Fresh Seeds inside US, Fast shipping Common Name: European mountain ash Native Range: Western Asia, Europe Zone: 3 to 6 Best grown in moist, acidic, well-drained soils in full sun. As the common name suggests, this is a tree of cool mountain climates that dislikes hot and humid summers, and will not grow well south of USDA Zones 5-6. It does poorly in the St. Louis area. Sorbus aucuparia, commonly called European mountain ash, is native to Europe and Asia. It has been widely planted in northern North America as an ornamental and has naturalized in some parts of Canada and the northern U.S. It is primarily cultivated for its compound green leaves and attractive clusters of fall fruit. It is a small, deciduous tree that grows to 20-40? tall with a narrow, upright-oval crown, usually rounding and opening with age. Compound, odd-pinnate, flat medium green leaves have 9-15 serrate, oblong-lanceolate leaflets (each leaflet to 2.5? long). Leaves turn yellow to reddish-purple in fall. Small, white, 5-petaled flowers (1/3? across) bloom in flattened corymbs in May. Flowers give way to pendant clusters of orange-red berry-like drupes in late summer. Cultivars are available in commerce featuring pink, yellow and bright red fruits. Mountain ashes have ash-like leaves, but are members of the rose family, and are not related to true ashes (Fraxinus), which are in the olive family. Genus name comes from the Latin name sorbum for the fruit of the service tree (Sorbus domestica). Growing Info: Scarification: Soak in water, let stand in water for 24 hours. Stratification: cold stratify for 90 days. Germination: sow seed 1/16" deep, tamp the soil, mulch the seed bed. Customer Service: Your success is our success. If you feel like you cannot leave us a 5 star rating or if you have any issues with your order, like damaged or wrong items etc...just send us a note and we'll promptly resolve the issue for you. Free Shipping: Seeds are packaged in a small poly bag. In an effort to keep costs low, and pass the savings onto you, we do not offer specific planting directions on seed packets. If you cannot locate planting instructions for your specific conditions, contact us and we'll do our best to instruct you on the proper methods. There is no tracking number for economy shipping. Economy shipping order usually takes 1-2 weeks to arrive depending on the state you live. If you want seeds to arrive faster and safely with the tracking, it is HIGHLY recommended to choose USPS Ground Advantage.