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Kentucky Coffee Tree Seed
Gymnocladus dioicus£15.00 inc. VATKentucky Coffee tree is possibly a tree left over from the dinosaur age. It has an open habit with robust branches and few twigs. New leaves open pinkish and are early to fall in the autumn with yellow colouration. Pale green flowers in June give rise to large leathery seed pods. The seeds are toxic until roasted when they can be used as a coffee substitute.
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Kerria Seed
Kerria japonica£2.00 – £8.25 inc. VATKerria or Japanese Rose is a graceful suckering shrub that produces rich butter yellow flowers in mid spring. Although it is deciduous its green stems provide winter colour. The shrub mainly seen in gardens is the double-flowered variety, but there are also white flowered ones and varieties with variegated leaves. Kerria from seed will produce quite large single flowers early in the summer.
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Killarney Strawberry Tree
Arbutus unedo£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATThe Strawberry Tree is a small evergreen tree or bushy shrub, with deep brown bark which peels off in shreds. Its red fruits and white flowers are produced simultaneously in the autumn. Lime tolerant and hardy, this little tree can withstand gales and the most inhospitable coastal conditions.
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Laburnum Seed
Laburnum anagyroides£5.00 inc. VATThe Laburnum is a small deciduous, fast growing tree producing masses of drooping yellow flowers in May and June in a spectacular display. All parts of this plant are poisonous if eaten. Pruned and trained into the famous tunnel at Bodnant Gardens, North Wales
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Laurustinus Seed
Viburnum tinus£5.00 inc. VATAn extremely popular evergreen, medium sized shrub with masses of glossy green leaves. The white-pink budded flowers are borne from late autumn to early spring. The egg shaped fruits are initially metallic blue but ripen to black. It makes an attractive hedge.
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Lavender “Hidcote” Seed
Lavandula angustifolia "Hidcote"£5.00 – £20.00 inc. VATLavender ‘Hidcote’ is a compact lavender growing to just over 0.5m with grey green leaves and stems. It is the classic ‘Old English Lavender’ used in cottage gardens. The highly scented violet flowers are borne in dense spikes in mid summer. Great for bees. After flowering, a light trim over with shears keeps the shrubs neat.
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Lavender “Munstead” Seed
Lavandula angustifolia "Munstead"£5.00 – £20.00 inc. VATLavender ‘Munstead’ is a compact form of lavender with narrow grey green stems. The aromatic flowers are a deeper blue than in some other cultivars and appear in mid summer. Use as an informal, low hedge as a border for paths and lawns. It is an Old English Lavender similar to ‘Hidcote’ and is frequently used in cottage gardens. Lightly trim with shears after flowering to keep neat. Full of bees in the summer and a less acid scent than French Lavender.
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Leatherleaf Viburnum Seed
Viburnum rhytidophyllum£5.00 inc. VATViburnum rhytidophyllum is a large handsome evergreen shrub with large elliptic corrugated and wrinkled leaves which are dark green above and grey felted beneath. The cream or pink flowers are borne in clusters in spring. The fruits are red, turning black and shiny as they ripen. A superb foliage plant especially on chalk soils. Maintenance-free, but a little light trimming can be done after flowering has finished, if the shrub is getting too big.
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Lemon Scented Gum Seed
Corymbia/Eucalyptus citriodora£5.00 – £15.00 inc. VATLemon Scented gum or Eucalyptus is grown as a shrub for its lemon scented, evergreen leaves, but in northern climes it is not hardy out of doors and is best used as a conservatory plant. In warm climates it is often planted outdoors. Can be coppiced successfully.
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Lilac Seed
Syringa vulgaris£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATLilac makes a vigorous, deciduous, suckering shrub. Its scented light purple flowers are borne in dense panicles in late spring with the seeds ripening in August. It makes a pleasant informal hedge or a multi-stemmed tree. Moderately hard pruning after flowering can keep the plant in check.
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Lingonberry Seed
Vaccinium vitis-idaea£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATLingonberry is a small evergreen shrub which flowers pink in May and June and the tiny berries ripen from August through to October. The plant is well known for attracting wildlife. When not in berry, it can be mistaken for Bilberry because of the similar foliage. It is the berry made popular by IKEA in their cafes – served with their famous meatballs.
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Littleleaf Cotoneaster Seed
Cotoneaster microphyllus£1.99 inc. VATA dwarf evergreen shrub with elliptic leaves that are usually less than 1cm long. Tiny white flowers give way to small deep red berries in autumn. Its habit is to grow in a low mound.
