With mid January upon us I always think we are half way through winter.   Here in Somerset the warm weather has been a pleasant change from the last two winters with very cold and snowy months in January and December.

I’ve still got geraniums in full flower in my window boxes however there is still every chance of a cold frozen spell before March.

The weather conditions as I write are perfect for bare root planting, so if you are intending to plant some hedges or trees before next spring, now is the time to be getting them in, March is only six weeks away.

Watering Trees and Hedges

It takes between 12 and 24 months for a tree or shrub to develop a root system deep enough to draw its own water. And for this reason we need to help newly planted trees through any dry spells with a good watering two to three times a week.  In April and May this year we have had precious little rain and would suggest putting 2 gallons/10L of water on newly planted standard trees and 2 gallons/ 10L per meter of hedge, every 3 days.

It is almost impossible to overwater in weather such as this but common sense will tell you that you do not want newly planted trees sat in pools of surface water.

Weed control

The other vitally important thing do to in order to aid newly planted trees, whether we have had a dry spell or not,is to keep 1 meter free from grass and weeds at the base of the tree. This can be done using a herbicide, or an effective barrier covered with mulch. This must be kept for at least the first 2 years after planting. The reason this is so important is that any grass or weeds that grow around the tree will compete for water and nutrients resulting in the same problems you get when the tree is not watered at all.  Cutting the grass will not be sufficient as grass is an efficient water pump which takes up more water when it re-grows.

The rootballing of trees is a technique used to successfully transplant large trees it is generally used for trees 12 to 14 cm girth and above, (though difficult to transplant species such as Beech (Fagus sylvatica)  will need rootballing at a smaller size.)

Unlike bare root trees which have no soil on the roots, the soil around roots of the tree is retained and held in place with a tied hessian sheet and supported by an annealed wire cage.

It is important that when planting rootballed trees the hessian and the wire cage is left on the rootball and it will rot down in the ground

Corylus avellana contorta

One of the best of the twisted or corkscrew shrubs, this cultivar of the native hazel which was discovered in a hedgerow in Gloucestershire in 1870 and propagated by the rector of Britton, between Bristol and Bath, which makes it quite local to our nursery.

Since then this large shrub, which only grow to about 15ft has had enduring popularity.  It looks at its best in the late Winter when the long yellow catkins hang from the curiously twisted elegant stems.

When the leaves come out they are normal hazel leaves large and round and rather a jumble.

Hedges make natural field boundaries for keeping sheep and cattle where you want them. Left unmanaged they become tall and leggy, more a line of trees with many gaps which aren’t stock proof.

Machine trimming works well for years if carefully done.  However many countryside hedges are literally ‘Flailed back’, which is a quick solution to maintenance, but exacerbates the gappy nature of the hedge.   Hedgelaying is the best way to regenerate a overgrown hedge as it removes dead wood and stimulates new growth.

Laying is a modified form of coppicing, where the upright stems of the hedge are partly cut through and laid down at an angle, these are called ‘Pleachers’.  There are many different local county styles, often based on the positioning of the stakes to hold the pleachers.  The object however is the same in all cases to create a living and stockproof barrier which will send out new growth from the stool and along the length of the pleacher.

This vivid engraving was made in 1945 by Stanley Anderson, RA (1884-1966), a Bristol-born artist and reminds us that this is the time of year to start hedgelaying.

Hedge laying can be very time consuming and if the hedge is very gappy and the remaining plants are far apart, it is easier to coppice the hedge to the ground, replant new hedging plants in the gaps, fence off against stock and let the regeneration begin from the bottom up.

If you want to try it yourseff, the best handbook is from BTCV and can be viewed online at

www.handbooks.btcv.org.uk/handbooks/index/book/6

As always comments are welcome

Out and about on the nursery at this time of year it is imposable not to be impressed with the wonderful array of colours that adorn all the trees. This has inspired me to give a list of my favaorate 10 trees for autumn colour.

Acer x freemanii ‘Autumn Blaze’

One of the if not the best hybrid of Acer rubrum and Acer saccharinum.

This vigorous, round headed tree turns a bright and stunning red in

autumn and is a far better choice over the often misfiring Acer Rubrum.

Acer x freemanii ‘Celebration’ or ‘Celzam’

Another of the crosses between Acer rubrum and Acer saccharinum, also colours up

very well as if slightly more varied to the colour with more yellow and orange mixed

in with the reds. It is also known for its wonderful columnar form.

Acer Griseum  Paper Bark Maple

If you only have a small space for a tree this would be my recommendation.

It has wonderful peeling bark and the small, three-lobed leaves turn many

shades of red in autumn.

Amelanchier Lamarcki Snowy Mespil

Another good tree/shrub for a small space. This tree has it all with lovely white  flowers in the

spring,but for me relay comes into its own in October when the oval leaves turn shades

of dazzling orange and red, by which time it’s small berries have become edible.

Cornus Kousa Chinensis Chinese Dogwood

Another small tree/shrub that also offers white flowers/bracts in the summer.

Its elongated leaves will turn fabulous red/purple in autumn and it holds this colour

for longer than some of the other autumn colouring plants.

Crataegus Prunifolia Splendens Frosted Thorn

This wonderful small tree is one of the best for autumn colour. Depending on the conditions

through the year its normally glossy green leaves can turn yellow, orange or even purple.

