Sorbus (aka Rowan or Mountain Ash): “The Protector”
Sorbus is pleasant enough in summer, with its distinctive pinnate leaves and agreeable shape and size. Common rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), seen along roadsides and in gardens, has berries that are red; the best color for warding off evil, particularly in the form of witches.
Photography by Britt Willoughby Dyer for Gardenista.
Sorbus commixta, S. ‘Joseph Rock’ and S. ‘Apricot Queen’ have good yellow-to-orange berries and contrasting foliage until the leaves announce their imminent departure by turning a red-orange themselves.
Sorbus aucuparia, common rowan or, sometimes, “the Wizard’s Tree”. The pentagram is a magical symbol; bad if it’s pointing downwards.
Although Sorbus is known as mountain ash, it has nothing to do with the ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior), besides a resemblance in the leaves.
Pink, white, or pink-stained berries tend to remain after the leaves have dropped off, giving the trees an even more magical quality. Sorbus carmesina (shown here) is a good variety with a sophisticated color scheme, as is pearly Sorbus rosea.
Sorbus aria, better known as whitebeam. With its simple leaves, it is one of about 100 different species of Sorbus.
• Red and orange berries of the common rowan are a good food source for birds, particularly blackbird, fieldfare, mistle thrush, and song thrush. Combined with the compact size of many varieties, it is an ideal tree for small urban gardens.
Cheat Sheet
Keep It Alive
• Common rowan is at home in cooler temperatures and grows well at altitude, hence its alternative name of mountain ash. Because its seeds readily germinate, common rowan can be seen growing out of unlikely rocky crags, exposed and bearing up to the chill.
There is enough variety within the Sorbus genus to choose between tall and cool or small and fiery. See also: 11 Best Trees to Plant for New England-Style Foliage.