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Japanese Maple Seed (purple dissect)
Acer palmatum atrop dissectumPrice range: £5.00 through £15.50 inc. VATJapanese Maple is a slow growing small tree/shrub with broad arching habit (sometimes looks like a large purple mushroom). Very fine purple-bronze leaves colour to orange in autumn. Excellent in small gardens. Needs no pruning but appreciates mulching with compost in spring.
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Japanese Maple Seed (purple leaved)
Acer palmatum atropurpureumPrice range: £5.00 through £12.00 inc. VATPurple Japanese Maple is the most popularly grown of the Japanese Maples. Leaves are a bronze-crimson throughout the summer before turning brilliant red in the autumn. It makes an elegant large deciduous shrub, often multi-stemmed and is quite slow-growing. Because the shade it casts is quite light, under-planting is usually successful, especially with spring bulbs.
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Japanese Maple var. dissectum Seed
Acer palmatum (dissectum)Price range: £5.00 through £9.00 inc. VATThe Dissect Japanese Maple is a small deciduous tree or shrub with delicate, ferny 5 or 7 lobed bright green leaves. They turn beautiful vibrant red orange and yellow colour in autumn. It usually produces a mushroom-shaped tree which can be under-planted with bulbs effectively. Planted in semi-shade and in shelter, this is a fine garden plant with long season of interest.
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Japanese Quince Seed
Chaenomeles japonica£5.00 inc. VATJapanese Quince, also known as Japonica, is a small, low growing, thorny shrub with bright orange red flowers, appearing very early in spring. These develop into rounded yellow fruits in the autumn. This deciduous shrub has small oval mid green leaves. Pruning can be done in the spring after flowering, or carefully in winter whilst making sure that the flower spurs are not being chopped off. Although Chaenomeles doesn’t flower as well in a shady spot, it makes a useful shrub for a north wall.
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Japanese Zelkova Seed
Zelkova serrataPrice range: £5.00 through £11.00 inc. VATZelkova is a medium sized graceful wide spreading tree with a round crown and smooth grey bark. The slender oval leaves are up to 12cm long and have narrow pointed teeth. In autumn they turn a bronze red. It is related to Elm (Ulmus) but has proven to be resistant to Dutch Elm disease and so is suggested as a substitute. Pollution tolerant so can be used as a street tree. In Japan it is used as a valuable timber tree.
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Judas Tree Seed
Cercis siliquastrum£5.00 inc. VATThe Judas tree is a medium sized deciduous tree or large shrub which becomes wreathed in lilac flowers in late spring, sprouting even directly from the main trunk, before the heart- shaped leaves emerge. Purple tinted seed pods develop in autumn.
pic By Kousvet – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia
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Korean Pine Seed
Pinus koraiensis£8.50 inc. VATKorean Pine is an ornamental Pine with long blue needles arranged in groups of 5. When young it grows in a pyramidal shape, but branches become more horizontal with age. Large cones are produced towards the end of branches, ripening to 11cm long. The seeds contained in the cones are large and used in cooking, like Pinus pinea.
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Lodgepole / Beach Pine Seed
Pinus contortaPrice range: £5.00 through £14.00 inc. VATLodgepole Pine is a medium sized tree with short branches and paired yellowish green leaves. The cones appear in clusters and the tree is often grown in coastal areas. Pictures show cones, male flowers (cream coloured)and female flowers(pink/purple)
pic courtesy of MPF, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Not for forestry purposes.
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Maidenhair Tree Seed
Ginkgo bilobaPrice range: £5.00 through £9.00 inc. VATThe Maidenhair is an ancient species of tree easily recognised by its unusual fan shaped leaves which develop a striking yellow colour in autumn. It was around when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and, although it doesn’t look like it, is classed as a conifer. The male and female flowers occur on different trees, so both are needed to produce fruit. When produced, the berries are edible but smell dreadful! When young, the growing tip can be damaged by cold winds, so plant in a sheltered spot, in sun or semi-shade. Reported to have an effect on cognitive function if taken as a supplement (Chinese medicine), but there is no scientific evidence for this at present.
