Planting, planting and more planting!!!

November is when the bare-rooted plants come into stock. You should never plant bare-rooted trees in ‘the leaf’ as this would cause the plant to suffer from drought stress and it would probably die. Therefore the best time for bare-rooted plants is from leaf fall (mid/end November) to leaf burst (end March). The roots should never be allowed to dry out between being lifted and planted so heeling the plants into some open ground is very important if you can’t plant them straight away after collecting. (Full details on Woodland Trees & Conifers here)

Autumn is the best time to move evergreen plants and any other plants which are in the wrong place in the garden. Remember to dig a big enough area around the plant and lift the plant from the ground with a root ball as big as possible to minimise any damage to the plant. If possible it is better to cut down the plant growth by an half to prevent the plant from dying back. Remember to water the plant into the ground to settle the soil.

After the fruit trees and bushes have dropped their leaves, it will be time to start the winter pruning later this month. At this time of the year you can remove the bigger branches. Start off with the golden rule of the three D’s – dead, diseased and damaged wood. Once these have been removed, work on opening up the centre of the tree to prevent the branches from becoming overcrowded which may lead to the plant getting diseases. Prune back the main stem of trained fruit (fans, cordons and espaliers) by one-third to encourage side shoots. Plant more fruit trees now - to see what's available, click here.

Make sure that you get some hessian and fleece ready to protect your tender plants as the temperature drops. A selection of hardy tropical plants will survive in Britain if they are given the right soil condition and location. Olive trees, Trachycarpus (“Chusan Palm”) and Chamaerops (“Dwarf Fan Palm”) will survive in temperatures down to -5ºC and -9ºC but they need to be in free draining soil and a sheltered site.

The majority of exotic and Mediterranean type plants like Cistus, rosemary and lavender will suffer when planted in heavy soil conditions. When there is a wet winter followed by a period of freezing, the heavy soil and roots freeze and cause the plant to die.

Gardeners can assist, to some degree, in plant acclimatisation to winter conditions. The amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied should be reduced after mid-July and stopped by late summer to cut back on the leafy plant growth. Commercial growers decrease the rate of nitrogen fertilizer by approximately one-half and double the rate of potassium application in late summer. Plants should enter the autumn season as healthy as possible, but not rapidly growing, or acclimatisation may be affected.

Apply a layer of mulch, 5-7cm deep, after planting will reduce injury from plant roots heaving (coming out of the soil) because of repeated freezing and thawing actions. A mulch maintains a more even soil temperature and retains soil moisture.

Choosing the right tree for your garden is important so come to Nicholsons and ask us for advice. A few suggestions for a tree for a small garden are:

• Acer griseum with its amazing bark
• Amelanchier species for their lovely bronze foliage turning red in autumn and delicate spring flowers
• Cercidiphyllum and Cercis species are great attractions
• For all year round interest of the Malus (crab apple) will keep an area interesting

Growers have been working very hard to please all garden situations by breeding dwarf, disease resistant or unusual varieties so there should be no excuse not to find the ideal tree!

For some suitable candidates, see our page on Ornamental trees