If you do not qualify for trade rates, immediate payment by credit or debit card via Sage Pay is required, or you may request contact from the office to make payment over the phone.
For customers who have been accepted for trade rates, we offer several ordering and payment options, including:
Immediate payment by credit or debit card via Sage Pay, our payment service provider.
Order on account (available to credit account customers only).
Request contact from the office & make payment over the phone.
Place order to reserve stock & request a call back to discuss timings, with payment only required upon despatch.
Note: Plant specifications and prices below relate to last season and will be updated ahead of the 2022-2023 season once availability has been determined.
Plants will be available to pre-order for the 2022-2023 planting season. Sign up to receive notification when pre-ordering goes live.
Minimum Order Value
Please note that there is a minimum order value of £50.00 + VAT, excluding delivery.
Delivery
Delivery to UK mainland is included for stock orders over £1500.00 + VAT (subject to postcode zones & surcharges). For full details on delivery please view our delivery page.
A handsome, fast-growing large tree, sometimes seen in parks and gardens, the Italian Alder is often regarded as the finest of the species. Native to southern Italy, the Italian Alder has an attractive conical shape, providing good winter interest, and glossy leaves. Its tolerance of both a wide range of soils and of urban pollution makes it a useful tree for the reclamation of derelict sites as well as a specimen tree for parks and woodland.
Site and soil
Tolerant of a wide range of soils, including chalk, the Italian Alder also does well on compacted urban sites and derelict land. It copes well with pollution in towns, and its resistance to wind makes it useful for screening and hedges.
Height and spread
After 10 years: 9m x 5m After 20 years: 16m x 6m
Leaf and bark
Deciduous, dark green glossy, heart-shaped leaves, 4cm long. The bark is smooth and grey, with short vertical cracks.
Flower, seed and fruit
The yellow-brown male catkins are the longest of all the alders (7.5 – 10cm) and are borne in groups of 3-6 between February and April before the leaves appear. The hard green fruits are 2.5cm long, ripening to brown ‘cones’ which remain on the trees over winter.
Uses
The Italian Alder makes an excellent specimen tree in parks, large gardens, woodland and towns, where it copes well with pollution and compacted soil. It is also useful for windbreaks and planting in coastal areas, and for large, wind-tolerant hedges. Good for reclaiming derelict and brownfield sites.
Wildlife
The catkins of Italian Alder provide early pollen for insects and the over-wintering cones are a good food source for birds.
The main reasons for buying protection is to protect the plants against:
Pests
Spraying
Strimming
Pests
When it comes to deciding what protection to choose the golden rule is to choose the product dependent on which pest you are protecting against. The below will help you in deciding what height of protection you will need.
Vole, Mice 20cm
Rabbit 60cm
Hare 75cm
Roe Deer, Muntjac 1.20m
Fallow Deer 1.50m
Pest & Minimum Protection Height
Protection Type Where more than one size is listed, the wider diameter protection is recommended for taller, bushier plants.
Support Required Taller support is recommended for use in sandier, lighter soils and wider/stronger support should be used at exposed sites.
Tubex tree shelters offer the benefit of not only protecting against animal damage, they also ensure that herbicides do not come into contact with the plants during spraying.
The main reason for spraying is weed control, however, there are other options available to suppress weeds, such as weed control matting.
Strimming
Young plants should be protected from damage caused when strimming. To protect plants solely for strimming, our strimmer guards are the ideal product.