Trees
Britain’s Other Greatest Trees
In what can only be a direct response to our post on the Skippinish Oak being made the Woodland Trust’s Tree of…
Read moreAuthor: Julian de Bosdari
Trees
Gardening
What Garden Zone Am I In?
Great Britain has one “temperate oceanic / maritime” climate and isn’t very big, but she is still varied enough that it helps…
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Trees
Forestry Commission Agroforestry Tree Species Guide
Agroforestry is primarily practised by farmers, but elements are increasingly applied to homesteads and large gardens If agroforestry is new to you,…
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Gardening
How to Rake Gravel Masterclass
Being a Rake-y Master in the garden looks easy when you see a professional Irishman on the job, but it’s a gravely…
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Hedge Plants
Habitat Aid Hedge Planting Video
Habitat Aid is our all-time favourite, award-winning, impact driven, Somerset based business founded in 2008, and their hedge planting video is educationally…
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Hedge Plants
The Hedge Laying Down With A Lamb
Hedge laying is pretty important to anyone with an old country hedge: it’s uncommon to see a garden hedge laid, but most…
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Gardening
What Are the Plants of Christmas?
Traditional is what you make it at the end of the day, but green and red is the classic theme, and in…
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Blog
HortWeek ‘End of Peat’ Podcast Series 1 & 2
HortWeek, the coolest name in the industry, produces 4 part peat-free garden podcast extravaganza Ashridge went through the Peat Free Thing on…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Lazy Sunday Fruit Tree & Rootstock Grafting Videos
Grafting is one of Mankind’s ancient technologies, generally done in Spring onto rootstocks planted a full year ago, or mature trees Grafting…
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Blog
HortWeek Releases the Final Two Parts of Their Peat-Free Garden Podcast
The Coolest Name in the Industry Saves the Best for Last Read our musings on parts 1 & 2. Full disclosure: peat bans…
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Hedge Plants
You Won’t Believe the Difference Between These Hedges
At home, we are used to formal evergreen hedges exactly like this yew one: @longleatofficialOur grounds team are hard at work trimming…
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Gardening
How To Use Horticultural Fleece on Pots
Wrap up outdoor potted plants to protect them from frost for WinterWhen Winter frosts are on their way, sensitive plants that aren’t…
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Gardening
Year Round Guide To Essential Garden Jobs
January Hedging Gently brush snow off evergreen hedging with an upward motion. Erect temporary windbreaks for new evergreen hedges. Wind loosens recently…
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Lavender
There are three groups of lavender grown in UK gardens. English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the hardiest, longest-lived, and best-scented — the right choice for most gardens, hedging, and cooking. Dutch lavender (Lavandula × intermedia) is larger, later-flowering, and has a more complex camphor scent prized for oils. French butterfly lavender (Lavandula stoechas) is the showiest but least hardy — best grown in a pot you can bring under cover in winter. Drainage and an annual hard prune in August are the two things that most determine how long any lavender lasts.
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Trees
Making Bonsai from Your Bareroot Trees
Somerset Bonsai Society is our absolute favourite Bonsai Society in Somerset. We love them so much that whenever they visit us, we…
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Blog
Ashridge: A Rural Nightmare Audiodrama
Tony Walker’s chilling series of supernatural stories is set in the probably fictional town of Ashridge, which we hope doesn’t exist just…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Self-Fertile Apple Trees That Pollinate Themselves
Apple pollination is usually not a concern in the UK, because there are so many orchard and crab apple trees around However,…
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Blog
Ashridge Nurseries Reviews 2024-25
Feefo, the gold standard of customer review platforms, has awarded us their 2025 Platinum Trusted Service Award Thank you very much to…
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Gardening
How to Aerate Your Lawn With A Garden Fork
Using a trusty garden fork to aerate your lawn is suitable for most gardens. It’s a nice, gentle workout that you can…
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Gardening
How To Make Leaf Mould
What is Leaf Mould?Raking up leaves is part of a gardener’s life. The best way to make use of all those leaves…
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Gardening
How to Scarify Your Lawn
Scarifying Your Lawn is Easy With a Springy Garden RakeLawn scarification in the UK is done in Autumn or Spring, about every…
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Garden Plants
How to Prune Lavender
Lavender is the most underpruned plant in the UK — and it's costing gardeners years of good growth. Most people give their lavender a nervous little trim with the kitchen scissors, terrified of cutting into brown wood. The result? A hedge that goes scrawny within a couple of years and needs replacing in four or five, when it should easily last fifteen to twenty. This guide breaks down the "three eights" rule, why English, Dutch, and French lavender all need pruning at completely different times of year, and how to tell the difference between wood that will regrow and wood that won't. Don't be afraid to cut hard — it's the single most important thing you can do for your lavender's longevity.
