The Ultimate Winter Hardy Shrub Collection

• On receipt, soak the roots in water for at least 2 hours (overnight is better). If you can't plant straight away, they should be fine for up to a week if left in a cool, dark, frost-free place - keep the bag around the roots with some water inside. Don't worry if the roots have been cut quite harshly – this is done to encourage the plant to grow.
• Bare root plants are dormant, with no leaves, and with the roots out of the soil.
• The season runs from November to April, depending on the weather. Some larger or slower-growing plants will already be a few years old on supply, and ready to thrive straight away in your garden.

• Select an appropriate spot for your plants, making sure that you give them enough space to grow to their full size.
• Dig a hole twice the width of the roots, forking over the bottom to loosen the soil, and add some good quality fertiliser such as Blood, Fish and Bone.
• Aim to plant at the same depth as the soil mark on the trunk.
• Holding the tree or plant upright in position with one hand, slowly backfill the hole with soil, and gently shake the plant, so the soil falls back around the roots.
• Use your heel to compact the soil around the plant to ensure good contact around the roots.
• If you are planting into pots, place some old rocks, stones or gravel in the bottom of the pot for drainage and ballast. Use the best compost you can buy.
• When the soil and air warm up from late March onwards, you should see the plant burst into life.
• Do not allow plants to dry out in the first four months after planting. Once established for one season, they will become much more tolerant to a lack of water, as the root system develops.
• There is no real need to prune for the first 2 years, then prune to the shape and size you want. Remove any broken, diseased or crossing branches in late autumn or winter to control size.
• Prune established trees in summer using good-quality secateurs, removing weak shoots, and cutting out those that cross over each other, to create an evenly spaced bowl shape.

Our experienced team at the nursery will always carefully package and send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive once you receive and plant them. Although most plants are extremely tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme of weather conditions, we always avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme frosts or heat is forecast. We also avoid dispatching orders over Bank Holiday weekends.

Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. If you have ordered a 'pre-order' item, these will be sent out as soon as possible after the quoted dispatch date and we generally ship your entire order with any pre-ordered items. Once your order has been dispatched, we will send you an email with details on how you can track it.

We send most of our orders via a fully tracked courier service with Yodel. We will send you a tracking link as soon as your order has been dispatched. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, we will not require a signature on delivery, and we ask out couriers to leave your item in a safe place ad your delivery address.

*Please note, once your item has been delivered, we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your delivery address. If you have delivery instruction and require our courier to leave your item in a specific place, please let us know - there is an option to leave a message for the courier at the checkout.

For smaller and single-item orders, we may send these via the post with Royal Mail - Tracking will not be available for orders sent via this method.

**Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.