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.
Possibly the most graceful and elegant British native tree, sometimes called 'The Lady of the Woods'. Fast-growing, the Silver Birch has a light canopy, which casts dappled shade allowing other plants to grow beneath it, pendulous branches and golden yellow autumn leaf colour. The peeling white bark and delicate tracery of branches make this tree attractive even in the depths of winter; a mature tree covered in hoar frost is a memorable sight.
Site and soil
The Silver Birch prefers light, free-draining sandy soils, including acid sands, but should do well on all but the heaviest of ground. It copes well with exposed situations and high elevations.
Height and spread
Below are the approximate stages of growth, assuming sited in suitable conditions for this species;
After 10 years: 8m x 3m After 20 years: 18m x 4m
Leaf and bark
Diamond-shaped, sharply toothed leaves open palest green, darkening to mid-green by midsummer, then turning golden yellow before leaf fall in autumn. The bark is white with horizontal lines and dark diamond-shaped cracks. The white bark peels to reveal pale orange young bark beneath.
Flower, seed and fruit
The yellow-brown catkins open in March-April, the males about double the length of the female at 3cm. The female catkins disintegrate on fruiting and the tiny seeds are dispersed by the wind.
Uses
Specimen tree, woodland, shelter belt for younger, slower-growing trees. The wood is used for plywood and furniture making, and for handles for tools and brushes. The bark is used for roofing in Scandinavia, and an oil from the bark is used in the preparation of leather; it has insect repellent properties. Charcoal from the wood was once used in the manufacture of gunpowder, and the twigs form the brushwood fencing on racecourses and besoms. Birch has several medicinal uses and is currently being researched for its effectiveness in treating certain cancers and HIV.
Wildlife
The Silver Birch is an ecologically important species. Its light canopy allows a wide range of plants to flourish beneath it on the woodland floor, attracting many birds, insects and small mammals. It is an important pioneer species, rapidly colonising suitable open ground. It forms effective shelter for slower-growing trees like oak and beech.
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.