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Joseph Rock rowan

Sorbus
Sorbus Joseph Rock berries
  • Fruit colour: Yellow
  • Awards: RHS AGM (former) 1993
  • Awards: RHS 1st class 1962

'Joseph Rock' is an excellent choice if you are loooking for a rowan tree to fit in a smaller space. It is widely considered one of the best of the small rowans, with an elegant appearance, reaching perhaps 4m after 10 years.

Clusters of white flowers appear in late May, followed by dense fruitlets which turn from white to golden yellow as autumn progresses.

It is one of the best rowans for autumn colour, with the leaves often attaining a flame red colour - contrasting attractively with the bright fruitlets.

Joseph Rock rowan for sale

Pot-grown

All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.

All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.

  • PG12-year 12L pot-grown tree £71.50
    Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)

Bare-root

  • BR11-year bare-root tree£44.50
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season

Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts

Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.

Tree specification

Photos of trees as supplied | Tree sizes and forms

Next deliveries

Order now for delivery from week commencing 24th February.

Delivery charges

Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.

Growing and Training

'Joseph Rock' is easy to grow and is one of the best trees for a small garden. It is susceptible to fireblight - but this is not usually an issue in the UK climate.

History

'Joseph Rock' is named after Dr Joseph Rock of the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, and is thought to have come from seeds collected on an expedition to China in the 1930s. The original tree still stands in the gardens of RHS Wisley.


Joseph Rock characteristics

Growing

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climates

Problems

  • Disease resistanceAverage

Identification

  • Country of originChina
  • Period of origin1900 - 1949
  • Flowering monthMayJune
  • Blossom colourWhite
  • Fruit colourYellow
  • AwardsRHS 1st classRHS AGM (former)

British-grown trees Trees grown in the UK.

Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK. Find out more.

In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK. Find out more

Guaranteed fruit trees

When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions. Find out more.

More about rowan

The Rowans or Mountain Ash trees are a group of mostly small trees growing to about 5m-7m, characterised by their heavily segmented or "pinnate" leaves, which often take on attractive autumn colours. They are also known as Mountain Ash trees, because the leaf has a passing resemblance to the common ash - although they are not related.

They are however distantly related to crab-apples and hawthorns, and most varieties bear clusters of fruitlets which hang on the tree into early winter. The fruits are usually red, but there are also yellow and pink varieties. The berries of many species (especially Sorbus aucuparia) can also be cooked and made into rowan jelly, similar to crab-apple jelly.

All forms of rowan are good sources of food for wildlife from late summer into the early winter.

Rowans are easy to grow, and most are tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including acidic soils, clay soils, wet soils, and exposed situations. Many will tolerate chalk, however they prefer well-drained neutral or acidic soils if possible.

Rowans flower very late - in May or June - and often set fruit by mid-summer. This makes them particularly well-adapted to northern climates with short damp summers and cold winters.

Rowans can be grown successfully in areas with long warm summers, provided you pay attention to watering (particularly with young trees) as they do not tolerate drought.

They can be planted in most locations, but for the best fruit and leaf colours plant in full sun.

They are generally healthy trees, although (reflecting their relation with apples) they can be susceptible to fireblight - fortunately not a common disease in the UK. Scab and aphids can also sometimes be a problem.

The growth habit of most varieties is quite upright, making them good street trees.

Most of our Rowan trees are grafted on to Sorbus aucuparia rootstocks, to help give a consistent size and better tolerance to drought. Some are grafted on Sorbus intermedia which is more suitable for the Whitebeam varieties. Although they are usually just planted and allowed to grow naturally, young Sorbus trees can be cut back and shaped and pruned in a similar way to Malus and Prunus.


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