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Scottish Laburnum Seed
Laburnum alpinum£7.00 inc. VATScotch Laburnum is a small, deciduous, broad headed tree that produces a profusion of drooping yellow flowers in summer. They are scented and attract insects for the pollen and nectar. The leaves have 3 leaflets and are a lighter green on the underside. It produces pods of poisonous seed in autumn.
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Sea Buckthorn Seed
Hippophae rhamnoides£5.00 inc. VATSea Buckthorn is a first rate deciduous shrub or small tree for coastal, salt laden areas. It has narrow silvery leaves and in winter has a show of orange berries which birds find inedible. The berries can be made into jams and jellies and oil from the leaves and berries may offer numerous health benefits. High in vitamin C. For berries to develop both male and female plants need to cultivated. Grow a few seedlings to guarantee this. Not planted enough in gardens!
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Serbian Spruce Seed
Picea omorika£5.00 – £23.00 inc. VATSerbian Spruce is a very adaptable spruce which quickly forms a tall slender tree with short drooping branches and dark green/grey needle leaves, with blue undersides. It is sometimes used as a Christmas Tree, but the needles are very prickly and sharp. Makes a good barrier when young and a lovely specimen tree on maturity. Dark purple cones turn brown as they ripen.
pic courtesy of UBothFr91, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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Sessile Oak Seed
Quercus petraea£5.00 inc. VATThe Sessile Oak is one of two UK native oak species. It replaces Q.robur in damper and upland areas, but the two are very similar. A good tree in coastal areas. The large long stalked leaves of Q petraea are not auricled at the base and the stalkless fruits differentiate it from Q.robur. A good tree in coastal areas. Acorns tend to sprout earlier than Q robur too.
Not for forestry purposes.
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Shadbush or Snowy Mespilus Seed
Amelanchier lamarckii£5.00 – £17.00 inc. VATShadbush or Snowy Mespilus makes a large suckering shrub or small tree. It has an impressive white blossom which creates purple fruits, favoured by blackbirds at the end of the season. Golden autumn colour. The tree can be compact and makes an excellent choice for a small garden, but also good in a mixed hedgerow.
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Shagbark Hickory Seed
Carya ovata£20.00 inc. VATShagbark Hickory when mature, forms a stately, open headed tree with plates of bark peeling away from the trunk. Leaves are made up of 5 leaflets similar to Walnut, to which it is related. Long yellow catkins in spring are followed in autumn by large walnut-like fruit. A thick husk hides an edible, sweet, 4 ribbed nut. First grown in UK in mid 17th century.
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Shining Gum Seed
Eucalyptus nitens£6.00 – £48.00 inc. VATShining Gum, Eucalyptus nitens makes a small tree in cooler climates with good young vigour. It has a jungly exotic appearance and the young growth stems are almost square. This tree makes a striking container plant and has some hardiness but requires a very sheltered position. Can be trimmed, but generally carefree. Doesn’t like being coppiced. Useful for floristry.
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Siberian Pea Tree Seed
Caragana arborescens£5.00 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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Siberian Pine Seed
pinus siberica£8.50 inc. VATThe Siberian Pine is related to Pinus cembra. It is extremely hardy, slow growing and long-lived, particularly suited to cold climates where it is often grown as a specimen tree. The needles grow in bundles of five. This is one of the Pines which have shown resistance to White Pine Blister Rust. and so is being used in breeding programmes. The cones produced are quite bulky and heavy, the seeds inside are eaten as a good source of oil, sold in Russia as Cedar Nuts. It is quite rare in its native habitat.
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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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Silver Birch Seed
Betula pendula£5.00 inc. VATSilver Birch is a pretty tree, often known as the “Lady of the Woods” It is planted in gardens for its graceful pendulous form. It has an attractive white bark with sharply cut diamond shaped leaves. If unavoidable, trimming has to be done when the tree is dormant; in the spring, the sap rises so fast that they can really suffer if cut. The sap can be tapped, in a similar way to Acer saccharum, to produce the precursor to Birch/Maple syrup. Beautiful winter tracery. A pioneer of difficult areas. Tough and hardy.
Not for forestry purposes.
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Silver dollar tree Seed
Eucalyptus cinerea£15.00 inc. VATEucalyptus cinerea
A small to moderately sized tree with a compact, dense crown of silvery foliage. one of the most popular eucalypts in cultivation, especially in temperate regions and cooler areas. Good choice for screening.The leaves are aromatic, egg shaped, stalkless and glaucous giving it a silvery grey colour.it can be pollarded to produce sprays of young shoots.
