British Trees & Shrubs

As a rule of thumb the longer a tree or shrub has been here, the more species are dependent on it - which is why native British trees are so important in supporting biodiversity in the UK.

We think it's also important - not least for biosecurity - that when you buy these plants they are not only British grown, but grown in the UK from seed or cuttings from from trees which are growing wild here. In other words, that they have UK provenance and origin. This is true of all the native trees and shrubs we sell. All the growers we source native plants from are members of the Plant Healthy scheme.

Many of the plants here are ideal for hedges. We've listed these separately in our hedges section as well, which also includes some mixes to make things easier and more economic for you.

 

The Plants We Sell

We sell all native British trees and shrubs, which are listed below. You'll find the odd "archaeophyte" too - brought here before 1500. In addition to smaller sized trees we also offer many species as standards. They are all British grown by specialist nurseries from British stock - in other words, they have UK origin and provenance.

History

Until recently we thought that before early Iron Age clearances the dominant habitat here was dense wildwood. In all likelihood it probably actually looked much like it did around 1200; a patchwork of open woodland and scrub, and grazed areas with individual trees. This "wood pasture" was sympathetically managed throughout the Middle Ages and to us would have looked a familiar rural landscape.

Tree and Shrub Advice & Guides

You will find our section on tree sizes and how to plant your tree or shrub whips helpful as well as our FAQs, in addition to the resources below.

Thoughts on tree planting
Some does and don'ts about planting new woodland and plantations

What sort of hedge should I plant, and how should I do it?
Why and how to grow a native hedge

Annual hedge management
Managing your hedge for wildlife

Planting bare root trees (Video)
Our video guide on how to plant your new bare root tree and shrub plants

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