Texas Ash

Fraxinus albicans

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locally

Texas Ash is a large tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 40–50 ft tall and 40–50 ft wide. It wants full sun and very low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms red, green and purple in Mar–Apr. Good for butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Compact native ash with a rounded crown and reliable fall color — burgundy to orange, which is rare on limestone.

Why it works here

One of the few trees that colors up in Central Texas without acid soil or irrigation. Handles caliche and shallow ground where red oaks decline.

Watch out

Slow to establish. Do not confuse it with Arizona ash, a short-lived nursery substitute that fails here by year fifteen.

The facts

7 sources

Type: Large tree
Sun: Full sun (6+ hrs)
Water: Very low
Height: 40–50 ft
Spread: 40–50 ft
Bloom: Mar–Apr · red, green, purple
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on dry, limestone, rocky, well drained
Deer: Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Mature bark is safe; young trunks get antler-rubbed. Cage the first three years.
Wildlife: Supports butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftNorthern Blackland PrairieFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut Plain

1,106 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

3–6 inch pots5, 15, 30, 45, 95 gallonboxed

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.