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 pretty, rounded tree, attractive both in blossom and in fruit. A British native, it is one of the ancestors of all our cultivated apples and is often seen in hedgerows. It makes a pretty specimen tree for the garden and is a good pollinator for other apples. It is a useful addition to woodlands, where it will support a range of insects and birds.
Site and soil
Prefers well-drained soil, but will cope well with heavier sites. Very hardy.
Leaf and bark
The leaves are ovate, mid-green 4-8cm long. The bark is dark brown, cracked into rectangular plates. Sometimes thorny.
Flower, seed and fruit
The saucer-shaped five petalled white flowers are tinged pink and open in May. The small round green fruits ripen in autumn to yellow, flushed red. They are very sour even when ripe.
Uses
Crab apples are too sour to eat raw, but can be made into jams or added to other fruits where their high pectin content ensures a good 'set'. The have also been added to cider and were an ingredient of the medieval drink Lamb’s Wool. The close-grained wood is prized for wood turning, and it is also valued as a sweet-scented fuel.
Wildlife
Bees are attracted to the flowers, and birds and small mammals eat the fruits. Insects shelter in the crevices of the bark where they are a 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.