Ash Leaved Maple (acer negundo)

• Hardiness: Fully hardy throughout the UK, tolerant to -20°C or lower; native species, thrives in most conditions including exposed and polluted urban sites.
• Site: Full sun to partial shade for best growth and autumn colour; tolerates exposed, windy positions; excellent for hedges, windbreaks, or specimen trees.
• Soil: Tolerates most soils including chalk, clay, loam, sand; prefers moist but well-drained, fertile conditions; thrives on alkaline/chalky soils but avoids waterlogged or very acidic sites.
• Planting time: Bare-root plants November to March (dormant season); container-grown any time, ideally autumn or spring; for hedges, space 30–45cm apart (3–4 plants per metre) in single row.
• Planting method: Dig a hole/square trench twice as wide as roots; plant at same depth as before (soil mark on stem); firm soil, mulch around base, and water well.
• Watering: Water regularly in first 1–2 years during dry periods for establishment; once mature, drought-tolerant with low water needs.
• Maintenance: Low; no regular feeding needed; for trees, minimal pruning; for hedges, trim in winter to shape and encourage density (cut back hard in first year if needed).

Photo credit: Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)