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Monkey Puzzle / Chile Pine Seed
Araucaria araucanaPrice range: £9.50 through £20.00 inc. VATThe Monkey Puzzle is unique in its appearance and is much sought after. It is protected in its native Chile. The open network of branches, arranged symmetrically are covered in the sharp, scale-like leaves. Quite slow growing but will reach a good height. The seed is huge and a lovely colour and can be eaten. This has now been christened ‘The Marmite tree’ – you either love it or….not
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Monterey Pine Seed
Pinus radiataPrice range: £6.00 through £22.00 inc. VATMonterey Pine is the most widely planted pine in the world, although it is endangered in its natural habitat. It is extremely important for timber production Older trees make a good windbreak. In UK , grows best in areas with mild wet winters, in fertile sites. In the wild it grows on the Californian coastal fringe and is one of the trees in which Monarch butterflies overwinter. It’s huge cones open in heat, but tend to stay on the tree for years. They are an uneven shape at the base. The needles grow in groups of 3, fresh green close to and blackish from afar. On mature trees the bark develops very deep fissures.
Cone pic courtesy of S. Rae from Scotland, UK/CC BY 2.0
Not for forestry purposes.
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Mountain Pine (Pumilio) Seed
Pinus mugo pumilioPrice range: £5.00 through £19.00 inc. VATA dwarf form of the Mountain Pine that often grows prostrate but can reach 2m in height, slowly. Great for adding substance and winter interest to alpine and scree gardens and works well in containers. Shortish dark green needles look fine in the frost
pic courtesy of UUSDA-NRCS PLANTS DATABASE/ Herman, D.E. et al. 1996. North Dakota tree handbook. USDA NRCS ND State Soil Conservation Committee; NDSU Extension and Western Area Power Admin., Bismarck, ND., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Norway Spruce Seed
Picea abiesPrice range: £5.00 through £17.00 inc. VATNorway Spruce is the traditional and most widely grown Christmas tree and makes a good stand-alone tree. It is used as a prickly security hedge in many alpine villages. It makes a virtually impenetrable barrier and doesn’t need much pruning or trimming once the tops have been taken out.
Not for forestry purposes.
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Oriental Spruce Seed
Picea orientalisPrice range: £5.00 through £10.00 inc. VATOriental Spruce is a large densely branched tree with branches and dark green leaves down to ground level. The needles are short and tightly packed too, giving a neat and tidy effect. The young cones are 10cm long and purple, maturing to brown, curved. A seedling was selected, golden needled, which has been vegetatively propagated to give a named cultivar ‘Skylands’
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Pacific Silver Fir Seed
Abies amabilisPrice range: £6.00 through £25.00 inc. VATPacific Silver Fir is a native of north-west America In Europe it is grown as an ornamental tree. It is quite often found growing with Douglas Fir. Amabilis means beautiful and it can resemble Abies nordmanniana, with dark green soft needles, white undersides. The timber is not very useful for construction, just for pulp. Sometimes grown for the Christmas market.
pic courtesy of Orjen at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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Pere David’s Maple Seed
Acer davidii£5.00 inc. VATPere David’s Maple is one of the Snakebark Maples. It grows to be a small deciduous tree or large shrub, often multi-stemmed. Leaves are pointed and have three barely noticeable lobes. Autumn colours can be spectacular orange and yellow. The bark is green with obvious cream and white stripes, better on younger trees. It looks a bit like snake-skin. This tree is a worthwhile addition to a small garden.
