Common Whitebeam Trees (Sorbus aria)Common Whitebeam Trees (Sorbus aria)Common Whitebeam Trees (Sorbus aria) 2

Common Whitebeam Trees, Large

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Delivered in Large Sizes
  • Native.
  • Sizes: Standards only.
  • Max. Height: 20m
  • Bareroot Delivery: Nov-Mar.
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Big trees over 2.5m tall are called Standards, measured by their trunk's girth in centimetres at 1 metre above soil level. 

In order of increasing size:

  • Half-Standard
  • 175/200cm Tall
  • 200/250cm Tall
  • 6/8cm Girth Standard
  • 8/10cm Girth Standard

Standard trees vary a lot in height depending on species, from something over 2.5m up to around 6m!

6/8cm Girth
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£114.99each
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1-2
3 - 9
10 +
£
£ 114.99
£ 99.98
£ 94.98
Available to order
Despatched From November 2025
8/10cm Girth
Bareroot
£149.98each
Qty
1-2
3 - 9
10 +
£
£ 149.98
£ 144.96
£ 139.98
Available to order
Despatched From November 2025

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Rootgrow Mycorrhizal Friendly Fungi From £5.88

Description

Sorbus Aria Standard Trees

The common Whitebeam, Sorbus aria, is a fairly compact, native tree that keeps a nice rounded, upright shape without any attention, spreading a little (as we all do) when they get older. In early spring the new leaves that burst from the buds have a fuzzy white tomentose covering, giving the tree the appearance of being in flower from a distance. These fine hairs remain on the bottom surface of the leaves, hence the name and this is a characteristic of the Whitebeam varieties in our range. The foliage is well structured and quite rigid, pointing upwards slightly to expose their undersides, creating a shifting silver lining as the leaves flutter in the breeze - "the sudden-lighted whitebeam", as the poet George Meredith described it.

Then flat, circular clusters of creamy white flowers appear in late spring maturing by the end of summer into glossy green berries. These flush red in September and attract a variety of garden birds. When the leaves are still green, the berries look very decorative against them and make a good addition to a flower arrangement.In autumn the foliage colours nicely and the berries provide continuing interest. Rounded off with grey, fissured bark with a reddish tinge on new growth Whitebeam is one the best all-rounders in the UK. In the wild, it is usually found on chalky sites where it is very drought resistant

Browse our variety of large trees or our full range of trees.

Growing Common Whitebeam

Any site with drainage will do, but like all members of the Sorbus family, Common Whitebeam is happiest on chalky or other alkaline ground. They are fully hardy, happy on the coast and exposed windy sites - all round a very useful tree. Like most trees, it does establish faster on fertile soil, so it is always a good idea to mix in plenty of well-rotted manure and or compost when planting. A mature Whitebeam tree will reach about 15 metres, 50 feet and grows pretty fast, reaching its full height in 30-40 years.

Did You Know? 

In the past, hungry country folk would blet and eat the fruit, but we can't recommend it: Sobus torminalis, on the other hand, is one of our most interesting native fruit. A much more useful trait of the Whitebeam tree is its extremely hard wood, which was once the timber of choice for machines like watermills.

How Standard Trees are Measured:
All the plants in the ornamental trees section are graded as standardss, which means that they are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level (basically, their trunk's waist measurement). They aren't measured by their height, which will vary. So, a 6/8 standard has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8 centimetres and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10 centimetres around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height. Most standards are between 2 - 3.5 metres tall, but this is just an average - all trees are different... These are the biggest size that you can order: but for mass plantings, you can also buy smaller, sapling Whitebeam trees.

Planting Instructions

Please watch our tree planting video for full planting instructions.

What to expect

It's Spring Planting Season 2025

Pot grown plants on the nursery

Pot Grown & Plug Plants Delivered

From seedlings in jumbo plugs; Dahlia tubers; small P9 & 1 Litre plants; up to trees in big 15L pots
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We work with large batches of orders to save you money. Lead times for plants in stock are around 2 weeks
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When your order is ready, it's expertly packed by Rodney and delivered by next day courier; if anything goes wrong, call Dan on 01963 359 444
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Spring is perfect planting time

Roots love the warm soil; the plant has time to settle in before mid-Summer heat
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