11 · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Growing guidance: Practitioner horticultural estimates pending expert review

Botanical record checked 2026-09-17 · growing guidance last reviewed 2026-06-01 · confidence high

Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.