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Trees
Garden Plants
How To Start Dahlia Tubers In Spring
Start dahlias indoors in March–April for a 2–3 week head start, but it's often unnecessary — Ashridge's experts recommend direct planting in May for most UK gardeners, with blooms from July to November.
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Garden Plants
How to Dig Up & Store Dahlia Tubers Overwinter
Overwintering Dahlias: How to Store Tubers and Protect Them Through Winter Dahlias are tender perennials. The tubers survive from year to year…
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Garden Plants
Dividing Herbaceous Perennials
Digging up and dividing most summer-flowering herbaceous perennial plants is an excellent way to perk them up when they’re looking tired, giving…
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Bulbs
When do Different Bulbs Flower?
When Do Bulbs Flower? Start with snowdrops in January and you can have bulbs in flower right through to drumstick alliums in July — six months of colour from plants that need almost no maintenance. Our month-by-month chart shows exactly when each variety flowers in an average UK season, from the first crocus in a mild spell to the last tulips in May. With links to every variety we sell, it is the simplest way to plan a succession with no gaps. Read the full flowering chart →
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Bulbs
How to Plant and Grow Daffodil Bulbs
Daffodils and narcissi are the most popular flower bulbs grown in Britain: good value, very tough, and coming in a wide range…
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Bulbs
How to Plant Flower Bulbs at the Correct Depths
This video shows the right depths in pots or in the soil, and planting using a bulb planter tool.Read our how to…
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Bulbs
Winter Planting Snowdrops In The Green
Snowdrops in the green are lifted while they are growing: in leaf and quite possibly in flower.This is done because, providing they…
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Garden Plants
Dahlia Tuber Parts: Eyes and Crowns
Dahlia Tuber Eyes and Crowns: Understanding What You've Received You've just received your dahlia tuber from us. It looks like a wrinkly…
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Blog
Bulbs
How to Make a Bulb Lasagne
A bulb lasagne is a pot of flower bulbs planted in layers for successive flowering all Spring. A 30cm (12”) deep pot…
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Bulbs
Lifting and Storing Garden Bulbs Over Summer
Traditionally, many spring flowering bulbs, especially Tulips, were lifted (dug up) after flowering every year, stored over Summer when they are dormant,…
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Roses
Rose Black Spot Disease
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Plum Fruit Split
Plum Fruit split is a condition, not a disease, where the fruit is damaged by splits in the skin. Although they tend…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apple Scab & Pear Scab Disease
What is Apple Scab and Pear Scab?Apple Scab and Pear Scab are functionally the same, although the specific fungus is different: Apple…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Silver Leaf Diagnosis & Treatment
There is no need to be afraid of Silver Leaf disease, which rarely affects Cherry and Plum trees in gardens, and even…
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Trees
Horse Chestnut Tree Canker Disease
Horse Chestnut Canker, caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv aesculi, is the most serious disease affecting trees in the Aesculus family.…
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Garden Plants
How to Grow Clematis
How to Plant Clematis in Open Ground Clematis will grow well practically anywhere if you give them five things: soil preparation, correct…
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Garden Plants
How to Plant & Begin Training Climbing Honeysuckle
This video applies to all climbing honeysuckle varieties. Here, we are planting a 3 litre Lonicera, but it’s the same for any…
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Roses
Rose Replant Disease
What is rose replant disease? Rose replant disease is probably the most common example of specific replant disease, which can affect several…
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Gardening
How to Apply Rootgrow Fungi With Gel
When you buy woody plants from us, our basket butler calculates the amount of Rootgrow granules your order needs, and offers it…
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Gardening
Coral Spot Fungus Disease
Coral Spot IdentificationCoral spot’s small orange-pink pustules are very distinctive. The fungus is active and producing spores almost year round, but you…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Quince Leaf Blight Disease
What are these brown spots on my quince tree’s leaves and fruit? Quince Leaf Blight is the fungus Diplocarpon mespili, which ruin…
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Hedge Plants
Laurel Leave “Shot Hole” Disease
Why Are There Holes in My Laurel Leaves?If it looks like something is eating Swiss cheese style holes in your cherry laurel…
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Gardening
Powdery Mildew Disease
What is this White Fungus on my Trees and Hedges?Powdery Mildew is caused by a group of fungi that form a grey-white…
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Trees
Horse Chestnut Leaf Blotch
What are these brown spots on my conker tree’s leaves?Horse Chestnut Leaf Blotch is a fungal condition called Guignardia aesculi that affects…
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Hedge Plants
Box Blight Disease
Box Blight refers to two separate fungi that attack Common Box and Dwarf Box.It does not affect Box-Leaf Holly, nor Sweet Box.The…
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Garden Plants
Best Climbing Plants For Shade
Shade Loving Climbers for North Facing WallsThe North Wall is tricky for growing plants up because it gets no direct sun. This…
