Most of our plants are delivered to you Bareroot in the Winter planting season, approximately November to March inclusive, depending on the weather and your location.
Pot grown plants are delivered Year Round, when they are in stock, or in the case of Lavender, in spring when planting conditions are optimal.
Some plants are available both bareroot and pot grown: we typically recommend the bareroot option, especially for large projects.
Hedging Plant / Sapling Tree Sizes:
All bareroot and pot grown hedging plants, or younger sapling trees, are measured by their height in centimetres above ground level when lifted & planted, in ranges of around 20cms, so 40/60cms, then 60/80cms, then 80/100cms etc.
We strongly suggest that you buy the smallest sized plants for large projects, and/or where watering and mulching your new hedge will be a challenge (note: if this is the case, you really must use mulch fabric). Little 40/60cms plants are much more likely to succeed in tough conditions than large 100/120cms ones. If you are planting into good conditions, and can easily water and mulch your plants, and/or if instant impact is your priority, then we recommend bigger plants.
Ornamental Tree Sizes:
Larger bareroot trees are called Standards, referring to the standard 'waist measurement' of their girth in centimetres at 1 metre above ground level.
A 6/8cm standard tree has a trunk that is between 6 and 8 centimetres in circumference, one metre from the ground. As a rough average for most trees, a 6/8 standard is over 2 metres tall, and an 8/10 standard is between 3 and 4 metres, but it depends on the tree.
Fruit Tree Sizes:
Most of our fruit trees are sold bareroot, in 3 sizes.
- The half-standard is the largest, has a straight trunk of about 1.20 metres, a branched head, and will mature into a tree about 4 metres high.
- The bush is like a half-standard, with a trunk about 60cms tall that then splits into the main branches. This matures into a more compact tree, about 3 metres high.
- The maiden is the smallest, youngest fruit tree you can buy. It has not formed significant branches yet. If you want to grow fans or espaliers, which we don't deliver, you need to begin with a maiden.
Suitable apple & pear varieties are also sold as ready-made cordons: as long as it is a spur bearing variety, you can turn any maiden into a cordon very easily.
Dwarf fruit trees & Wonder trees: A small selection of fruit trees are available in dwarf forms that are ideal for growing in large pots and small gardens. A wonder tree is a specific style of dwarf tree that uses both a dwarfing rootstock and a high graft point to create a tree form that is small, very low maintenance, and aesthetically pleasing. Dwarf & wonder trees are sold in pots.
Read about the rootstocks we use for our fruit trees.
Soft Fruit Sizes:
Berry bushes aren't measured by height: some of them need to be chopped back before delivery, and some are just very small by nature.
- Raspberries: Bareroot canes, pruned to 40 cms.
- Strawberries: Last year's rooted runners.
- All other soft fruit: 1-2 year old plants, graded by pot size unless sold bareroot.
Rose Sizes:
All of our named rose cultivars were budded or grafted 2 years before you receive them. Both bareroot and pot grown roses are pruned down to about 30cm high (excluding our standard stem/tree roses) before we deliver them.
*Please be advised that the tree diagrams/graphics provided are intended to offer a general representation of the approximate size and shape of the trees depicted. Actual trees may vary in appearance depending on factors such as variety, growth conditions, and environmental factors. Additionally, it's important to recognize that plants, including trees, are living organisms, and as such, each individual tree is unique. Variations in size, shape, colour, and other characteristics are natural and to be expected.