This Showy Mountainash is a mostly very northern tree liking summers that are not hot and dry. The native range is from Labrador & Newfoundland through much of Quebec & Ontario, Nova Scotia and that region, much of New England, areas of New York, northern Michigan, northern Minnesota, various areas of Wisconsin, even in southern Wisconsin, and northeast Iowa. Some rare spots in northern Ohio and Pennsylvania, and a few spots down the Appalachians exist, growing in swamps, bogs, lake shores, up to open rocky hillsides. She is very similar to her sister the American Mountain-ash, but with slightly larger flower clusters and fruit. The compound leaves are 6 to 10 inches long with 11 to 17 leaflets that are bluish or grayish green. Each leaflet is about 2 to 4 inches long by 2/3 to 2 inches wide. The foliage retains some hairiness while the American often does not. The buds are shiny, sticky, and dark purple. The apple-like white flowers are about 1/4 inch across borne in dense clusters (flattish corymbs) to 5 inches across in May-June, and 7 to 10 days earlier than the American species in the same site. The shiny scarlet pomes are about 3/8 inches in diameter in late summer into fall, often into winter, loved by birds. The fruit is edible to humans, though very tart, but can be made into jellies. The smooth gray bark becomes scaly when old. It is a relatively short-lived tree of about to 50 years. Like other Mountain-ashes (Rowan trees), it is a beautiful ornamental tree. It is sold by some larger, diverse conventional nurseries and native plant nurseries in the northern US and Canada. The famous, large McKay Nursery in southern Wisconsin sells some. Like her sisters, the European and the American Mountain-ashes, Showy Mountain-ash only lives about 20 years in landscapes farther south as in Zones 5 or 6 because of hot summers that stress her and make her susceptible to borer attacks, plus any drought makes it worse. Like White-barked Birches, one can plant a new young tree every 20 years to keep this plant going in one's yard if the summers get too hot. Irrigation of the tree during summer is good.

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