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London Plane Seed
Platanus acerifolius£5.00 inc. VATThe London Plane is large tree with a patchwork flaking bark and large palmate leaves. The rounded fruit clusters hang like baubles from the branches from mid summer right through winter to spring. Famous for being extensively planted in London squares and streets, it’s tolerant of pollution and actually helps clean the city air.
Leaf pic courtesy of GPodkolzin, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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Magnolia Seed
Magnolia x soulangeana£5.00 – £14.00 inc. VATMagnolia soulangeana is probably one of the most popular Magnolias. Seen as a many stemmed shrub or small tree, it has chalice shaped, white, stained rose-purple flowers that appear before the foliage in spring. Underplanting with spring bulbs makes a perfect picture. Needs space to develop and no pruning is necessary. This is quite an ancient genus and is thought to be pollinated by beetles rather than bees but because it is a hybrid, the seedlings will be variable in flowering.
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Mahonia Seed
Mahonia japonica£2.50 inc. VATOne of the most ornamental of the evergreen shrubs. It has deep green leaves made up of 7 to 19 leaflets and spikes of highly scented yellow flowers.
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Maidenhair Tree Seed
Ginkgo biloba£8.00 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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Manna Tree Seed
Fraxinus ornus£5.00 inc. VATA pretty round topped tree which in late spring has a profusion of scented off white flowers. The leaves turn dark deep purple-red in autumn.
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Medlar Seed
Mespilus germanicus£7.50 inc. VATMedlar is a highly ornamental tree, grown since Roman times for it’s odd fruits. These were often given extremely licentious names, censored on this site! Large hairy leaves and large, elegant white flowers in late spring. Good autumn colour. Fruit needs to be ‘bletted’ before eating, i.e. left to go rotten! A superb addition to an orchard, even if you don’t eat the fruit! Quite low growing and wide-spreading. Can be left without pruning, but on young trees, prune in winter to promote an open, uncrowded shape.
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Midland Hawthorn Seed
Crataegus laevigata£5.00 – £8.00 inc. VATMidland Hawthorn is a small dense, thorny, deciduous tree, flowering in spring and berrying in autumn. The pink or white flowers are pollinated by midges.
Related to Common Hawthorn but with less deeply lobed leaves.
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Milkflower Cotoneaster Seed
Cotoneaster lacteus£5.00 inc. VATA medium sized evergreen shrub with large oval leathery leaves which are grey-woolly beneath. The flowers in spring and early summer are milky white and followed by large clusters of small red berries which last well into mid winter.
Makes a good informal hedge, and when grown as a single stem, makes a useful evergreen tree for a small garden.
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Mountain Ash / Rowan Seed
Sorbus aucuparia£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATThe Rowan or Mountain Ash is a small deciduous tree with 11 to 19 sharp toothed leaflets per leaf. Creamy coloured plates of small flowers in early summer are followed by colourful bright red berries which form dense bunches in late summer. They are often eaten by blackbirds and thrushes. Foliage often colours well in the autumn. It is highly tolerant of extreme acidity and easy to grow, being tough and resiliant. Rowan-berry jelly is excellent with pheasant and other game. There is much folklore attached to this tree, including the ability to ward off witches! Excellent tree for a small garden, with 3 seasons of interest and insect friendly.
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Mountain Gum Seed
Eucalyptus dalrympleana£14.00 inc. VATMountain Gum is an attractive fast growing medium sized tree which is extremely hardy. Sometimes it is known as White Mountain Gum. It has a handsome patchwork bark that becomes white with age. In young specimens the evergreen leaves can be a bronzy colour, maturing to grey-green. Can be coppiced happily
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Myrtle Beech Seed
Nothofagus cunninghamii£1.99 – £14.85 inc. VATMyrtle Beech is an evergreen tree from Tasmania that needs to grow in areas with relatively mild winters but it can stand coastal areas well. It has tiny leaves which are bright, mid green and triangular. The fruits are tiny nutlets which take several months to mature.
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New Zealand Flax Seed
Phormium tenax£7.50 – £16.00 inc. VATNew Zealand Flax, Phormium, is a very striking evergreen shrub with foliage that forms clumps of rigid sword like leaves between 1 and 3m long. Bronze red flowers on panicles up to 4m long in summer. Highly resistant to sea winds and forms an excellent windbreak. The seed looks as if it is covered in black foil, very shiney but papery too.
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