English Woodlands Burrow Nursery Blog

Crab apple trees look wonderful now!

The sunshine has encouraged the blossom on the Malus over the last week. Equally as stunning as some of the ornamental cherries, crab apples make lovely garden trees, they come in a variety of shapes from weeping to upright and a variety of ultimate sizes too. We stock them as small standards (approximately 175-200cm tall now) or 3-4m trees - the large ones are selling fast!

Tolerant of most soil types including clay, they can be pruned and trained. And of course they have the benefit of autumn fruit too which can be used to make a tasty jelly.

Flowers and fruit are good for wildlife as well as us and they can be useful as pollinators for orchard apple trees too.

Malus Evereste

We are CLOSED GOOD FRIDAY

OPEN SATURDAY 8am - 4pm AS USUAL

CLOSED Sunday as usual

CLOSED EASTER MONDAY

Open again Tuesday 8am

HAPPY EASTER ! HAPPY SPRING ! FROM ALL OF US AT 

ENGLISH WOODLANDS

Amelanchiers - Snowy mespilus - June Berry

Amelanchiers are deciduous trees or shrubs with showy white flowers and look great at the moment! We have multi-stem and single-stem varieties. Most also have good autumn colour.

Depending on variety they can reach 6-12 meters tall, the smaller varieties include Amelanchier Ballerina and A. Snowflakes reaching 6m.  Amelanchier canadensis syn. A. lamarckii can reach 8m as can A.Robin Hill, there are narrow crown varieties such as A.Obelisk and A. Rainbow Pillar. They prefer moist well-drained soils, the best autumn colour occurs on neutral to acid soils and they tolerate light shade. Great for small gardens, courtyards and naturalistic rural planting.

Come and visit!

Last week for bare root hedge plants!

Are you planning to gap up a hedge or plant a new one? We can supply  bare root hedge plants up to the end of March stocks permitting. So don't leave it too late if you want to order this season. We are happy to advise about species and quantities or you can browse our  website.

For small quantities of native hedging we offer our convenient hedge packs of 25 mixed native species - £38 for 60-80cm plants and £49 for the 90-120cm plants.

For quantities of over 150 plants we offer 40-60cm plants or 60-80cm plants, always 50% hawthorn and a choice of other species in bundles of 25s. See our website for details of our Rural Hedge Mix.

We can also supply single species of bare root plants depending on availability, telephone us or browse the website for details.

PLEASE TELEPHONE TO CHECK AVAILABILITY - SOME SPECIES NOW VERY LOW STOCK !

Please order in advance. We normally require 48 hours notice to prepare orders for collection. We are not normally able to pack orders for bare root plants while you wait except for small numbers on Saturday mornings - LAST SATURDAY 30TH MARCH!

Multi-stem Himalayan Birch

Are you looking for something special for your garden?

A semi-mature specimen tree or shrub? A plant for screening or topiary for style?

We have new stock in the nursery now:

For screening we have a large range of evergreen shrubs from 60cm tall to 3m including Photinia Red Robin, Laurels and fast growing conifers:

We also have 4-4.5m Eucalyptus and standard Ligustrum japonicum for above fence height evergreen screening. Do ask for advice regarding ultimate height of trees for your requirements. For screening at lower levels we have smart ready planted troughs of Photinia Red Robin:

New topiary in to stock include Taxus (yew) cones, balls, pyramids and spirals; Euonymus Bravo balls, half standard Pines and half standard Viburnum tinus Eve Price:

We have a range of Espaliers 1m wide by 2m high - ideal for making secluded seating areas and division in the garden - species include the fragrant Star Jasmine - Trachelospermum jasminoides which flowers in July - pair this with Ceanothus shrubs with blue flowers in May for successional spring and summer interest:

Star Jasmine & Ceanothus

There are many more beautiful specimens in stock - do visit us!

Now is an ideal time to prune apple trees - if you need to. Newly planted trees have usually been formatively pruned in the nursery and shouldn't need any pruning, however as trees get older pruning may be necessary and it is easier to assess the trees after leaf fall and prior to bud break.

The aim of any pruning will be to reduce the risk of pests and diseases from crowded conditions ; encourage growth of younger productive wood and the production of good quality fruit.

First remove any dead, diseased or damaged branches - particularly those damaged by apple canker.

Prune out any crossing branches that can rub.

Shorten previous year's growth on main branch tips by about a third.

Leave side branches (laterals) unpruned so they can develop fruit buds in the second year.

Remove strong shoots growing into the centre of the tree - aim for an overall 'goblet' shape.

On old trees thin out any fruit bearing spurs that are congested to about 15cm/6" apart.

and don't forget to clean your tools after use!

Wishing all our customers a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

We are open as usual from 8 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday 

and

8 am to 4 pm Saturday

The whole team at English Woodlands would like to wish you a
Very Merry Christmas and a
Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Thank you for your custom during 2018 and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

We close at 4pm Saturday 22nd December and
Open again 8am Wednesday January 2nd 2019

Our popular Quality Christmas Trees are now in stock!

Nordmann Fir - the 'non-drop' tree that retains its needles well, beautiful glossy foliage. 3' - 12' trees £25 - £135

Norway spruce - the traditional one with the fragrance of Christmas! 4'-12' trees £26 - £135

Some potted plants are also available including some very neat potted Picea conica - ideal for a small decoration at £19.99

Picea conica

We are open Mondays to Fridays 8am to 5pm
Saturdays 8am to 4.00pm
Sundays 10am to 4.00pm
New this year - late night opening
Fridays 7th and 14th December
5pm - 8 pm

Plants for hedges are supplied bare root from November to March when they are dormant. This is an economical way to plant new deciduous hedges. Our plants are well rooted, strong plants you may see cheaper on the web but would find it hard to get better quality.

Our Hedge Packs of 25 plants are ideal for small quantities (one pack is sufficient for 5 metres planted in a double staggered row) or are ideal for gapping up an existing hedge. Available in a 60-80cm size comprising 12 Hawthorn, 4 Field Maple, 3 Hazel, 3 Spindle and 3 Blackthorn.

Hedge packs are also available in the nursery at the larger size 90-120cm comprising 13 Hawthorn, 4 Field Maple, 4 Hazel and 4 Hornbeam.

For larger quantities our classic Country Hedge mix is available with 50% hawthorn and a combination of other species supplied in bundles of 25 plants.

Single species such as beech and hornbeam make attractive garden hedges . A variety of sizes are available, the largest usually used for hedging is 125-150cm. Evergreen plants are supplied at small sizes such as Yew 30-40cm and Box 20-30cm - well branched sturdy plants.

There are many advantages of hedge planting including benefits to wildlife - creating food, shelter and habitat; hedges provide design features in gardens, division of larger areas, shelter for seating areas and vegetable patches;  plus there is the benefit to the environment of soaking up air pollution in urban areas, and slowing wind and water erosion of soil.

Need advice? Follow the links above and telephone or visit to discuss your requirements.