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“It allows you to add value at a smaller scale and still be competitive. Our main competitors are in Europe but following Brexit fewer trees are being imported and there’s greater demand for British grown stock.” Multi-stem trees also offer great value
for money: “Everyone loves the impact of a beautiful tree. The only problem is that it takes half a lifetime, if not more, for these trees to reach the peak of their aesthetic appeal. As a result, buying a tree from new can often test one’s patience, as it can take years to begin to see the benefits of your investment. You can, of course, buy older, larger specimens but this is an expensive undertaking and is out of reach of most budgets. “Multi-stem trees have been cultivated
“We only grow species which thrive here in Devon”
root systems, allowing them to survive and thrive when planted in their new homes. This is achieved by using the transplantation system, a process by which trees are dug out of the ground and replanted in a different area of the nursery before sale. It means that effectively the roots are pruned, ensuring lots of roots develop around the base of the tree. I tell my staff we sell roots not trees! If a tree doesn’t have a proper root system it won’t survive the establishment phase after being re-planted when sold. This is what a nursery grown tree is all about. “We only grow species which thrive here in Devon and which do not require artificial chemicals to survive. This means that we do not spray any of our trees with fertilisers or pesticides. We prefer to grow tree species that we like, for
instance Acer, Cornus, Malus, Pinus, Prunus, etc. We have over ninety varieties on offer and each tree is different and unique. I need to love what we grow in
for those who don’t want to wait. A typical two metre single stem tree can take ten years to achieve any great impact. Because a multi-stem tree has three, five or seven stems, the growth is more obvious because it broadens the canopy and enhances the overall presence of the tree. It gives it a size worthy of a much older specimen, which means more value for your money. “The art of producing a beautiful multi-stem originates from coppicing and involves cutting a tree right back and leaving it to regrow multiple stems from its base, or stool. It is based upon lessons learned from sustainable woodland management, and a true multi-stem will have this coppiced look. Coppicing is followed by skilful pruning and shaping throughout the early years of the tree’s life. The architectural shape and instant aesthetic appeal of the multi-stem tree is currently much in demand. Multi-stems are now the creative end of the market and this is why garden designers and customers are falling for them.” Producing these trees is very labour
intensive. There are three or four people pruning from May through to October, day in day out. Over the winter, it’s all about lifting the trees and getting them ready for sale and delivered to customers. At the same time, they are planting new trees as quickly as they can. It takes up to five years to grow most
trees ready for sale. “We take a lot of care ensuring our trees are sold with proper
order to sell it to someone else and have realised over the years that it is easier to sell trees that I like! We specialise in small to medium sized trees of between two to six metres which grow to between two to twelve metres when fully grown. It means our trees are sized to suit most gardens and will have a sculptural impact which will satisfy every gardener. We also containerise our own trees and are in the process of
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