Guides / Trees
Trees
Woody plants that grow with a single main trunk.
A
American Chestnut
Castanea dentata
Practical guidance for growing American chestnut, Castanea dentata, including chestnut blight and its collapse from dominant forest tree to root sprouts, resistant hybrids, cross-pollination, and its sweet, edible nuts.
American Hazelnut
Corylus americana
Practical guidance for growing American hazelnut, Corylus americana, including its suckering thicket habit, native tolerance of eastern filbert blight, wildlife hedgerow use, and edible nuts.
American Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
How to grow American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana. Why a female tree needs a male nearby to fruit, waiting for it to soften fully before the tannins stop puckering the mouth, and the bezoar risk that means fencing grazing animals away from windfalls.
Amur Maple
Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala
Practical guidance for growing Amur maple, Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala, including its fragrant spring flowers, extreme cold hardiness, hedge and shelterbelt use, and mild toxicity.
Ash
Fraxinus excelsior
How to identify ash, Fraxinus excelsior. The black winter buds, ash dieback and what it means for your tree, and whether to fell or wait.
B
Beech
Fagus sylvatica
How to grow beech, Fagus sylvatica. Planting a bare-root hedge, the single August trim, why a clipped beech keeps its copper leaves all winter, and beech bark disease.
Black walnut
Juglans nigra
How to grow black walnut, Juglans nigra. Superb timber, a rich strong-flavoured nut, and a root system that poisons the ground around it.
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa
How to grow blackthorn, Prunus spinosa. Blossom on bare stems before hawthorn, picking sloes for gin, planting a stockproof hedge and controlling the suckers.
Box Elder
Acer negundo
Practical guidance for growing box elder, Acer negundo, including its compound leaves, separate male and female trees, weak wood, fast growth, and toxicity to horses.
C
Cherry
Prunus avium
How to grow cherries, Prunus avium. Choosing a dwarfing rootstock, netting against birds, why the fruit splits in rain, and pruning only in summer to avoid silver leaf.
Cherry Plum
Prunus cerasifera
How to grow cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera. The first blossom of the year, why the fruit is worth more than its reputation, and its use as a hedge.
Common lime
Tilia europaea
How to grow common lime, Tilia europaea. Why it drips sticky honeydew onto everything below, how to pleach it, and the July blossom that scents a whole street.
Crab apple
Malus sylvestris
How to grow crab apple, Malus sylvestris. Britain's only native apple, the pollination it gives an orchard, and turning sour fruit into jelly.
E
English Holly
Ilex aquifolium
How to grow English holly, Ilex aquifolium. Planting, clipping, hedging, why your holly has no berries, and how poisonous those berries are.
English Oak
Quercus robur
How to identify and grow Quercus robur. The one check that separates it from sessile oak, why a single tree supports over 2,300 other species, and why acorns kill horses.
English Yew
Taxus baccata
How to grow Taxus baccata. The one conifer that regrows from bare wood, why clippings kill horses, what the red berries are, and how it reaches two thousand years.
H
Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna
How to grow hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna. Planting a bare-root hedge, the trimming that thickens it, laying an old one, May blossom and the haws that follow.
Hazel
Corylus avellana
How to grow hazel, Corylus avellana. Coppicing on a seven-year cycle, planting two for a crop of cobnuts, the catkins in February, and losing the lot to squirrels.
Hornbeam
Carpinus betulus
How to grow hornbeam, Carpinus betulus. The hedge that holds its leaves all winter and takes wet clay where beech fails, when to cut it, and how to tell the two apart.
Horse Chestnut
Aesculus hippocastanum
How to grow horse chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum. Conkers, why the leaves go brown every August, bleeding canker, and why a conker is not a sweet chestnut.
M
Maidenhair Tree
Ginkgo biloba
Practical guidance for growing maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba, including fan-shaped leaves, male and female trees, pest resistance, autumn colour, and seed toxicity.
Mimosa Tree
Albizia julibrissin
Practical guidance for growing mimosa tree, Albizia julibrissin, including fast growth, pink pompom flowers, folding leaflets, seed pods, mimosa wilt, and self-seeding.
R
Red Maple
Acer rubrum
Practical guidance for growing red maple, Acer rubrum, including early red flowers, wet-soil tolerance, brilliant autumn colour, and toxicity to horses.
Red Mulberry
Morus rubra
How to grow red mulberry, Morus rubra. Telling it from white and black mulberry by its sandpapery leaf surface, why the fruit ripens a few berries at a time rather than all at once, and why fruit drop makes it a poor choice over a patio.
Rowan
Sorbus aucuparia
How to grow rowan, Sorbus aucuparia. The best small tree for a cold exposed garden, berries for birds from late summer, and why summer heat rather than winter cold is what limits it.
S
Sandalwood
Santalum album
Practical guidance for growing sandalwood, Santalum album, including its need for a host plant, slow heartwood development, dry-season triggers, frost sensitivity, and essential oil safety.
Saucer magnolia
Magnolia x soulangeana
How to grow saucer magnolia, Magnolia x soulangeana. Goblet flowers on bare wood in April, why frost ruins them, and where to plant one so it does not happen.
Scots pine
Pinus sylvestris
How to grow Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris. The most widely distributed pine on earth, the orange upper bark that identifies it, and why it suits poor sandy soil that defeats other trees.
Silver Birch
Betula pendula
How to grow Betula pendula. Why a short-lived tree is the right choice for a small garden, what the black diamonds on the bark are, the root system to plan around, and tapping the sap.
Spindle
Euonymus europaeus
How to grow spindle, Euonymus europaeus. The pink capsules and orange seeds that make it the brightest native shrub in autumn, its value to wildlife, and why the fruit must not be eaten.
Star Magnolia
Magnolia stellata
How to grow star magnolia, Magnolia stellata. Why a late frost can brown its open flowers within hours of a cold night, why it dislikes being moved once settled, and why its compact size suits an ordinary-sized garden.
Strawberry Tree
Arbutus unedo
Practical guidance for growing strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, including its flowers and fruit together in autumn, lime tolerance unusual for its family, peeling red bark, and edible but unremarkable berries.
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum
Practical guidance for growing sugar maple, Acer saccharum, including sap tapping, slow shade-tolerant growth, salt sensitivity, and brilliant autumn colour.
Sweet chestnut
Castanea sativa
How to grow sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa. Telling it from horse chestnut, why the nuts are often small, and the blight and canker to watch for.
Sycamore
Acer pseudoplatanus
How to identify sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus. Telling it from field maple and Norway maple, the seedlings that kill horses through atypical myopathy, and managing it in a garden.
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