The weeping ash is a cultivar of the common ash, which is native to Ireland. The genus Fraxinus belongs to the olive family, Oleaceae. The weeping ash is always grafted as it does not come true from seed. The final shape of the tree depends on how high it is grafted – grafted too low and they grow into something like a half-folded golf umbrella! Weeping ash is strong-growing and given space will make a fine large tree. It received the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1984. The weeping ash has the same pinnate leaves and blackish-brown buds as the species.

Photos taken in Belfast Botanic Gardens in 2016. Copyright: Friends of Belfast Botanic Gardens.