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Red / Canadian Maple Seed
Acer rubrum£5.00 inc. VATRed or Canadian Maple is a large deciduous tree with dark green upper leaf surfaces, bluish underneath and red petioles (leaf stalks) It takes on autumn colour of scarlet red early in the season and can be quite outstanding. In spring the flowers appear before the leaves and are pinkish red giving this tree 2 seasons of interest. Needs space to grow and has quite a shallow root run so thrives in a moist soil
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Scots Pine Seed
Pinus sylvestrisPrice range: £5.00 through £20.00 inc. VATScots Pine is the only pine native to Britain and is easily recognised by its attractive reddish bark. It’s needles grow in pairs and are quite long when the tree is young and fast growing, but become shorter growing with age. It has a conical growth habit when young, making it popular for Bonsai production and increasingly for use as a Christmas tree. When mature the tree makes a wonderful architectural shape. Once extensively covering land in Scotland, there are now only a few remaining ancient Caledonian Forests due to the iconic Scots Pine being used as a timber tree. Conservation bodies and landowners are trying to rectify this. (Trees for Life)
Not for forestry purposes.
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Shortleaf Pine Seed
Pinus echinataPrice range: £6.00 through £30.00 inc. VATThe tree has very strong roots, and thus it is able to withstand high winds; additionally, the tree can survive in very dry conditions. The roots are able to reach great depths to search for water. It is believed the roots are this long due to the wide range of the species that consequently experiences varying climate
Shortleaf pine can be found in a variety of soils including, stiff clay, gravel, and sand. Although the species is not soil-specific, they do not thrive in wet or very poorly drained conditions
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Siberian Pea Tree Seed
Caragana arborescens£6.00 inc. VATSiberian Pea tree/Caragana arborescens can grow into a small tree but is more often a shrub. It thrives in any conditions especially in exposed dry situations. The small, pea-like, scented yellow flowers develop into long narrow seed pods. It is a legume and so fixes nitrogen into the soil and can be used to enrich poor soils. The small seeds can be eaten, when cooked, and were used by immigrants to the US whilst they travelled. It is now thought of as an invasive species in America!
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Sichuan Pepper Seed
Zanthoxylum simulans£5.00 inc. VATSichuan Pepper or Chinese Prickly Ash grows into a wide-spreading, deciduous shrub with pinnate leaves similar to Ash. Its branches are slightly hanging and are covered in large, flat spines. Bunches of tiny yellow green flowers appear in May and June, followed by warty reddish fruit. Autumn colour is red and yellow All parts are aromatic and the ground up fruit is a more pungent pepper than Black pepper and a constituent of Chinese ‘Five Spice’. Used against various maladies in oriental medicine.
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St Lucie Cherry Seed
Prunus mahaleb£5.00 inc. VATThe Mahaleb or St Lucie Cherry is a small deciduous tree covered in fragrant white flowers in spring followed by dark coloured fruit in early summer. The seed inside the hard cherry stone has the flavour of bitter almonds and has medicinal qualities apparently. The wood has an outstanding grain which is used for pipes and walking sticks. Records of the tree date back as far as 900 AD in the middle east.
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Swamp Cypress Seed
Taxodium distichumPrice range: £5.00 through £10.00 inc. VATThe Swamp Cypress is an ideal conifer for wet soils. It is the dominant tree in the everglades of Florida and introduced to the UK in the mid 1600s. In the autumn, the soft leaflets fade to a beautiful bronze and then brown in autumn before dropping – a rare deciduous conifer. This tree is easy to confuse with Metasequoia(Dawn Redwood), but Taxodium has branches and leaflets arranged alternately, whereas Metasequoia has them arranged in pairs, opposite each other. The bark is stringy and shaggy and mature trees in wet areas grow ‘knees’ or odd bits of trunk erupting from the ground round the main trunk (pneumatophores). Despite its name, it doesn’t necessarily need to be planted in a wet place.
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Sweet Gum Seed
Liquidambar styracifluaPrice range: £5.00 through £12.00 inc. VATSweet Gum is a large deciduous tree which has shining green, leathery, maple like leaves. They turn a fantastic orange, red and purple in autumn. Young shoots have distinctive corky ridges and the sap is fragrant. Although it rarely flowers in this country, the flower heads look similar to those of Rhus and the resulting seed heads look like Plane tree seed balls; it is actually related to Witch Hazels! A fine specimen or woodland tree.
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