Christmas is fast approaching and many see it as a deadline by which to get things done.  The nursery will be open until 5pm on Friday 23^rd of December for ordering and collecting plants and will not be open again until Tuesday 3^rd of January.  If you want to plant bare root between Christmas and New Year you can collect them before Christmas and heel them in until you are ready to plant.

The last day to place orders for transplants and native hedging for nationwide delivery is Tuesday 20^th of December.   We will be delivering larger bare root and container grown plants nationwide and locally up until the 23^rd but you will need to contact us very soon if you are hoping to arrange a pre Christmas delivery.

In the unlikely event that you need to contact us urgently over the Christmas and New Year holiday email simon@chewvalleytrees.co.uk .  For non urgent queries or orders email us in the usual way at info@chewvalleytrees.co.uk or leave a message on 01275 333752.

Wishing  you a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year from all at Chew Valley Trees

This year we are celebrating 25 years of Chew Valley Trees.  The same year that the M25 opened and the popular medical drama Casualty was first screened, David and Julia bought a 10 acre field full of docks.  Accompanied by their 5 year old daughter, Elinor and 3 year old son Simon, many back breaking hours were spent clearing, sowing and planting.

Our first plant list was a single photocopied sheet comprising native broadleaved seedlings and transplants.  Over the last 25 years the size and range of trees we produce has grown to fill a 62 page catalogue.  Our guiding principal has always been customer satisfaction both in the quality and suitability of our plant stock and level of service and advice we offer.  The commitment energy and enthusiasm of our wonderful staff both past and present has been the key to our continued success.

Much has changed in 25 years, that photocopied sheet has made way for this website (though we do still have a printed catalogue.) The 3 year old son is now 28 and shares the responsibility of running the business. BBC Casualty are now one of our customers and often use our tall,  bushy trees and shrubs for screening on their sets.  What remains constant is our focus on supplying the best quality plants for your requirements.

A small tree or large shrub, leaves are almost circular in general outline with seven or nine lobes.  The leaves are prettily tinted in summer and turn beautiful orange and red shades.

Native to western North America, it grows naturally under the shade of tall conifers as an understory and hence will tolerate dry shady

positions.

This maple is distinct and one of the most ornamental in flower, in April when well in bloom the wine-coloured sepals contrasting with the whitish petals make a very pretty display.

White Flowered Japanese Cherry Trees

Prunus Umineko

An upright flowing cherry with large single white flowers about 1¼ inches wide in stalked umbels which come together with new green leaves in mid to late April.  The flowers have pink stamens which become more pronounced as the flower ages.   The regular upright habit makes this a good avenue tree.

Prunus Umineko is a cross between Prunus Speciosa,  Oshima Cherry and Prunus Incisa, Fuji Cherry, raised by Collingwood Ingram in the 1920’s,  The same cross was made in Holland by Mr Doorenbos and this has produced an almost identical tree, named ‘Snow Goose’.

Rather picturesquely Umineko is the Japanese name for ‘White-tailed sea-eagle’

The ‘Umineko no Naku Koro ni’ visual novel series features an extensive cast of characters created and originally illustrated by  Ryukishi07. The series takes place on the fictional secluded island Rokkenjima in Japan.

Prunus Tai Haku

Flowering at the same time as Prunus Umineko,  Prunus Tai Haku, known as the Great White Cherry also has single white flowers, however the flowers are much larger, 2½ inches across and pure white.

Prunus Tai Haku is a vigorous wide spreading tree from Kyoto which became extinct in Japan and was reintroduced from a single specimen found in a Sussex Garden.

As always comments and questions are welcome.

Simon

In almost everyone’s list of the best trees for small gardens, this North American deciduous plant is either described as large shrub or a small tree of bushy spreading habit.

This tree has a lot to recommend it, wonderful white blossom that emerges as star-shaped flowers in lax conical heads, just as the coppery pink young leaves unfold.  The leaves unfurl as the flowers fade and change to a pale green.  Small red berries which turn black in late June, give it it’s American name ‘Juneberry ‘ these are quickly eaten by blackbirds which seem to relish them.

In Autumn the leaves turn fiery shades of yellow, orange and red.

Amalanchier lamarkii (which is often confusingly call Amalanchier Canadensis)  has become naturalised and will grow easily in most conditions, it is sometimes reported  not to be lime tolerant, but we have not found that to be the case.

As Easter is the traditional end of the season for bare root plants we will this week be removing bare root trees and transplants from the online shop. For these plants under the column inviting you to specify the quantity you require you will see the message ‘Call us’

They will not now be available for dispatch again until November.

However as the very long cold winter has made spring late this year we will carry on dispatching transplants and trees ordered by telephone or by nursery visitors, if they are still available from stock.

As is usual bare root plants supplied this late,  will be on an ‘At your own risk’ basis, which reflects that once the buds have broken much more care needs to be taken in plant handling, though with the appropriate care many species can be successfully transplanted late.

If you still want to plant trees we have most of our ornamental and fruit trees available in either 15L or 30L pots, these are available to buy online, by phone or by visiting the nursery.

If you would like to pre order bare root plants for next season the best way to currently do this is either phone us or send us an email with the plants you would like to reserve.

This hardy evergreen which can be grown as a shrub or a small tree has glossy, dark green, leathery leaves.  It is mainly grown for the new growth which bursts forth early in the spring in a fiery red, giving a stunning display.  All subsequent new flushes of growth throughout the year are also brilliant red.

This is the most common form of a group of hybrids between Photinia glabra and Photinia serrulata which was raised in New Zealand.  This evergreen is thought of mostly as a shrub but can also be trained standard tree ideal for the patio or for screening, it rarely exceeds 5 metres in height or spread so rarely gets too big. An added attraction is that when mature red robin produces a display of frothy heads of pink tinged flowers.

Together with its feature of being an evergreen ‘Red Robin’, as its name suggests, provides a colour contrast within the border. Glossy red leaves at the end of each shoot turn this otherwise laurel-like shrub into an attractive selection. It can also be grown as a hedge and prefers a sunny position.

Photinias are usually trouble-free, but can suffer from photinia leaf spot which is not fatal and is an environmental disorder linked to cold weather, rather than a disease.

As always comments and questions are welcome.

Simon