Western Mountain Ash vs White Meadowsweet - TreeTime.ca

Western Mountain Ash vs White Meadowsweet

Sorbus scopulina

Spiraea alba

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Western Mountain Ash
White Meadowsweet

Western Mountain Ash is a popular ornamental tree native to the western part of North America. Its attractive, white clusters of flowers bloom in early summer, making way for red, yellow or orange fruit in the fall. If the fruit doesn't catch your eye, Western Mountain Ash's autumn colours will capture your–and the birds's–attention.

White Meadowsweet is a woody, deciduous shrub that begins to bloom in early summer with small white and pink flowers. Its foliage turns from a light green into an attractive golden-yellow later in the fall.

The White Meadowsweet, also known as Mead-Wort or Bride-Wort, is favored by birds and butterflies but is largely ignored by deer. They produce small brown berries in the summer, and while they are technically edible, they are not sweet and are more desired by wildlife.

Western Mountain Ash Quick Facts

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 9 m (30 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 6 m (20 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: high


Fall colour: golden yellow
Flowers: white
Flowers: white, small
Berries: bunches of orange-red berries appear in late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, YT, NT
Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: cascade mountain ash, greene mountain ash
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem