Summary
Our plants are usually measured by height - '30/40cm' means a plant is between 30cm and 40cm high measured from soil level to the top of the plant - the roots are not included in the measurement.
Plants come in a variety of forms, the main being; bare root, root ball, cell grown and container (pot). Bare Root and Root Ball are available from November to March when the plant is dormant. Cell Grown is available September to May. Containers (pots) are available all year round.
RHS Bare Root
HedgeNursery.co.uk is the only provider of RHS Bare Root Hedging Plants under licence granted by the Royal Horticultural Society. RHS Bare Root plants, taken from cuttings of existing stock or as seed with a local provenance (see
Forestry Commission seed zone 403, 404), are grown in rich Herefordshire soil, on a 220 acre farm, and rotated with pigs to help remove the need for fertilizers.
These plants are cared for with regular undercutting, transplanting and pruning. The crops are irrigated from local stream water, taken as winter run-off, and stored for the dry summer months. There are no polytunnels, heating or peat used in the process. This low input growing helps reduce the impact on local resources.
Steve, the head nurseryman, collects many of the seed himself and his son can even tie the provenance of the horse chestnuts to an exact tree! Plants are lifted by Steve and his staff and delivered directly from the fields, to ensure they are fresher than stored imported plants.
Bare root plants are lifted to order from November until March when they are dormant. They are then carefully graded by height, batched into bundles of 25 or 10, boxed and dispatched straight to your door within 72 hours of picking to ensure freshness.
RHS Bare root hedging is delivered without soil on the roots, during the months of
November to March when the plants are dormant. We recommend that all
RHS Bare root hedging plants should be planted
as soon as possible as the plant is still alive and the roots need to be kept moist.
RHS Bare root is the most efficient way of ordering planting material; no pot, no peat, no heat just plants in their basic form produced outdoors, hardy as nature intended.
The main advantage of
RHS Bare root hedging is the cost. These plants cost less to produce due to cheaper production, handling and transport costs. All the plants that we sell bare root respond well to this type of harvesting. Orders ahead of 1st November will be stored to guarantee an early delivery date.
Bare root is sold by age and height
| (1+1) |
1 year old seedling lined out for 1 year - in most cases a 2 year old plant 40-60cms or 60-80cms height is the best choice and is the staple norm. |
| (1+0 LD) |
1 year old seedling "Low Density" grown at wide spacing and undercut during the growing season - a cheaper specification suitable when planting where weed competition will be less intense, soil shallow or on exposed windy sites. |
| (1u1) |
1 year old seedling undercut and grown in situ for 1 further year - a 2 year old plant - gives a slimmer, straighter plant. |
| (1+0) |
1 year old seedling |
| (0/1) |
1 year hardwood cutting |
| (1+2) |
1 year old seedling lined out for 2 years - a 3 year old plant - a stocky bushier plant. |
Root ball
Root balled plants have an advantage that as they come with soil in the root ball, their original site can be replicated. Root balled plants can only be moved when they are dormant (November to March). When planting ensure that the plants are in a slightly raised manner so that the roots will not drown or suffocate. The planting holes should be dug twice as wide than the root ball and the same depth as the root ball. Root balled plants are heavier than bare root so usually have a heavy item delivery charge.
Cell Grown
What are Cell Grown Plants?
- Cell Grown Plants (CGPs) are raised in special small containers (or cells) , filled with a growing medium. The cells are especially designed to prevent root spiralling and promote fibrous root growth.
- Although CGP’s have been used all over the world for many years, particularly in North America, Canada and Scandanavia, they have only been available in significant numbers in the UK since the early 1990’s.
- Cell Grown Plants outperform bare-root plants because they come with a fully functional root system. Bare-root plants inevitably suffer damage and stress when they are lifted from the nursery beds. The root systems on CGPs remain intact, and the fine fibrous feeding roots are sent out with the plant enabling rapid establishment once planted out. There is relatively little check when a CGP is planted out compared to a bare-root plant.
- Generally, the age of CGPs tend to be younger than bare-root stock and the sizes offered are on average, smaller. Commonly available sizes are 20-40cms and 40-60cms plants for broadleaved trees whilst shrubs are generally trimmed back to encourage sideshoots and are sold as 15-30cms plants. Conifers are generally made available as 10-20cms and 20-40cms plants.
- What is important in a plant is the root to shoot ratio. The larger the plant, the more difficult it is to achieve this balance whilst retaining a root system that can be easily planted. Although CGPs may on average be smaller than bare-root plants, they have been found to establish well – especially in exposed sites - where larger plants can suffer due to a root system which finds difficulty in keeping the shoot supplied with moisture and nutrients.
- Over the past decade CGPs have gained wide popularity amongst foresters, landscapers and also nurserymen who use them for accelerated production of 2litre stock.
The Benefits of Using Cell Grown Grown Plants
- Cell grown plants can be safely graded and despatched from the nursery all year round without damage to the roots.
- They may be safely planted over an extended season, i.e. from September to May or even longer provided they do not experience drought conditions.
- Very high establishment percentage will be achieved, i.e. minimal losses.
- The plants do not “check” on planting, hence rapid early growth is made.
- They are easy to plant and little, if any, ground cultivation is required.
- If planting is delayed the plants can be held for several weeks provided the roots do not dry out.
- The root plug contains both naturally occurring mycorrhizae ( a symbiotic fungus which enhances the absorption of nutrients by the feeding root hairs) and added fertiliser.
- Our growing containers are designed to eliminate root-spiralling, thus improving tree stability in the field.
- Our special packing systems permit and ensure careful handling of plants in transit.
- We specialise in producing native trees from British seed sources of known provenance.
- Our computerised production management and stock control system ensures complete traceability from seed collection to plant delivery.
Container (Pot)
The advantage of using plants grown in pots is that 100% of the roots are in the containers and that the plants is well established in the container, ready for planting out. The main disadvantage of container-grown plants is the possibility of deformed roots. "Root bound" plants have roots circling inside the container. The entangled roots are a physical barrier to future root growth and development. If this condition is not corrected at planting time, the plant may experience slow growth and establishment because of the girdled roots. Some form of root mass disturbance is recommended before planting.
Instant Hedging
This is the premium range of hedging. Plants are grown together in troughs, usually of one metre lengths as a single rootball. The hedge is ready clipped at the sides, so all you need to do is plant and cut the top to the height required. These hedges come direct from the nursery on a pallet.