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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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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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Macedonian Pine Seed
Pinus peucePrice range: £5.00 through £10.00 inc. VATMacedonian Pine is a particularly ornamental pine with horizontal branches at ground level which become vertical in the crown. It has a narrow pyramidal growth habit which suits it to confined spaces. The cones, occasionally produced, are very large, slightly bent and the long needles, in bundles of 5, give it a soft appearance – very stroke-able! Slow early growth and tolerant of semi shade and poorish soils.
pic courtesy of 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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Magnolia Seed
Magnolia x soulangeanaPrice range: £5.00 through £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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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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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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Meyer’s Spruce Seed
Picea meyeriPrice range: £5.00 through £14.00 inc. VATMeyer’s Spruce is a decorative, medium-fast growing conifer with grey green needles, purple male catkins and copper brown cones. Rare in the wild, since subalpine forests are in decline. Where commercially planted it’s used for construction timber and pulp, but could be a good Xmas tree.
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Midland Hawthorn Seed
Crataegus laevigataPrice range: £5.00 through £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£7.00 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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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 Cypress Seed
Cupressus macrocarpa£6.50 inc. VATMonterey Cypress is often cultivated in gardens as a hedging plant, especially in North America, but makes a magnificent specimen tree too. It can tolerate poor soils and hot and dry conditions, being endemic to California. The last remaining trees there are puportedly over 2000 years old. the flattened bract-like leaves are citrus scented when crushed.
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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 Ash / Rowan Seed
Sorbus aucupariaPrice range: £5.00 through £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 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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New Zealand Flax Seed
Phormium tenaxPrice range: £8.00 through £22.00 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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New Zealand Purple Flax Seed
Phormium tenax atropurpureumPrice range: £10.00 through £44.00 inc. VATPurple New Zealand Flax is a very striking evergreen shrub with purple – bronze foliage that forms clumps of rigid sword like leaves between 1 and 3m long. It has bronze red flowers on panicles up to 4m long in summer. It is highly resistant to sea winds and forms an excellent windbreak.
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Noble Fir Seed
Abies nobilis / proceraPrice range: £6.00 through £11.50 inc. VATNoble Fir is a beautiful coniferous tree noted for its blue-green needles. They grow densely packed, often hiding the brown new shoots and buds. It is used in floristry as well as for Christmas trees. It grows on the western side of America, but further south than the Red Fir, to which it is closely related.
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Nordmann/Caucasian Fir Seed
Abies nordmanniana£6.50 inc. VATThe Nordmann is a fir of great ornamental value and much valued in ‘non-drop’Christmas tree production for its dense foliage. Wonderful, even, conical shapes develop and the foliage is soft-looking, not spikey. Blue cones
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Northern Japanese Magnolia Seed
Magnolia kobusPrice range: £7.00 through £23.00 inc. VATThe Northern Japanese Magnolia is a hardy deciduous shrub or small tree that produces its star like white flowers from about 12 years old. They are produced just before leaf break in the spring and are a welcome addition to the spring garden. Late frosts may damage the flowers, so it needs to be planted in a sheltered spot and given space to develop. No pruning should be required.
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Norway Maple Seed
Acer platanoides£5.00 inc. VATNorway Maple is a large fast growing tree with large 5 lobed leaves which turn bright yellow and occasionally red in autumn. Yellow flowers are borne on the bare stems in spring.
Not for forestry purposes.
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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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Oleaster or Russian Olive Seed
Elaeagnus angustifolia£6.50 inc. VATA large spiny deciduous shrub or small tree. It has silvery grey willow-like leaves with sweetly fragrant flowers in the summer which are attractive to bees. The fruits are silvery amber 12mm ovals. Attractive, useful and tough.
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Oregon Grape Seed
Mahonia aquifolium£5.00 inc. VATOregon Grape is a small evergreen shrub with spikey pinnate leaves with 5 to 13 leaflets which often turn red in winter. Its rich yellow flowers open in early spring borne on racemes which are in clusters. The autumn berries are a black-blue colour. Can be grown successfully as a low informal but protective hedge, prune after flowering
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Oregon Maple Seed
Acer macrophylla£8.00 inc. VATOregon Maple is a large, stately tree with domed head. The deciduous leaves are huge, up to 30cm across, incised and lobed, with gold autumn colour. Flowers are lime green in long hanging catkins mid spring. This tree pollards well and makes good smokeless firewood. The sap can be used as a sweetener.
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