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Silver Leafed Mountain Gum Seed
Eucalyptus pulverulenta£6.00 inc. VATEucalyptus pulverulenta. Silver Leafed Mountain Gum is a well branched, medium-sized tree easy to control by pruning. The evergreen, juvenile foliage is glaucous silvery grey white and has been described as looking like a kebab! It rarely develops adult foliage. Bark is mostly smooth. Cream flowers occur when the tree is still young. This tree can be grown as a multi-stemmed specimen, but needs a sheltered spot.
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Silver Lime Seed
Tilia tomentosa£5.00 inc. VATSilver Lime is a large handsome deciduous tree of stately habit. The leaves are short stalked heart-shaped and deeply toothed, dark green above and silver felted beneath. They give a lovely shimmering effect in a breeze and make a dense crown. The cream flowers in July are heavily scented and intoxicate bees. Autumn colour is yellow.
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Silver Wattle Seed
Acacia dealbata£5.00 – £15.00 inc. VATSilver Wattle or Mimosa is a loose growing, small open evergreen tree or large shrub. It has ferny grey green leaves and scented yellow pompom flowers, in the winter and early spring. It is often used by florists for winter colour and scent. Mimosa is also a Champagne cocktail – champagne and chilled citrus juice, with or without Drambuie. Good for breakfast(so I’m told!) Mimosa can be grown outside in the southwest and on the south coast, but still really needs shelter.
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Sitka Spruce Seed
Picea sitchensis£5.00 – £12.00 inc. VATSitka Spruce is probably one of the most important species of conifer from an economic viewpoint. It thrives on damp sites and poor soils. Used extensively for timber and pulp production, but also can be used for Christmas trees. Picture shows an enormous tree in the Benmore Botanic Gardens, near Dunoon(www.rbge.org.uk/visit/benmore-botanic-garden). Sitka can be used as a relaxed hedge – just chop out the leader and it will bush out to make a prickly barrier.
Not for forestry purposes.
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Small Leaved Gum Seed
Eucalyptus parvula£11.00 inc. VATAn exceptionally hardy medium sized tree with an attractive peeling grey bark and willowy foliage. It produces small narrow blue-green leaves and its foliage is commonly used for flower arranging. This species makes an excellent specimen tree although it can be coppiced to good effect.
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Small Leaved Lime Seed
Tilia cordata£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATSmall Leaved Lime is a medium sized deciduous tree with heart shaped 5 to 8cm glossy dark green long leaves which are pale on the underside. The sweetly scented, ivory flower clusters appear in the latter half of the summer and are usually covered in bees. The trees can quite often be smelt and heard before being seen!
Not for forestry purposes.
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Smoke Bush / Venetian Sumach Seed
Cotinus coggygria£5.00 inc. VATCotinus or Smoke bush is a deciduous multi branched shrub with rounded green leaves that colour well in the autumn. Pinky-fawn coloured plume like inflorescences are borne in early summer turning an attractive smokey grey colour by autumn.They give the effect of a haze of smoke, hence the name.
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Snow Gum Seed
Eucalyptus pauciflora£5.00 inc. VATSimilar to Eucalyptus niphophila (which is often thought of as a subspecies) having a characteristic peeling green-grey and white bark. It has attractive white flowers, and aromatic evergreen foliage. Can be coppiced to form a multistem tree/shrub.
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Snowbell Tree Seed
Styrax japonica£5.00 – £7.00 inc. VATSnowbell Tree or Styrax is a beautiful deciduous shrub or small tree with wide spreading almost horizontal fanning branches. The leaves are narrow and pointed and the white bell shaped flowers have yellow stamens. They hang along the undersides of branches in the early summer, so plant where you can walk underneath the branches.
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Snowberry Seed
Symphoricarpos albus / alba£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATThe Snowberry is a strong growing deciduous shrub which can form dense thickets especially in hedgerows. The leaves are elliptical and up to 8cm long. Tiny pink flowers appear in the early summer followed by snowberries in the autumn that look like glistening white marbles on the branches. Is happy to be left alone or it can be trimmed/pruned heavily if necessary. Tough and tolerant. Poisonous if ingested
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Sourwood Seed
Oxydendrum arboreum£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATSourwood is a decorative, hardy, small deciduous tree/shrub with glossy green leaves. It develops very brilliant autumn colour. Long panicles of white ericaceous-type bell-flowers appear in July to Sept. Fragrant and bee-friendly.
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Southern Beech/Raoul Seed
Nothofagus procera/alpina£8.00 inc. VATThe Southern Beech is a fast growing deciduous tree with small beech-like leaves, a straight, grey trunk and broadly conic crown when mature. It is a native of Chile and although it is perfectly hardy, young trees can suffer in very harsh winters, especially in cold winds. Prefers moist soils and high rainfall. Autumn colour is red, yellow and orange. Work is ongoing to see whether Nothofagus is suitable for timber production in the UK as it is in Chile, but seed is not forthcoming every year so propagation is not easy or cheap.
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