Ardagh Village Landscapes
Ardagh, Co. Longford, Ireland

Whitebeam

Sorbus aria lutescens

This is a small to medium sized deciduous tree with a compact usually rounded head of branches, leaves oval or obovate with the upper surface covered by a dense creamy-white tomentum, becoming grey-green by late summer.

White flowers are borne in corymbs 3 inches across, in late spring they are followed by ovoid to spherical brown speckled dark red berries half inch across. It grows to an approximate height of 30 feet and width of 25 feet.

This tree is a suitable tree for the small garden with its fresh foliage in spring, and its compact growth unlikely to cast too much shade or interfere with overhead wires in an urban situation. It is generally trouble free though it can suffer from mildew and drop a significant amount of its foliage in early autumn. It grows well on most mineral soils. It is quite suitable also for planting in industrial estates and factory grounds as it will require very little maintenance.