TREES
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Cornelian Cherries
APPLE SEEDLINGS
(Malus sylvestris) £5.50
Well yes it may seem strange but if you’re not in a hurry, want something productive, interesting and decorative to go in the wildlife garden and have the room, then why not?
You may not get a ‘William’s’ or a ‘Braeburn’ but you will get a tree that is much healthier and more vigorous than a cultivated form, potentially quite large, that will aid pollination, delight your local birds and wildlife and you never know, could turn out to be perfectly yum for people too and can certainly be used for winemaking and preserves, juice making maybe.
As you’re not too worried about the size or numbers of fruit you don’t have to worry about pruning except to keep it to a reasonable size, summer pruning may be best, but otherwise they’re much easier than their pedigree sibling to look after. So go on, give the birds a treat…
BIRD CHERRY (Prunus padus)
A familiar native tree, the Bird Cherry is small to medium in size and so would fit well into many a wildlife garden. Easy to grow, even tolerating deep shade the long racemes of small white, almond scented flowers in May are followed by small 6-8mm dark cherry like fruit which though rather bitter, are used in eastern Europe for cooking and flavouring but either way the birds will make good use of them. The leaves have also been used cooked and the flowers and bark have been used for tea.
£6.00
CHE (Cudrania tricuspidata) SOLD OUT
Also called the Chinese Mulberry or Silkworm Thorn, this is a tree or large shrub that has been cultivated for centuries for its fruit in many Asian countries. It is related to the mulberries (Morus ssp) but is less imposing in habit, reaching about 5m high and being more of a shrub unless trained when young. It is hardy, requiring no special conditions but doing better in a sheltered sunny spot, with thorns only on the younger wood and large oval, shiny leaves that are often three lobed. Established plants will tolerate wind and drought.
Although the plants are either male or female, fruit is produced without pollination when it will be seed free and so all the better for eating. Even a male tree will produce a few female flowers. When fully ripe the fruit is said to be delicious, similar to a mulberry, though storing better, with a melon like flavour.
£7.00
CHEQUER TREE (Sorbus latifolia) SOLD OUT
An unusual native is this medium sized maple like tree. Although native, it is now rare being confined now to small areas of ancient woodland where it does well in clay and limey soils types.
Also known as the Wild Service Tree, it can get up to 15-25m in height if well sited, and with its smooth grey peeling bark and golden autumn colour is a good looker even before you take into account the white flowers in spring. The interesting fruit, which is about 12-18mm, russet red and spotty is said to have a date like flavour if 'bletted', and has some history of use as a flavouring for ale as well.
£6.00
CORNELIAN CHERRY (Cornus mas)
Well known as an ornamental, this small tree, reaching about 6ms in time, has been cultivated since antiquity for its fruit. Evidence for its consumption has been found on Neolithic sites, the Greeks and Romans certainly cultivated it and it also became a common addition to many Mediterranean monastery gardens. It has pretty yellow flowers in February, which are self fertile in time, (only male flowers are produced for the first year or two). Slow growing and long lived; it prefers a sheltered sunny site being a native of warmer climes, though it tolerates the cold quite well.
Bright red and about15mm in size, it is seldom eaten raw but usually cooked for pies etc. A preserve made from Cornelian Cherries is said to be one of the best.
£6.50
EVERGREEN DOGWOOD (Cornus capitata)
This is a beautiful tree with lots of interest being a large and colourful member of the dogwood family, not unlike the Kousa (see below) in appearance and habit though evergreen and bigger, reaching about 16m in time given a sunny spot. It comes from the Himalayas and it's main attraction are the bright lime yellow bracts that appear in early summer, and the masses of orangey-red 20mm fruits in October which our birds go mad for. Leave the ones you can't reach for them and grab some from below as they are a reasonable munch, being juicy though a bit on the seedy side, and would cook up well.
£6.50
IGIRI TREE (Idesia polycarpa) SEEDLINGS AVAILABLE SPRING 2012
Ornamental and medium sized (to about 12m in height) is this unusual tree from China and Japan. Large leaved and with tiny yellowy-green flowers in June that have a wonderful scent it grows well here requiring nothing special though the new growth in the spring can be damaged by frost, so shelter from the morning sun. Indeed, it is happy in a semi-shaded spot and will produce many bright red pea-like fruit in the late summer, rather seedy but sweet.
JAPANESE APRICOT (Prunus mume) SOLD OUT
Or Wu Mei, to give it one of its Japanese names, is a delightful small tree of the plum family, much used in Japan for bonsai. Requiring much the same conditions as other members of the family, lots of sun and a little shelter, it has beautiful large pink, almond-scented flowers in March, which are used in China to scent tea. These are followed by the almond
like fruits which when cooked, are much prized in their native territory.
£6.00
JUNEBERRY (Amelanchier canadensis) SOLD OUT
An attractive large shrub or small tree it will eventually get to be about 8m tall. It comes from the eastern side of North America where it has other names like the Shadbush, or Serviceberry, and is often grown as an ornamental as well as for its fruit. Masses of small white flowers, loved by the bees, hang in racemes in April followed by 10mm maroon berries (rarely ready by June in this country), it colours up well in the autumn too. Not fussy about soil it will even thrive on chalk, fruiting better in full sun. Very nice as a hedge.
