Ash trees can be a lovely and useful addition to any yard, providing beautiful foliage and ample shade. The base of the trees, though, can sometimes look a bit bare.
If you want to add some greenery or even some flowers to the base of your ash tree, there are a number of things to keep in mind, as some plants will thrive there, but others will not survive.
The main things to keep in mind when choosing plants for under your ash tree are that the plants must be shade-tolerant and root-tolerant, and need a lot of water!
The best plants to plant under an ash tree are shade perennials.
Read on for all the info you need to make the best choices for your ash tree and your yard. If you are unsure of which plants will thrive under your ash tree – we always recommend contacting a local arborist!
Some Basic Guidelines For Choosing Plants To Grow Under An Ash Tree
Ash trees can grow to be quite large, with a canopy of up to 50 feet, so any plant underneath an ash tree must be a shade plant.
Ash trees also have large root systems, so you will need to make sure that anything planted underneath is root-tolerant, meaning that its own roots will not have to compete with those of the tree and the roots of the tree will not disrupt the growth of the plant.
Luckily, there are many plants that not only thrive in shade but are also easy to care for, particularly if you live in an environment that gets plenty of rain.
And even if you do not live in a climate with adequate rain, as long as you have a sprinkler system or are willing to do some watering with your garden hose every few days, you can choose from any of these plants under your ash tree!
Ten Great Plants To Grow Under An Ash Tree
Without further ado – let’s just get to it. There are 10 amazing choices for plants to grow under your ash tree, so let’s dive a little deeper and talk more about them.
And contrary to this article, if you’re looking for a list of plants to not plant, head on over to our article about which plants to not plant under your ash tree.
Hostas Thrive Under Ash Trees
There are many different varieties of hosta, and they are all great contenders for a plant to live under your ash tree.
Hostas thrive in shade, so the shade provided by your ash tree will be welcoming to them.
Hostas do require watering, so if you live in a dry climate like the high desert, you will need to set up a sprinkler system or water them every day or two with your garden hose. They do not require a great deal of water, but if you do not get regular rain, you will have to help them out.
Types Of Hostas To Plant Under Your Ash Tree
Whirlwind Hosta
These plants have characteristic green leaves with white segments in the middle. They also have purple flowers in the summer.
This hosta is particularly interesting to those who enjoy the fall foliage, as it is one of the varieties of hosta with leaves that change color.
While these leaves don’t change as a tree’s leaves typically do, the color of the leaves will change in shades of white and green until the plant goes dormant for the winter.
Komodo Dragon Hosta:
If you are looking for a hosta with giant leaves and a super cool name, you should consider planting the Komodo Dragon Hosta.
This plant is one of the biggest varieties of hosta, growing to as large as seven feet around and three feet tall.
If you plant this hosta under your ash tree, make sure that you plant it far from other plants, as it will eventually be very big and can take over the space of the other plants around it.
The Komodo Dragon Hosta also has very interesting coloration. It typically has dark green leaves, but they can take on a purplish hue at times.
Gold Standard Hosta
If you are looking for a plant under your ash tree that is likely to change to more typical autumnal colors in the fall, look no further than the Gold Standard Hosta, which is named for the color of its leaves in the summer.
This plant will give your yard a jump start on fall colors, as the leaves of this hosta will turn golden in the summertime, before the leaves on your ash tree begin to change.
Halcyon Hosta
These plants have green leaves with a blue hue to them, and they produce purple flowers, so they are a very interesting addition to any garden. Halcyon hostas are also very easy to care for.
As long as you water them and have planted them in good soil, they will come back year after year.
Frances Williams Hosta
These hostas have large green leaves and look like the standard hostas you might see in many yards under trees.
This variety is a medium-sized hosta, so you can plant several of these in a ring under your ash tree.
Fun fact: these plants are, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, named for Frances Rope Williams, a botanist who graduated from MIT in 1904.
Ground Cover Plants Are Perfect To Grow Under Ash Trees
If individual plants do not provide the look you want under your ash tree, or you want to plant something else to fill in the gaps between your plants, you can choose ground-cover plants that grow in the shade.
Ground cover plants do exactly what their name implies–they cover the ground. These plants are sometimes used in flower beds, around bushes, or to cover entire yards. You can use them to cover the ground around the base of your ash tree.
Here are two types of ground cover plants that are particularly easy to grow under ash trees:
Coral Bells
Coral bells are ground-cover plants that come in many varieties. They also come in a wide range of colors, from green and yellow to purple and red. Their formal name is heuchera, but they are most commonly called coral bells.
Coral bells are easy to grow, thrive in the shade, and come back every year. They also grow flowers. Coral bells can be grown in many different types of soil, and they are not picky about where they are planted.
If you live in a dry climate, the coral bells will be fine as long as they get a little water now and then. If you live in a humid climate, the coral bells will do well in that environment, too.
Coral bells have a number of varieties, including Blackberry Ice, Gold Zebra, Peppermint Spice, Midnight Rose, and Amber Waves.
Bugleweed
Despite its name, this ground cover plant is nothing close to an unsightly or bothersome weed. Bugleweed actually grows into a carpet of greenery that produces bright purple flowers in the late spring and early summer.
