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Lingonberry Seed
Vaccinium vitis-idaea£3.50 – £9.00 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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London Plane Seed
Platanus acerifolius£2.50 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£2.50 – £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
Fraxinus ornus£0.99 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£4.00 – £7.00 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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Mountain Ash / Rowan Seed
Sorbus aucuparia£3.00 – £8.00 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
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
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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New Zealand Purple Flax Seed
Phormium tenax atropurpureum£6.50 – £28.00 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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Nichol’s Eucalyptus Seed
Eucalyptus nicholii£20.00 inc. VATNichol’s Eucalyptus or Nichol’s Peppermint Leaved Eucalyptus has attractive fine blue-green, willow-like, weeping evergreen foliage, which can be quite dense. The bark is deeply fissured on mature trees but red and shaggy on younger branches. It forms a small tree but can be pruned and even coppiced successfully. Like most Eucalyptus, it has white flowers in late summer and aromatic leaves. It prefers a sheltered position and is suitable for Bonsai.
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Northern Japanese Magnolia Seed
Magnolia kobus£5.00 – £18.00 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£3.50 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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Oak-leaved Hydrangea Seed
Hydrangea quercifolia£16.00 inc. VATOak Leaved Hydrangea is medium sized deciduous shrub that should be planted more often! Large, fresh green, oak-shaped leaves turn spectacular colour in autumn. Conical panicles of cream flowers appear in mid to late summer. Not a tidy grower, but can be trimmed. Best at the back of borders or in wilder areas of the garden, in light shade.
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Oleaster or Russian Olive Seed
Elaeagnus angustifolia£5.00 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£4.00 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£5.00 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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Oriental Plane Seed
Platanus orientalis£3.50 inc. VATThe Oriental Plane is a large deciduous tree with peeling bark. Young leaves are hairy, but smooth when older, deeply lobed and casts quite a deep shade. The autumn colour is pale bronze-purple. Round finely spined fruit that hang on into winter, look like mini hedgehogs. It is one of the parents of the London Plane. In southern Europe it is a common street tree.
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Paper Birch Seed
Betula papyrifera£3.00 – £11.00 inc. VATPaper Birch is a striking medium to large tree with a mahogany papery bark when young, developing into white when the tree matures. Grows into an elegant pyramidal shape, given space. Attractive yellow foliage in the autumn. It was introduced from North America in 1750, the native Americans used the bark, which is very waterproof, for canoes and teepee covers and is sometimes called ‘Canoe Birch’
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Paperbark Maple Seed
Acer griseum£4.50 – £20.00 inc. VATPaperbark Maple is a beautiful small tree with three lobed, dark green leaves in summer, turning crimson and scarlet in autumn. The bark peels to appear orange in the sunlight revealing the new cinnamon coloured bark beneath. A perfect tree for a small garden, slow growing and no pruning necessary.
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Peach Seed
Prunus persica£8.00 – £18.00 inc. VATThe peach is a small bushy tree with pale pink single flowers that appear before the leaves in spring. In good years, it gives a spectacular early show of blossom, and is good for very early insects. The flowers can, however be destroyed by late frosts so it is most often planted next to a warm, sheltered wall. The leaves are lanceolate up to 15cm long and 3cm wide. It may produce fruit in autumn but generally a warm long summer is required for them to ripen.
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