Wild Service Trees, Large

• Variety: Wild Service Tree, a rare native; the fruit are called chequers
• Common name: Wild Service Tree, Chequer Tree
• Latin name: Sorbus torminalis
• Type: Deciduous tree
• UK native: Yes, quite rare
• Mature height: 8-12m (26-40ft), over 20 to 50 years
• Spread: 4-8m
• Habit: Upright, rounded
• Foliage: Maple-like and dark green, turning reddish or yellow in autumn
• Flowers: White clusters, May into June
• Fruit: Small, brown and speckled. Eaten once bletted
• Soil: Moderately fertile and humus-rich: chalk, loam or sand, any pH. Tolerates dry conditions
• Position: Full sun or partial shade. Tolerates town air
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Roots: Grown on its own roots, not grafted
• Wildlife value: RHS Plants for Pollinators. Fruit for birds
• Sold as: Bareroot trees 200/250cm, and standards of 6/8cm and 8/10cm girth
• Plant: November to April, while dormant
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

The Wild Service Tree, Sorbus torminalis, is a rare native deciduous tree eventually reaching 8 to 12m with maple-like leaves, white flowers in May and June, and small brown fruit that are eaten after bletting. It grows well on chalk, loam or sandy soils and is happy in sun or partial shade. Ours are grown on their own roots.

Wild Service Trees, Large Standards

Sorbus torminalis, the Wild Service Tree, is a native deciduous tree with edible fruit.

It has a beautiful form, with upright, sweeping branches, coated in deeply textured bark. As the tree ages, the rough young bark begins to crackle into vaguely rectangular scales that gradually flake off, creating a sort of chequered effect that might be the root of one of its common names, the chequer or checker tree.

The broad, glossy, deeply toothed leaves look a bit like a maple and turn into a lovely range of bronze yellows and russet reds in autumn. It produces lots of small clusters (corymbs) of white flowers in May that point upwards out of the foliage, making them more visible for you and for the insects that they want to attract.

Although it's not grown for its fruit in modern times, a Wild Service tree's produce is a fun addition to any fruit lover's collection once you have all your essential fruit trees planted.
Very much one to share with the birds, the small fruit have a good texture and flavour after being kissed by frost, softening them: this is known as Bletting, same as with Medlar fruit.

It can reach a height of 8-12 metres.

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

Delivery season: Wild Service trees are delivered bareroot from late autumn to early spring, November to April.
Choosing a size: Small trees are cheaper, easier to handle and more forgiving of less than ideal aftercare, so they're best for a big planting project. If instant impact is your priority, or if you are only buying a few plants for use in a place where it's convenient to water them well in their first year, then you may as well use bigger ones. All our bareroot trees are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

Growing Wild Service Trees

Very flexible: it prefers deep, fertile, moist lowland sites, where it'll tolerate light shade, but will grow perfectly well in dry chalky or sandy soils as long as it has plenty of sun. It doesn't mind a bit of waterlogging in winter.

History & Trivia

People who are in the know about traditional British fruit call the brown berries that ripen in late autumn chequers (or checkers) and, prior to the use of hops, they were much in demand for brewing beer: many pubs still use the word chequers in their name.
They are one of our most interesting native fruits, similar to a date but with more of a fruity flavour. The trick is to eat them at the right time: when they are over-ripe and have been frozen and thawed a couple of times by frosts (or your freezer). This is called bletting (as you would with medlars), which is not the same as rotting (that's when bacteria and fungi get inside and muck it up), so don't let the squidgy texture put you off.

It has been claimed that the official country home of the incumbent Prime Minister, Chequers Court, is named after this tree, though this is probably a coincidence. Its other common name, the wild service tree, may have something to do with spring time church services and in some areas the word service has been replaced with sarvis.

Once common and widely harvested, Wild service trees are now quite rare in Britain, mostly found in old, undisturbed forests. Despite being native, its strong suckering habit is the main reason why it is still around, as the seeds are barely able to grow into mature trees without human assistance. They won't germinate if the winter isn't cold enough, and will die if the summer isn't the right blend of rain and sun, and not too cool and cloudy. On lucky years when all those conditions are met, most seedlings get eaten by fungi or slugs as soon as they begin to sprout. Finally, those that pull through their first year are typically out-competed for light by other plants. Research in Epping forest has shown that the wild service trees there have grown from the suckers of older versions of themselves over many centuries, with none of the trees studied having grown from seed during that time.

Standard trees are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level: their trunk's waist measurement. Unlike sapling trees and hedge plants, standards aren't measured by their height, which will vary quite a bit both between and within species.
So, a 6/8cm standard tree has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8cm and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10cm around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
On average, standard trees are 2-3.5 metres tall when they arrive, but we cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

Planting Companions

Wild service is one of three native Sorbus. Common Whitebeam is the chalk and coast tree, white under the leaf, and Wild Rowan is the one with red berries. Find a wild service in a wood and the wood has probably never been cleared, so its natural company is oak: see our oak trees, and the rest of the native British trees.

Why Ashridge?

Your wild service tree is grown on its own roots, not grafted, so it is wild service from root to tip. Ashridge Nurseries was established in 1949 and holds the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award. Bareroot trees are guaranteed for 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do wild service fruits need frost before you eat them?

They need to blet: to soften past ripe, as a medlar does. A few frosts do it, or a spell in the freezer. Richard Mabey found damson, apricot and tamarind in the taste.

Why are some pubs called The Chequers?

Wild service fruits are called chequers, and they flavoured beer before hops did. Whether the tree named the inns or the inns named the fruit, nobody is sure.

What does torminalis mean?

Good for colic, from the Latin tormina. The fruit was a stomach remedy long before anyone put it in beer, and the RHS still lists griping tree among the common names.

How big does a wild service tree grow?

8 to 12m tall and 4 to 8m across, the RHS says, taking 20 to 50 years over it. Ours are on their own roots, so that is the figure to plan for.

Does a wild service tree need clay soil?

No. The RHS lists it for chalk, loam and sand at any pH, and notes that it tolerates dry conditions and town air. Give it sun or light shade.