Like coral bells, bugleweed is a sort of plant and forget plant. It does not require much attention or care. It can tolerate a number of environmental conditions, and can even grow in dry soil, though it does a little better with some watering (So see below for some tips on how to water the plants under your ash tree without having to spend a lot of time!).
All in all, bugleweed is another easy and lovely addition to the plants under your ash tree, especially if you are looking for something low-maintenance that blooms in the spring and summer.
Ferns Grow Great Under Ash Trees
Particularly if you live in a humid climate with lots of rainfall, you might want to consider planting ferns under your ash tree.
Ferns are a difficult choice for those who live in very dry climates unless you have a great sprinkler system or are willing to spend some time outside almost every day spraying the plants with your garden hose.
The best watering options for outdoor ferns are natural rainfall, sprinklers, or a gentle setting on your garden hose sprayer. You can also set up a hose-attached sprinkler next to your ferns if you want to turn on the hose and walk away; a time would work well with this method, too.
For more on watering, check out our article on how much to water your ash tree.
Types Of Ferns
Ferns come in many different varieties. One of the most popular is the Boston fern, which can grow to be very large and is often seen in hanging baskets.
But Boston ferns grow very well in other types of containers, too, as long as they are properly watered and do not receive a lot of direct sunlight. This light requirement makes them a great option for under an ash tree.
If the base of your ash tree receives some shade, you can opt for the Wood Fern, which can thrive in varying light conditions.
Wood Ferns are a great option if you are not thrilled at the prospect of regular watering, but really want the appearance of ferns under your ash tree.
Christmas Roses Are Amazing Under Ash Trees
The last plant on our list is a particularly interesting one. Hellebore, more commonly known as Christmas Rose, can provide a shade-tolerant plant under your ash tree that.
According to the University of Missouri, the Christmas Rose blooms in the wintertime if you live in a mild climate. If you live somewhere very warm or very cold, the flowering time will vary.
This is why it has its name since it blooms during the winter and Christmas seasons!
These plants are not as easy to grow as most of the others on our list, but if you are looking for an interesting addition to the plants under your ash tree that might also provide some beautiful blooms at a time of year when most plants have died or gone dormant, this might be one to consider.
Some Tips For Watering
Remember that all of these plants require regular watering, so make sure to assess your yard’s environment. Does it get adequate rainfall, or do you need to supplement your plants’ water with a sprinkler or garden hose?
If the idea of standing outside with a hose every day does not appeal to you, but you do not have a sprinkler system, you can always make two simple purchases to make watering easier.
The first item that can simplify your plant watering is a soaker hose, like this Rocky Mountain Goods Soaker Hose. A soaker hose is a good choice for the base of a tree, as you can wrap it around the entire base and place it exactly where you want the water to reach your plants.
To make using your soaker hose even easier, add a timer to your hose, like this Orbit Single-Outlet Hose Watering Timer that attaches to your house at the faucet and gives you several options for times to turn the water on and off.
Together, the timer and soaker hose can deliver regular water to all the plants under your tree, without you having to set up an underground sprinkler system or step outside every evening or two to water the plants yourself.
Don’t Forget About The Soil
If the soil under your ash tree is not very hospitable to plants, you can use containers under your ash tree instead of planting plants directly in the ground beneath it.
Ash trees do have rather complex root systems, with the shoots growing before the roots do, so you might find that you encounter a number of roots as you dig into the soil.
If you are concerned about your ash tree’s root system, you can also try planting your plants a little further out from the base of the tree, as some ash trees have been found to have finer root systems closer to the root systems of other competing trees.
For more information on ash tree roots, and an ash tree’s growth timeline, head on over to our article to learn how long it takes an ash tree to grow! And get this – it cant take 15 years for it to reach maturity, so you can imagine how complex those root systems get in 15 years!
Give Your Plants Some Food!
You can give your plants an advantage by helping them out with some additional growing agents, like Miracle-Gro Shake ‘N Feed All Purpose Plant Food, which will help give your tree the nutrients they need.
You can shake this out around the roots of your plants, whether they are in the ground under your tree or placed around the base of the tree in containers.
And if you prefer an organic option, look into Miracle-Gro Performance Organics All Purpose Plant Nutrition Granules.
Any of these agents can give an added boost to help your plants establish themselves in their first year or to make them grow bigger and stronger throughout their lives.
That’s A Wrap!
Now you are ready to make the area underneath your ash tree look vibrant with a number of plants that can thrive under an ash tree.
As long as you keep in mind the optimal level of sunlight your plants need, the amount of watering they require, and the root system of your ash tree, these plants should grow and even come back year after year.
Enjoy your gardening!
References
Qing-cheng, Wang (2022). “Spatial distribution of fine roots of larch and ash in mixed plantation stand.” Journal of Forestry Research, 13, 265-268.
Harris, J. Roger and Nina L. Bassuk (1995). “Root and Shoot Growth Periodicity of Green Ash, Scarlet Oak, Turkish Hazelnut, and Tree Lilac.” Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 120.2, 211-216.
