Part 2 of our series demystifying the bare root trees and hedging plants that we grow.
You can find out what a bare root tree is, and how to recognise a good one (ours, naturally), in Part 1, and Part 3 will tell you how to get the best out the trees you purchase.
Here at The Grower, we have a variety of different species of trees, for different situations, and can help advise you on what will work for your project.
Large classics:
Beech Fagus sylvatic
A woodland staple. Growing up to 40m, with a smooth, elegant trunk. Great for continuous cover planting in woodland schemes, as well as a hedging variety when cut annually. Beech trees retain their leaves through winter, making for a great broadleaf hedge with winter interest and screening potential. We grow a range of British provenance.
Hornbeam Carpinus betulus
Similar to beech in appearance, though shorter, at 30m. With catkins and seeds like spinners, these trees are popular with wildlife, and great for hedging or forestry planting. Hornbeam retains some of its leaves through winter, though not as much as beech. It can also be used for hedging.
Oak Quercus
A classic of the English countryside, growing to 30m tall, and likely to outlive the grandchildren of those who plant them! Hugely valuable for wildlife, and perfect for woodland planting. We grow both Quercus petraea (Sessile Oak or Cornish Oak) and Quercus robur (English Oak), and are increasing how many we grow of both of these, due to demand.
Smaller trees:
Cherry Prunus
There are a wide variety of Prunus’ which offer a range of benefits for wildlife and for their ornamental potential. As a family they can grow up to 30m and are famous for pink/white blossom and bright fruit loved by birds. They are quick-growing so offer a near instant impact, with a shorter lifespan than some of the slower growing tree varieties. We grow Prunus avium (Wild Cherry) and Prunus Padus (Bird Cherry) and have access to a wide variety of Ornamental Varieties through our network of UK Growers.
Wild Plum/Cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera
A great alternative variety to the apple family in a scheme, is more common in hedgerows in the southwest. It can grow up to 8m, and is one of the first to flower in spring, with white blossom, followed by yellow or red cherry-like plums. This is another one we’d like to see specified more!
Willow family
Including Salix alba, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, Salix viminalis (White Willow (pictured below), Goat Willow/Pussy Willow, Grey Willow and Osier Willow).
The willow family are fundamental to the British countryside as feeds and shelters for native wildlife, as well as acting as a source of natural remedies for centuries within British culture. Willows have slender leaves, catkins of varying shapes, and prefer damp areas. They can grow up to 25m tall but are often coppiced as part of Habitat Management and Agroforestry. The slender new stems are used for craft purposes.
Elder Sambucus nigra
Known for its short chunky appearance, the Elder is also the source of both elderflowers for cordial in spring and elderberries in autumn. They grow up to 15m, and can live for 60 years, and is commonly seen in woodland and scrub, and in hedgerows across the UK. A favourite with many kinds of wildlife due to the flowers and berries, while its leaves are loved by moth caterpillars.
Guelder rose Viburnum opulus
This is typically found in ancient woodland, and places seeking to recreate that habitat. Reaching around 4m high, and 2-5m across, it is known for clusters of creamy white flowers from May-July, and red berries in autumn. It prefers damp situations, and can be found naturally in fenland where it is highly valued by mistle thrushes and other birds for its berries.
Hedging favourites:
Hawthorn Crateagus monogyna
One of the UKs most popular hedging plants typically making up 50% of any hedging scheme. The hawthorn is an integral part of the British countryside, famous for scented white blossom in May and red berries in autumn. This tree can reach 15m, and has densely grown, thorny branches and is good for wildlife planting.
Blackthorn Prunus spinosa
Characterised by spiny black branches, the blackthorn grows to 6-7 metres, and produces fruit called sloes in autumn. It is renowned for its swathes of white flowers in the spring months. Great for protective hedging, and wildlife-friendly planting.
Dogwood Cornus sanguinea
Featuring white or pink flowers on a shorter shrub plant (up to 6m), and thriving in hedgerows and woodlands. Popular in both natural settings and ornamental schemes, as the newly produced stems turn bright red in winter, and offer a highly decorative area of interest.
Dog rose, Rosa canina
A scrambling rose that adorns hedgerows with its pink flowers and rich scent throughout the spring and summer, which lead to red rosehips in autumn. It is viciously prickly, and dense, and a great fast-growing hedging option. It can grow up to 3m tall when well supported.
Sweet Briar Rose, Rosa rubiginosa
A great alternative variety for Rosa canina and one we’d like to see specified more. A similarly vigorous species rose which grows to around 3.5m tall, with strong, upright, prickly stems bearing apple-scented foliage. It’s known for its fragrant, blush-pink blooms which are followed by red rose hips lasting into winter, so popular with wildlife.
Evergreens
Sitka Spruce Picea sitchensis
A standard forestry tree, originating from southern Alaska, the Sitka can grow to 55m. It has pretty blue-grey pine needles, and light, slim cones with a papery edge. Good for sustainable forestry schemes.
Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris
The UK’s only native conifer, growing to 36m, with a deep red bark, and wood pine cones. This species can thrive in poor soil, and is good in mixed woodlands.
Western Red Cedar Thuja plicata
Grown in the UK for hedging and timber, this impressive evergreen can reach up to 65m high, and live for over a thousand years. This tree has a flat spray-shaped array of leaves, and small cones, and is favoured by insects for the deep fissures in its bark.
Yew Taxus baccata
One of the longest-lived tree species in Europe, yew trees provide food and shelter for woodland animals, and nooks for nesting birds amongst its dense branches. With needles, and tiny red berry-like fruit instead of cones, this is an unusual evergreen, and can reach 20m high. Favoured for historic gardens, topiary and hedging, this is a native tree, and found in woodlands and ancient churchyards. (pictured at Lanhydrock, in Cornwall)
More unusual for agroforestry:
Purging buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica
This is a small, spiny tree native to England and Wales. Mature trees can grow to a height of 10m, with grey-brown bark and spiny branches, and it has greeny yellow flowers and poisonous black berries in autumn. It grows well in most soils, and both shade and sunlight.
Alder buckthorn Rhamus frangula
Alder buckthorn made a name for itself through history when it was used to make gunpowder, pigments and dyes. It’s a fantastic native plant for wildlife, including the brimstone butterfly. Mature trees can grow to a height of 6m. It is not spiny, like Purging buckthorn, and grows best in wet soils and open woods. Alder buckthorn leaves are the main food plant of the brimstone butterfly.
Eucalyptus Eucalyptus
A versatile tree, that can be a short shrub, or a tall evergreen, the eucalyptus has round, blue-green leaves, and a distinctive smell. Native to Australia, not many of its hundreds of varieties thrive in the UK.
Unique to the SW, as part of the Cornwall Temperate Rainforest
Sessile Oak Quercus petraea
Less common than the English oak, at maturity is around 20-40m tall, and home to an abundance of wildlife. Slow-growing, and a feature in the landscape, for centuries to come. Their uniqueness and importance as part of Natures Recovery is becoming more well known in the new research currently underway as part of the Celtic Rainforest which is investigating how Temperate Rainforest once covered vast areas of the British Isles, looking at the fragments remain in the west of the British Isles and how we can restore these habitat areas for the future. These areas of rainforest are also known as Atlantic Woodland or Celtic Rainforest.
You can find out more about Cornwall’s Temperate Rainforest on the Woodland Trust’s website, here.
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