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Roses
Climbing Roses Vs Rambling Roses
What are the Differences Between Climbers & Ramblers?Rambling roses are much more wild in their DNA than Climbing roses, and this shows…
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Hedge Plants
Planting A Bareroot Mixed Native Country Hedge
How to Slit Plant bareroot whips like Hawthorn in mixed native hedges
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Bulbs
Growing & Planting Tulip Bulbs Guide
Tulip bulbs bring some of the most stunning Spring colours of any plant grown in Britain. They come with a guarantee to…
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Bulbs
How to Plant and Grow Allium Bulbs
Allium bulbs produce spectacular starburst flowers in late Spring and Summer, after the main flush of spring flowering bulbs.Planting Allium BulbsWhen to…
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Hedge Plants
Which Plants To Use in a Mixed Native Hedge
Most mixed native hedges are mainly hawthorn or blackthorn
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Hedge Plants
Prepare Soil For Planting Trees, Shrubs & Hedges
This article is primarily about preparing soil before planting trees (ornamental or fruiting), hedging, roses, and other shrubs.It won’t consider vegetable beds,…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Blueberries in the UK
How to Grow BlueberriesBlueberry plants require acidic soil, pH 5.5 or below, that is moist yet free draining, with lots of rich…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Train & Prune Blackberry Bushes
Blackberry bushes are easy to cut back, this page is not here to overcomplicate things.It’s just a matter of choosing what works…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning Gooseberries & Red/White Currants
Gooseberry bushes are pruned almost exactly the same way as Red & Whitecurrant bushes.Pruning is so important for getting good crops of…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Rhubarb
Rhubarb plants are perfect for beginners & low-maintenance lovers. For best results, we recommend that you dig your patch over at least…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Grow Raspberry Bushes
Intro to Raspberry GrowingThese point apply to almost all our raspberry plants: They fruit very heavily. Their fruit has an extremely high…
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Roses
Pruning & Trimming Bush Roses
Climbing roses are pruned differently, into a framework of long, ideally winding canes that cover its supports. Related guidesBest Rose Varieties for…
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Roses
Deadhead Repeat Flowering Roses
How to Deadhead a Repeating Rose Bush, With Some Summer PruningIn this example, we are using the vigorous, repeat flowering rambler, Narrow…
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Roses
Rose Pests and Diseases
Deer love the top shoots, buds and foliageLeaving ragged stems and bare branches as they go. They are particularly attracted to new…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Can I Grow A Fruit Tree From Seed?
Yes, but…Yes, you can grow a fruit tree from a seed or stone obtained from fruit in the supermarket, but you will…
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Gardening
Preparing Clay Soil
Why Clay Soil is Special Most soils are aquiferous: water can flow through them quite freely. When you observe a puddle on…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Planting Blackberries & Wire Training
Planting Blackberries Blackberry bushes tolerate most growing conditions found in the UK, and benefit greatly from anything to grow on for support,…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Grow Blackcurrant Bushes
How to Grow Blackcurrants BushesBlackcurrants are simple to grow, and the pruning regime is a bit different from pruning Red & Whitecurrants.…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Redcurrants & Whitecurrants
Currants are some of the most easily grown, and also pretty, little soft fruit bushes. Red & whitecurrants are grown differently from…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Pot Up Bareroot Strawberry Plants
When you order bareroot strawberry plants from us, you can either plant them straight outside in your strawberry beds and planters, or…
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Roses
Old Roses VS Antique Roses
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Roses
Planting Rose Bushes
Rose bushes are British gardeners’ favourite plant. In this complete guide to planting rose bushes, find out the best conditions for roses,…
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Roses
Pruning A Climbing Rose
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I prune a climbing rose?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Climbing roses flower on lateral stems that grow from main stems. Keep main stems as horizontal…
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Gardening
Slit Planting Vs Planting In A Trench Or Hole
Compare Slit Planting VS Trench Planting Slit Planting Used for bareroot hedging & trees under 80cm Mainly for country hedges & forestry…
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Trees
Looking After a Bay Tree Care Guide
Laurus nobilis, Sweet Bay or Bay Laurel, is a smart evergreen tree, easy to clip as a hedge, ideal for training into…
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Trees
Dutch Elm Disease
Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by Ophiostoma novo-ulmi and Ophiostoma ulmi fungi, which primarily attack members of the Ulmus family (Elm…
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Trees
Poplar & Willow Short Rotation Biomass
Planting Willow & Poplar for Biomass Wood FuelDetails on many biomass related subjects.Biomass fuel is living or recently dead organic matter, such…
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Trees
How to Plant a Tree With a Stake
Planting with a stake is optional but highly recommended.
