Why Rowan Deserves a Little Extra Care

Rowan, or mountain ash as it is often called, holds a special place in British woodland lore. Our ancestors planted it beside cottage doors to ward off ill fortune, carried sprigs in their pockets for luck, and brewed its bright scarlet berries into jellies sharp enough to wake the senses. In the wild, rowan is a pioneer tree — one of the first to colonise open ground, moorland edges and the fringes of ancient woods. It feeds waxwings, redwings and blackbirds through the hungry months, and its tough, pale timber has long been prized by woodworkers for tool handles, spinning wheels and walking sticks.

All of which makes it rather galling when a young sapling you have carefully planted is nibbled down to a stub by a passing deer. If you have set out rowan for a hedgerow, a shelterbelt, a small copse or simply a corner of the garden, a little forward planning will give it the head start it needs. Here is how to see your saplings through their vulnerable first years.

Understanding the Threat

Deer damage is rarely a single clean bite. Fallow, roe, red and muntjac all browse rowan with enthusiasm, stripping leaders and side shoots, fraying bark with their antlers in autumn, and often returning to the same tree until it gives up. A sapling ringed of bark will die; one with its growing tip removed will bush out into a stunted, multi-stemmed shape that never quite fulfils its potential.

Rabbits and hares cause similar mischief lower down, snipping through stems at ground level. Add wind-rock, frost heave and summer drought, and the odds are stacked against a bare, unprotected whip. It is worth noting that deer pressure varies enormously by region — an isolated garden in the Lowlands may see little trouble, while a new planting on the edge of a Forestry Commission wood or a Devon estate can be stripped within weeks.

Choosing the Right Tree Guard

For most domestic and small-scale plantings, a sturdy tree guard is the simplest and kindest solution. There are three main approaches, and the right one depends on how many deer you have and how tall your saplings are likely to grow.

• Spiral guards — clear plastic coils that wrap around the stem. They deter rabbits well and offer some protection against deer nibbling the main stem, but they will not stop a determined deer from browsing the shoot tips above the guard. Make sure the spiral sits clear of the ground to allow airflow, and check it each spring as the tree grows.
• Mesh tree shelters — rigid, ventilated tubes, usually 1.2 metres to 1.8 metres tall, held upright by a stake. These are the workhorse of woodland creation schemes. They protect the leader, create a warm microclimate that speeds growth, and can be fitted with a mesh top to keep browsing mouths out altogether. Ensure the stake is driven in on the prevailing wind side so the tree does not rub against it.
• Timber or metal cages — a square or cylindrical frame of stakes and wire netting around the sapling. These are the gold standard where deer numbers are high, because they protect the sides and the top simultaneously. A cage measuring roughly 1.2 metres across and 1.5 metres high will carry a rowan through to the point where its crown is above the browse line.

Whatever you choose, stake the guard firmly but allow a little movement in the tree itself. A sapling that sways gently in the wind develops a stronger trunk than one held rigid.

Fencing, and When It Beats Guards

If you are planting a group of rowans, or a mixed copse with rowan among oak, birch and hawthorn, fencing is often more economical and more effective than guarding every tree individually. A stock fence of 1.5 metres will deter rabbits if the mesh is fine enough at the base; for deer you generally need something in the region of 1.8 metres, ideally with a top rail or a line of high-tensile wire that deer can see clearly. Deer are jumpers, not climbers, so a fence with a visible top and enough clear space beyond it works far better than a low, cluttered one.

On a garden scale, a simple post-and-rail fence around a bed, or a ring of stout hardwood stakes threaded with netting, keeps roe and muntjac at bay. It is also worth checking whether your local deer are travelling along a habitual route — a gap in a hedge or a narrow gap between fences. Blocking that pinch point can be worth more than any amount of individual protection.

Planting Well Is Half the Battle

A sapling that establishes quickly is far less likely to be fatally damaged than one that sits and sulks. Rowan is not fussy, but it does best on a free-draining, slightly acidic soil, in sun or light shade. Water it in thoroughly at planting, mulch with a generous ring of well-rotted bark or compost — keeping the mulch clear of the trunk — and water through its first two summers if the weather turns dry.

• Plant bare-root whips between November and March, ideally in a mild spell when the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged.
• Choose a two- or three-year-old sapling with a strong single leader; it will outgrow a weaker specimen by a wide margin.
• Firm the soil gently around the roots to remove air pockets, then stake only if the site is very exposed.
• Keep grass and weeds at least 60 centimetres away from the trunk — competition for water and nutrients is a hidden killer.

A Little Patience, and a Lasting Tree

Once a rowan passes about two metres, it is largely out of reach of browsing deer and begins to reward you properly. The cream-white blossom in May feeds early bees, the berries in autumn are there for the birds — and for your own jelly pan, if the flocks leave any — and the tree itself may stand for a century or more, a marker on the landscape just as our ancestors intended.

Protecting a young rowan is not complicated. A sturdy guard or a well-set fence, a good planting hole and a mulch ring will see it through the dangerous years. Do that, and you are not just growing a tree. You are continuing a tradition that runs back through the hedgerows and cottage gardens of these islands, one sapling at a time.