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Virginian Witch Hazel Seed
Hamamelis virginiana£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATVirginian Witch Hazel is the commercial source of Witch Hazel and can range from a large multi-stemmed shrub to a small tree. The flowers have a soft sweet perfume when they appear in the late autumn, with narrow pale yellow crumpled petals. They are a useful food source for late insects. The large simple leaves colour well in the autumn. Witch Hazel ointment is an extraction from the bark in alcohol and can be used to calm skin irritations and reduce inflammation.
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Wayfaring Tree Seed
Viburnum lantana£7.00 inc. VATThe Wayfaring Tree is a large native, deciduous shrub often seen in hedgerows. The ovate leaves and young shoots are covered with a dense tomentum or down. Leaves sometimes turn a dark crimson in autumn. The cream flowers appear in late spring and are followed by oblong fruits that mature from red to black.
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Wedding Cake Tree Seed
Cornus controversa£7.00 inc. VATThe Wedding Cake Tree when grown in the right conditions, semi-shade and dampish, can grow into quite a large shrub. It makes a wonderful architectural shape with tiered and layered branches. The cream flower heads in summer are flat too, adding to the layered effect. Good purple autumn colour. Slow growing and needs space to develop the right shape.
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White Mulberry Seed
Morus alba£3.00 inc. VATWhite Mulberry is a medium to small tree with lance shaped leaves up to 15cm wide that are the traditional food of silkworms. It grows fast and is quite short-lived – 50 to 80yrs on average. Catkins turn into whitish fruits in the early autumn, changing to pale pink later and are edible. If necessary, prune in late autumn or early winter, other wise the stems bleed.
caterpillar pics courtesy of Srithern /CC BY-SA via Wikimedia
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White or Downy Birch Seed
Betula pubescens£5.00 inc. VATDowny Birch thrives on a wider range of soils than Silver Birch, particularly damp soils. It is white barked and similar to Silver Birch but with a more upright growth habit. Younger specimens usually exhibit downy undersides to the leaves and on the stems. It is useful as a pioneer species for planting in difficult and exposed sites.
Not for forestry purposes.
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Whitebeam Seeds
Sorbus aria£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATWhitebeam makes a neat, oval headed tree with grey hairy leaves. It is often planted in streets and gardens. Heads of white flowers in May develop into red berries for the autumn but they are usually eaten by birds before they ripen! Autumn colour is yellow then brown.
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Wild Cherry Seed
Prunus avium£3.00 – £5.00 inc. VATWild Cherry is a medium sized deciduous tree, with bark that turns mahogany red and peels with age. The white cup shaped flowers give a magnificent display in mid to late spring and are visited by early insects. The fruits are small and red to purple, appearing in summer and eaten by birds. The leaves turn crimson-orange in autumn. It is generally found in hedges and on the edges of woods. It will grow in semi-shade but flowers better in full sun.
Not for forestry purposes.
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Wild Service Tree Seed
Sorbus torminalis£5.00 – £12.00 inc. VATWild Service Tree is an attractive medium sized deciduous tree with Maple like leaves. They turn from a glossy dark green to bronze yellow in the autumn. The fruits start spherical and when ripe become elongated and are russet brown with darker spots, hence the name ‘Chequer Tree’. They need to be ‘bletted’ (left to go almost bad and soft) to render them edible! Pubs called ‘The Chequers’ are named after the tree rather than the board game, possibly because they used to serve beer/wine made from the fruit. The timber is used as a reddish/orange decorative veneer. There is a great specimen in the environs of Lower Brockhampton Manor (National Trust), but generally the tree is quite rare
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Willowleaf Cotoneaster Seed
Cotoneaster salicifolius£5.00 inc. VATWillowleaf Cotoneaster/Cotoneaster salicifolius makes a tall evergreen shrub or small tree, often multi-stemmed. It bears very heavy crops of spherical red shiny fruits in autumn, formed from white flowers in early summer. The glossy leaves are long and thin. This Cotoneaster is very useful as a screening plant and can be pruned into shape if necessary. It tolerates being planted in coastal areas, but can suffer leaf burn in very cold winds.
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Winged Spindle Tree Seed
Euonymus alatus£5.00 inc. VATWinged Spindle or Euonymus alatus is a highly decorative deciduous small tree/shrub. The bark on the trunk and all but the very youngest branches is corky with ridged wings, often in stripes. Small pale green flowers in spring turn into red/purple berries and split open to show the orange seed inside. Even if the summer hasn’t been good, the autumn colour develops into brilliant bright red.
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Wintersweet Seed
Chimonanthus praecox£6.00 inc. VATWintersweet produces welcome, heavily scented, pale yellow flowers in Feb. The flowers attract early insects. It is a deciduous shrub that thrives in a sheltered spot and is good planted near to where people are likely to walk.
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Wych Elm Seed
Ulmus glabra£5.00 – £10.00 inc. VATWych Elm is a large and impressive tree with spreading branches that may be pendulous at their tips. Large short stalked leaves are toothed and rough to the touch, turning yellow in autumn. The fruits crowd the branches in early spring and look a bit like hops. The bark of young trees is very smooth. An excellent deciduous tree for planting in exposed situations or on the coast. It is more usually seen as a small to medium, multi-stemmed tree in hedgerows rather than as a large tree. Leaves are the food source for caterpllars of the rare White Letter Hairstreak butterfly.
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Yellow Tree Lupin Seed
Lupinus arboreus (Yellow)£1.25 inc. VATThe tree lupin is a short lived evergreen shrub that can grow to 2m tall and whose flowers are yellow. They are delicately scented and flower throughout the summer producing bright dense clusters.
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Yucca
Yucca filamentosa£6.50 inc. VATYucca is an evergreen perennial with strap-like grey green leaves forming a stemless rosette. Eventually it will form a clump of rosettes. Flower spikes produced in late summer on older plants can be up to 2m high, carrying masses of creamy white, nodding, bell-shaped long lasting flowers. A striking, architectural plant.
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