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Hedge Plants
Best Time To Plant Hedges & Trees In the UK
“Which month is best for planting?” is an age-old debate!You can plant trees or hedges at any time of year. There are…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apply Grease to Fruit Trees to Protect them against Moths
Applying fruit tree grease from November onwards is used to trap a wide variety of winter moths before they can lay their…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Applying Winter Wash Fruit Tree Insecticide
How to Apply Winter Wash to Fruit TreesIt’s good to apply winter wash to your fruit and ornamental trees in the winter…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Looking After Fruit Trees
Essential Aftercare & Maintenance for Good CropsClean Up Leaves & PruningsWhen the crop is in, and winter is knocking on the door,…
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Trees
Buying Mature Trees
What Size Mature Tree Are You Looking For?When people want to buy a mature tree, they are usually thinking of the largest…
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Trees
Will Tree Roots Grow Through Concrete?
Tree roots will not grow through anything that is solid enough, including the concrete foundations of a modern building. Consider that tree…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning A Crab apple Tree
When to Prune Crab Apple TreesThis video demonstrates a crab apple tree, and the same principles apply to a lot of other…
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Trees
Native British Trees List
You can find all the native British trees listed here, and we grow and sell most of them. Definition of native VS…
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Trees
Black Walnut Tree Tolerant Plants
Do Black Walnut Trees Kill Other Plants?The allelopathic (harmful to other plants) nature of Juglans nigra, Black Walnut, is widely thought to…
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Trees
How To Pleach A Flat-Head Lime Tree
How to pleach a flat-headed Lime treePleaching trees creates a “hedge on stilts”. Many trees are suitable, and limes are ideal pleached…
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Trees
Transplanting Evergreen Trees & Shrubs
Moving Evergreens Without Killing ThemThis article is all about moving evergreens like box, yew or pyracantha.Moving plants is not complicated, but by…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Apply Fruit Tree Grease Bands to Protect them against Moths
Grease Bands are Convenient on Young Fruit TreesIf you apply grease bands to your young fruit trees, it will help prevent winter…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How To Grow ‘Brown Turkey’ Figs
The most popular fig variety in the UK for getting fruit from is the ‘Brown Turkey’ fig.The instructions for ‘Brown Turkey’ apply…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Fruit Tree Pollination Group Charts
Two Ways to Find Pollination Partners The main Pollination Checker Tool makes it easy for you to find partners for individual fruit…
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Gardening
Building Wire Supports To Grow Fruit On Walls, Fences & Posts
This post concentrates on fruiting plants, but the same principles apply to an ornamental “wall shrub”.How to start training fruit trees on…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Choose the Right Pear Trees for Your Garden
Grow Conference, then Comice, then Concorde.
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning Plum Trees In The UK
The Best Plum Tree Pruning VideosPlums are vigorous trees and respond well to pruning. If they are not pruned, they quickly get…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Pruning Tip Bearing Apple Trees
Most Apples are spur bearing; partial tips are like spursMost apples and pears are spur bearing: they are pruned “normally”, and are…
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
How to Plant A Fruit Tree
Fruit Tree PlantingWatch our step-by-step video showing you how to plant bush or half-standard sized fruit tree with a small 120cm tree…
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Trees
What do Bareroot Trees Look Like?
Bareroot trees look like sticks! Compare standard & sapling sizes
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Fruit Trees & Bushes
Growing Cordon Fruit Trees
Cordons are compact wire trained fruit trees, usually apple or pear
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