Hedging your bets (or betting your hedges) » Trees

Which Laurel goes where?

Edward — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:53:32 +0000

At Ashridge Trees HQ, we have a very advanced system for logging all the queries that come in from our customers. Her name is Frances and we’d be in deep trouble without her, so please be nice to her when you give us a call. One question that she’s heard a few times is about [...]

Which Laurel goes where? is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

Fruit Trees and the Mile High Club

julian — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:00:40 +0000

You will often hear people say that you can’t grow apple trees at more than 500 feet above sea level. While there is a germ of truth in this – as in many old wives’ tales – it is only a germ. I know of an enormously successful commercial orchard that grows at beween 800 [...]

Fruit Trees and the Mile High Club is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

Who will buy my apples?

julian — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:17:09 +0000

Guide to fruit tree rootstocks It is about this time of year that the signs go up in nurseries and garden centres around the country, announcing the arrival of the main apple harvest. And thousands of people boldly go forth to buy their apple trees (if you recognise the parallels with Star Trek here, it [...]

Who will buy my apples? is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

Fruit Trees at Altitude

julian — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:01:54 +0000

We get hundreds of enquiries a year about growing fruit trees at altitude and our andwers usually start off with something like: “Unfortunately your location sounds beautiful but (from the perspective of fruit trees) terrible. You site is high up and almost certainly windy given that you are south facing and prevailing winds are south-westerly….” [...]

Fruit Trees at Altitude is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

Open Day at West Bradley Orchards

julian — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:39:36 +0000

PRESS RELEASE September 2009 Apple Harvest Day The apple harvest in Somerset begins in earnest in early September, and to celebrate the wonderful bounty of one of Somerset’s finest products The Orchard Pig, at West Bradley Orchards, near Glastonbury, is hosting a day of events for all the family. The orchards will be open for [...]

Open Day at West Bradley Orchards is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

1 Easy Way to get Better Fruit

Edward — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:02:35 +0000

Over the years, we have often heard a story very similar to this one: a first time fruit tree owner was delighted at the sight of their trees coming into maturity, flowering beautifully and being courted by all manner of bees and butterflies before becoming weighed down with piles of slowly but surely swelling fruit. [...]

1 Easy Way to get Better Fruit is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

A Stake a Stake, my kingdom for… a Stake?

julian — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:04:44 +0000

People seem to think that every newly-planted tree needs a stake. They are sometimes (but not always) right as despite lots of writing to the contrary, staking is not always the best thing to do for your tree. Here are a few reasons why. Staked trees: tend to have a smaller root system than unstaked ones they also tend [...]

A Stake a Stake, my kingdom for… a Stake? is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

Beware the Ides of September… Trees & Storm Damage

julian — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:44:53 +0000

I had this all ready written about 2 months ago (because it was going to be topical now) and then forgot it. Hopefully the warning will go unneeded (as opposed to unheeded). The Autumn equinox passed almost unnoticed (apart from it being the nicest day of the "summer" so far). But the equinox in September [...]

Beware the Ides of September… Trees & Storm Damage is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

Lighting Trees

julian — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:10:02 +0000

Uplighting is the most commonly used garden lighting technique, for shrub borders and trees especially. By uplighting trees, one exploits a unique opportunity to add vertical emphasis and drama in a garden lighting scheme. Trees with an open habit allow light to fully display the branch structure, while the contrast of colour between subjects can [...]

Lighting Trees is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees

Top Tips for Tree Planting

julian — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:57:13 +0000

The tree planting season is nearly upon us, so it is time to brush up your tree planting technique. By the way, most of this applies to shrubs, hedging, roses and fruit as well. 1. When your plants arrive, trim roots and stems that are damaged. Clean cuts lessen the chance of disease. 2. When [...]

Top Tips for Tree Planting is a post from: Hedging Plants & Fruit Trees from Ashridge Trees