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Laburnum, Laburnum anagyroides, is a small tree with short strings of yellow flowers.
Wild seedling Laburnums are too variable.
This is a good tree for a small garden and it will grow almost anywhere. Mature Laburnums are draped in densely packed, foot-long hanging chains of yellow flowers in May and June. The flowers hang in bunches from a head of young leaves, creating a rippled lemon and lime effect. The flowers ripen into hard seed pods, which look like brown runner beans. All parts of the Laburnum are poisonous and bitter tasting.
Laburnums are native to Southern Europe and have been cultivated in Britain since the 1500s. Laburnum heartwood from old trees is valuable; it is very dark brown and in the past it was known as false ebony. The sapwood is pale and creamy, so woodworkers can use the two tones to create interestingly coloured objects.
Growing Laburnum plants:
You can grow your plants in any soil, apart from really wet places. Laburnums are a member of the pea family and their roots fix nitrogen into the soil, so they are the perfect tree for sites with poor fertility. They like chalky soil and mature trees are drought hardy. They are shade tolerant, but they need half a day of sun to flower really well.
Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you plant a hedge several months in advance, especially if the soil is poor. Destroy the weeds first: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough and a glyphosate based weed-killer is the best way to remove them. Then dig the soil over; remove rocks, roots and other rubbish. Mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades. If your soil is rich, you don't have to dig it over, but killing all the weeds is still necessary.
Watch our video on how to plant a garden hedge for full details. The plants in this video are delivered pot-grown, but planting out bareroot stock is essentially the same.
Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.
Hedge Planting Accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
You can buy a hedge planting pack with sheets of mulch fabric and pegs to hold it down.
If you are planting in an area with rabbit and/or deer, you will need to use a plastic spiral guard for each plant, supported by a bamboo cane.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore.
Read our full terms and conditions here.
Delivery: Our standard delivery charges are:
*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.
Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.
Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.
Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week in summer if there is no heavy rain.
Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.
Small box
(Orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings)
£7.20
including VAT per order
FREE
For ORDERS
Over £60 inc VAT
Standard box
(Bareroots up to
1.2m)
£11.40
including VAT per order
FREE
For ORDERS
Over £60 inc VAT
Large box
(Pots up to
and incl. 7.5L)
£15.00
including VAT per order
FREE
For ORDERS
Over £100 inc VAT
Trees & Hedging
(Bareroot plants and trees
over 1.2 metres in height)
£18.00
including VAT per order
FREE
For ORDERS
Over £120 inc VAT
Pallets
(Root balls, large pots,
trees etc)
£60.00
including VAT per order
FREE
For ORDERS
Over £240 inc VAT
Let us email you once or twice a week with our latest special offers & gift ideas, and/or our gardener's newsletter with advice & how to videos, and we'll increase the guarantee on your plants to 5 years if you bear with us as a subscriber. Standard terms & conditions apply, etc etc.
Plants will usually be available to order before they are ready for delivery. Order at any time, and we won't take payment until your plants are ready to be shipped.
We are a Somerset based mail order nursery, specialising in hedging, trees, shrubs, fruiting plants, roses, lavender & flower bulbs. We deliver across mainland Wales, Scotland, England & the Isle of Wight.
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