It also has the added benefit of red berries that booth look good and attract birds.

Euonymus Europaeus Spindle

The only native tree to make it into this list spindle is a very much underrated as it is often

only used in hedgerows. In the autumn is has double appeal as the leaves turn scarlet

and the seed casings become bright pink with orange seeds inside.

Liquidambar Styr Worplesdon Sweet Gum

Famous for the stunning displays in autumn Worplesdon is the best of the Liquidambars in

terms of form as well as reliability of autumn colour. It is a strong grower with its only notable

draw back being that it grows to  large for most gardens.

Prunus Sargentii Sargents Cherry

One of the best colouring cherries, and also one of the first trees to colour up  in the autumn

providing an attractive display of oranges and reds. It also offers pink flowers in the spring

and works well when space is limited.

SORBUS SARGENTIANA Sargent Rowan

Small tree mainly grown for the large leaves which provide perhaps the best autumn colour of

all the Rowans. It also features large bunches of red berries in Autumn

I hope you found my selection interesting if you have any suggestions of trees i missed please let me know.

Comments welcome,

Simon

When you are out and about at the moment it is hard to miss the colours that trees are turning, everything from bright yellow to deep purple. Most of all I particularly like the brilliant reds that currently adorn many  of the acer varieties.

There is a huge selection of red maples to choose from and not all of them colour up as well as they might.  Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) is an example of this , as the name suggests it is the original red maple and a quick search of google images will find thousands of wonderful pictures of this trees. The sad fact is that most these images are from the USA and Canada, our mundane summers and mild autumns Just aren’t good enough to get this wonderful tree performing on this side of the pond.

If you want a maple that is guaranteed to colour up well in the UK you would  do much better going for one of the hybrids between Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) and Silver Maple (Acer Saccharum.) Acer Freemanii Autumn Blaze is one of the best. Fast growing, with a wonderful broad head this hybrid is guaranteed to colour up well every year and its vibrant  colour can be seen for miles around.  So much so that Prince Charles head gardener bought some for his new garden at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate. Other good selections are Acer Freemanii Armstrong and Acer Freemanii Celebration.

As always coments are welcome.

Simon

For many people the first sign that spring is on the way is the sight of the first blossom on trees.  Many wonder which tree it is that blossoms so early. It can often appear in hedgerows or scrubby corners and be confused with the native hedgerow shrub Blackthorn, Prunus spinosa.

It is in fact Prunus cerasifera, also known as the Cherry plum or Myrobalan  which is a species of plum native to central and Eastern Europe, southwest and central Asia, though the true wild species may be Prunus divaricata.

It is a large shrub or small tree reaching 6-15 m tall, with deciduous leaves 4-6 cm long. It is one of the first European trees to flower in spring, often starting in mid February; the flowers are white, 1.5-2 cm across, with five petals. The fruit is a drupe 2-3 cm in diameter and yellow or red colour; it is edible, and reaches maturity from early-July to mid-September.

The reason it is so common may be because it is a standard root stock for most fruiting plums.  When the top of a plum tree dies, sprouts arise from the root and take the place of the original tree.

The commonest cultivars have been selected for purple foliage and pink flowers and known generally as Purple leaved Plum, such as Prunus cerasifera ’Pissardii Nigra’, a handsome form with purple leaves and dark wine-red fruit. Introduced into France by Pissard, gardener to the Shah of Persia. It is a cultural form of Prunus cerasifera and is one of the best of all small purple-leaved trees.

As always comments and questions are always welcome.

Simon

As we are having a second year of very snowy and frosty weather I thought I would offer a little advice and information on how trees cope with this weather and anything we can do to help.

Deciduous trees.

Deciduous trees that are hardy to Britain will be fine in this weather, part of the reason they drop their leaves is to cope with sub zero temperatures.  This being said some flowering trees that have had buds on them through the winter such as magnolias may well not flower this year as the buds have been frozen.  If you have a newly planted tree, once the snow/frost has melted it is worth checking it is still firm in the ground.  Due to a process called frost heave,  the soil expands when it freezes then contracts again during the thawing process and can cause the roots to move in the ground.

Evergreen Trees.
Evergreen trees have a harder time in frozen weather, the rather obvious reason for this is that they still have leaves on. This causes two main problems the first is what is  a physiological watering disorder due to the fact that they are still growing. Evergreen trees never stop growing they just slow down significantly throughout the winter.  This results in them still needing water and when the ground freezes they can’t get it, much like a drought in the summer.  The second problem is that the water in the cells of evergreen plants freezes causing some damage to the cell walls. Evergreen trees and plants that are hardy to the UK have a number of mechanisms to cope with these problems and while they may look a little sad they should pick up well once the spring is upon us and they start to grow at a good rate again.

As always comments and questions are welcome.

Simon

Local Deliveries and Collection

The last day that we will be here at the tree nursery before Christmas is 23rd of December. Any tree, shrub or hedging orders can be collected or delivered locally up until that date. We reopen on the Monday 4th of January.

Nationwide Delivery

The latest date to place online tree and hedge orders for delivery by national courier before Christmas is Thursday the 17th of December. The last date for ordering Chew Valley Trees Gift Vouchers online is the 22nd of December as we can email these if required.

It is no problem to place tree, shrub and hedging orders after this date and we will be in touch to arrange despatch after the 5th of January