The machines required to plant large stock can cause some temporary disturbance to lawns etc.  In cases where the disturbance is unlikely to recover naturally, or where there is risk of damage to hardscaping, the advisor will strongly advise use of matting.  Matting may also be used at a customers’ request in order to preserve the lawn in (almost) pristine condition.  

• Optional protective boarding for lawns and hardscaping during planting

The vast majority of our stock needs to be staked (anchored) to promote root establishment.  We offer three anchorage systems as below.  Your advisor will help you choose the most suitable:  

• Traditional wood staking with crossbar or strapping – most economical
• Platipus underground – invisible once installed; extremely robust and required for larger stock
• Platipus overhead guying – robust and required for windy areas or large stock with heavy crowns

In planting sites near drains, underground services, foundations, pavements, fences or boundary walls, it may be advisable to line the sides of the planting pit with root barrier membrane to discourage problem rooting.

• Root block fabric membrane – to discourage surface rooting – deflects roots into the deeper soil layers

Rabbits, deer, vandals, and strimmers can quickly damage a tree beyond recovery.  In sites where these threats are present, it is advisable to install protective guards upon planting.

• Rabbit guards
• Strimmer guards
• Galvanised mesh deer guards
• Wrought iron tree guards

It is absolutely vital to have watering arrangements in place prior to planting.  The traditional hosepipe method works fine in most cases, but for larger orders, hedging installations, or in cases where the trees cannot be watered daily, leaky pipes, automatic timer systems or tree gators may be the better solution.

• Leaky pipe
• Automatic above ground Irrigation with a timer
• Tree Gators – slow release irrigation bags which can be quickly topped up  as required.  Ideal for sites distant from mains water or where a hosepipe/irrigation pipe would pose a trip hazard.

When planting larger trees, considerable soil can be displaced.  The soil is seldom of rich enough quality to be used elsewhere in a garden setting, so a plan must be made for it’s disposal.

• Leave in situ
• Dispose of on site
• Remove from site

A pit of considerable size is needed to plant our trees, which leaves behind  a circle of disturbed soil around the base of the newly planted tree.  This can either be left to recover naturally or be top dressed with bark mulch. 

• Standard finish –  disturbed soil over tree pits is levelled and raked over. 
• Mulch finish – disturbed soil over tree pits is levelled and raked over then topdressed with bark mulch.