Glasgow's tree of the year competing to be named best in Europe

An ash tree on a busy Glasgow street which won the UK tree of the year in 2025 is competing do the same in a pan-European competition.

The Argyle Street Ash won the Woodland Trust competition last September and was automatically entered to the European stages where it will take on 12 trees from across the continent.

Arborist David Treanor, who has managed the tree over the past five years, says it has "defied the odds" after continuing to survive ash dieback - a destructive fungal disease that eventually kills mature trees.

The urban forester nominated the tree as a wildcard option in the UK competition, with the ash going on to win after strong support from the public.

Speaking to Radio Scotland Breakfast, Treanor said: "We were so happy it won UK tree of the year. It was the people's tree, it was the only publicly-nominated tree and the only urban tree as well, which made it completely unique amongst the crowd of others.

"For many years it was known as, 'the oldest tree on Argyle Street'. It's 170 years old, it's older than the light bulb, older than the telephone, and has seen everything from horse-drawn trams to Teslas.

"The people love it and they really came out in their droves to vote for this tree and we really hope they do it again."

Voting for European tree of the year opened on 2 February and the contest features 12 trees, all with unique stories, that were selected from the national rounds.

On 16 February the secret voting round begins and the current vote counts will be hidden until the end of voting on 22 February.

Anyone can vote for their top two trees during the competition.

Due to the small size of some of the countries taking part, a new "tree point system" has been introduced to ensure fairness and balance in the results between countries with different population sizes.

Treanor is the main arborist who looks after the Argyll ash, which stands at 75ft (23 metres) tall. He has watched it overcome the fungal disease that has claimed many other ashes.

"It's refusing the script and it's really resisting ash dieback disease," he said.

"So what we did was visit it five years ago, pruned it, removed all the dead branches and realised it wasn't succumbing as quickly as some other trees.

"This is the story of survival we want to share with the public. Trees are often cut down far too soon.

"Especially this one being so close to a building, people have this idea that trees and buildings don't mix but they really can coexist and this one shows that."

You can find out more about the competition and vote here.