Planting and caring for a rowan is easy—the beautiful, resilient tree brings year-round joy

When you plant a rowan in your garden, you'll get it all: impressive blossoms in spring, vibrant berries, and dazzling fall colors. You’ll also attract birds, as rowan berries are a favorite of many feathered friends.

In Finland, the rowan grows wild from the southern coast all the way to Lapland, with only northern birch forests being too barren for it. In forests, rowans rarely grow taller than a shrub, because their shoots are a tasty snack for deer.

The best location for a rowan is a bright, nutrient-rich spot. In nature, its typical habitats are groves, shores, lush swampy areas, and rocky slopes. Rowans are considered small trees or shrubs, but when grown as a tree, it can reach up to 10 meters in height.

In Finland, besides the European rowan, common species include the Swedish whitebeam, Sorbus intermedia and the Finnish whitebeam, Sorbus hybrida. Other wonderful species include the Sorbus dodong and the Sorbus thuringiana ‘Fastigiata.’

Several cultivars have been developed from the European rowan. Among the most common variants in gardens and parks are the weeping rowan, Sorbus aucuparia ‘Pendula,’ as well as the narrow and tall Sorbus aucuparia ‘Fastigiata.’

Rowan grows quickly

A rowan grows quickly, and it begins to bloom at around twenty years old. It grows fastest in a nutrient-rich, moisture-retaining soil, where its roots will extend deep and wide. In compact soil, the root system remains closer to the surface.

It’s very common for a rowan to develop multiple trunks. If you want it to grow as a single-trunk tree, remove all basal shoots and competing leaders. Rowan wood is flexible and tough, so it’s said to withstand even heavy snow loads.

A rowan that’s overshadowed by other trees usually doesn’t bloom well. In an open spot, it forms a wide crown and blooms beautifully.

Rowan has cyclical yields

In the past, it was advised not to plant rowans and apple trees in the same garden due to apple fruit moths, which use rowan as a host. However, this is now considered insignificant, since rowans are plentiful in nature anyway.

The berries, which range from red to yellowish-red, ripen in August to September. They’re high in fiber and contain as much vitamin C as cloudberries. Rowan is also a source of flavonoids, and its berries contain beta-carotene, calcium, and magnesium, as well.

Like apple trees, rowan produces fruit in cycles: if the harvest is abundant this year, next year’s is usually smaller. Even so, exceptionally warm summers can prompt abundant flower-bud formation for the following year.

A single tree produces around twenty kilos of berries. In large specimens, yields can reach a couple of hundred kilos in a good year.

Rowan tolerates damage to its branches and roots fairly well. However, wounds on the trunk can allow rot-causing fungi—common ones are willow bracket and Phellinus punctatus—to take hold. A rowan’s lifespan is about 60–80 years.