The North American Indians crushed the fruit into little cakes for long journeys in the past, more commonly cooked in pies and things these days.
£6.00
KOUSA (Cornus kousa-chinensis) SOLD OUT
A large elegant shrub or small tree from China, Kousa has an open slender habit making it most attractive. It prefers a shady site and is happy on most soils that aren't chalky or water logged. The small insignificant flowers are surrounded by creamy-white bracts in the late spring-early summer, followed in the early autumn by fruit that look quite strawberry like, are about 20mm in size and very tasty if you can remove the skin which is a little tough. And after all that the autumn colour is fantastic.
£7.00
LOTUS BERRY (Celtis australis)
A European relative of the American Sugarberry. A charming delicate tree with slender nettle-like foliage, not as hardy as its cousin from the USA and is unlikely to get so big. Even so it should be fine in all but the coldest parts of the UK. It likes plenty of sun, loamy soil and will probably fruit better with some shelter from strong winds.
Said by some to be the food of the legendary 'Lotus eaters' of antiquity, the fruit is about 12mm, reddish/brown and very sweet.
£6.50
MADRONA (Arbutus menziesii) SEEDLINGS AVAILABLE SPRING 2012
In California where this noble tree comes from mature specimens are used by native people as meeting places and it's not hard to see why. The trunk and branches are silky smooth for most of the year but in the summer they turn red and peel to renew themselves, and with the large evergreen leaves and beautiful racemes of creamy white flowers like small bells in May it is a fantastic thing. A large tree requiring space, shelter and sun but otherwise easy to grow requiring no extra food or water once established, though because it hates being transplanted, care should be taken when planting and our seedlings though small are at the ideal stage to plant out to establish a long-lived healthy tree.
The flowers give way to berries in November like a smaller version of it's relative the Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) and can be used in the same way though I must admit I leave them for the birds.
£7.00
MYROBALAN (Prunus cerasifera) SOLD OUT
An excellent native small tree for a hedge is this. Also known as the Cherry Plum, it is often used as a rootstock for plums but produces a very acceptable fruit in its own right. It is a small tree reaching about 8m in time, doing best in a limey loam in full sun. The masses of pure white flowers in early spring are less prone to frost damage than their cousins, and are followed by the large cherry-like fruit, which can be any colour from red to yellow. The skin is thin, the flesh soft, juicy and sweet.
£6.00
PAPER MULBERRY (Broussonetia papyrifera) NEW for 2011
The bark of this small tree has traditionally been used for paper making throughout Asia being perfect for that job, though it's here because of it's peculiar fruit. With large downy leaves, the flowers which arrive in April and May are insignificant to say the least but the fruit is bizarre, resembling an orangey-red sea urchin with fleshy spines, it's round, about 3-4cm, sweet and juicy. Drought tolerant it grows well in poor soils though will do better with some shelter in the colder parts of the country.
£7.00
PERSIMMON (Diospyros virginiana)
A handsome, spreading deciduous tree from North America reaching up to 30m on occasions, it needs space, sun and shelter to do well. Other than that it is easy to grow, coping well with low temperatures and preferring a nice deep loamy soil. Flowering in the summer, the fruit ripens between September and November. It needs to be fully ripe or it can be astringent, but then is quite delicious.
Getting the tree to fruit can be a problem though. Its sex life is very complicated, some trees being bisexual but most being either male or female, tricky, but worth a try if you’ve got the room.
£6.50
RAISIN TREE (Hovenia dulcis)
If you want to try something weird then this is the tree for you. Coming from China, it's small and ornamental, with large leaves that are pale and polished preferring as it does plenty of sun and a well-drained soil. It flowers quite late in creamy clusters, which in a hot summer will be followed by the 'fruits'.
Actually, these are not fruits at all but 'savoury peduncles' or, swollen stems if you prefer, which when fully ripe have the very sweet flavour of raisins. In China they are used to make something called tree honey, said to be good at counteracting the effects of alcohol. More usually though, they are just picked and eaten.
£7.00
SUGARBERRY (Celtis occidentalis)
Sometimes called the Hackberry, this North American tree is a relative of the elms. It can get to be quite tall, up to 18m if well sited but has delicate nettle like foliage which makes it an elegant addition to any good sized garden. Happy in full sun and any well-drained soil, the only pruning it requires is just enough to keep it shapely.
The berries are dark purple when ripe in the autumn, about 10mm in size with a sweet date like flavour making them delicious raw or cooked.
£6.50
Wild Cherry (prunus avium)
Speaks for it self really. Our native Wild Cherry is very attractive, still commonly seen in woods and hedgerows and a must for any sizable wildlife garden. A large tree, it can get to 20m and is one of the ancestors of most of our culinary cherry trees so the quality of the fruit is therefore rather variable, it can be either sweet or sour. The spring blossom, autumn colour and grey pealing bark more than compensate for that though.
£5.50
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