Tree planting continues to be one of the most pressing issues facing the forestry industry. It is imperative that both newly planted and more mature trees are well cared for, and, with that in mind, Forestry Journal looks at a range of products designed to do just that.
BRITISH HARDWOOD TREE NURSERY
TUBEX
THE first three years of life are probably the most important for a tree. It is at this stage that young seedlings are most vulnerable, whether from severe climate, disease or damage from animals. British Hardwood Tree Nursery is here to help.
Established in 1989, British Hardwood Tree Nursery is a specialist wholesale supplier of bare-root plants and plant protection. The company’s experience means it understands what a difference the right plant protection can make to the success of a planting scheme, and it has an extensive range to offer.
British Hardwood Tree Nursery is a Tubex distributor and holds a wide range of Tubex plant protection in stock at its Lincolnshire HQ, shipping nationwide.
The UK’s leading producer of tree shelters, Tubex Treeguards, Shelterguards, Easywraps, Vinewraps and vole guards are all designed to protect trees and hedging plants from browsing animals. At the same time, they deliver a microclimate within the tube, protecting young plants from extreme weather.
Tubex Easywraps are ideal for seedlings or single-stem plants, expanding with the growth of the plant.
Tubex tree and shrub Shelters offer twin-walled protection, with flared rims to avoid plant abrasion. Pre-fitted ratchet ties make them easy to attach to a stake, and their perforated laser-line allows the growing tree to break free when large enough to go it alone.
Tubex Combitubes offer increased airflow as the tree grows. They have a ventilated top half, meaning the plant is able to acclimatise before emerging from their protection.
Size matters when deciding which plant protection to choose. Consider what animals you would like to protect your plants from – this will determine the height of your protection. For example, a 1.2 m-high guard will help protect against roe deer and muntjac.
Consider how bushy your plants may grow and this will drive the diameter of your protection. For example, a bare-root plant such as Fagus sylvatica would be fine in a ‘standard’ shelter, whereas a shrub like Euonymus would benefit from a ‘standard plus’ sized shelter.
British Hardwood Tree Nursery also stocks a wide range of mesh guard protection, including ‘Climatics’. The name comes from its mesh structure. A thick diamond pattern delivers strength, and a finer mesh creates a microclimate. A bonus is its flat-pack format, making it easy to move around a planting scheme.
For more advice and information, visit www.britishhardwood.co.uk where you can register for trade discounts, browse and buy online. Alternatively, contact the trade department to discuss your requirements on 01673 818443.
CEUK
AUTUMN brings excitement at CEuk HQ. As tree leaves fall and fruit harvesting nears completion, there is a natural rise in pruning tasks. CEuk champions the supply of bladed products, distributing Trojan handsaws, Stallion telescopic polesaws, Leyat secateurs and loppers, and Bison 1879 forestry axes. Focusing on being the best at what it does, and not necessarily the biggest, CEuk is committed to developing performing products that offer genuine value for money with a service that goes the extra mile. Every product supplied has a professional guarantee and a backup to readily available spare parts.
Stallion telescopic polesaws (SRP: £115.00–£189.99 inc VAT) have become a flagship product for the industry. Available in three telescopic options (3.1 m, 4.6 m, 6.3 m), Stallion polesaws offer high-reach tree pruning up to 6.3 m with multiple extending points that guarantee user control while safely operating from the ground. Stallion blades are robustly built from high-carbon tool steel with serrated hard-chrome plated tips that bite hard and cut smoothly to leave a clean branch finish. Stallion blades (SRP: £44.99 inc VAT) are also widely used by utility arborists on their AUS fibreglass rod pruning sets. Designed to cut on the pull-stroke, the weighted 400 mm curved blade profile helps with cutting control and reduces the amount of effort exerted by the user to produce the desired cut. Lightweight oval aluminium pole sets with locking clamps give added user control and secure extension fastening. All spare parts are readily available.
READ MORE: Buyer's Guide: Small-scale machinery for woodland management
Trojan handsaws (SRP: £32.99 – £45.99 inc VAT) are engineered for the professional in five blade lengths. High-carbon tool steel blades as standard, with hard-chrome plated tips, stay sharper for longer. This, combined with a comfortable rubber grip handle, makes the Trojan handsaw a well-balanced saw that cuts branches fast with minimal strain on the user’s forearm. All spare parts and blades are readily available.
Leyat has a history steeped in developing pruning tools. Manufactured in Switzerland, Leyat secateurs and loppers (SRP: £39.99 – £79.99 inc VAT) are built using professional grade materials. Secateurs are very personal to the user – varying hand sizes, left- and right-handed users, weight comfort and, of course, performance level. The Leyat range distinguishes itself with exceptional ergonomics designed to suit the exact needs of the user, combined with robust cutting power that tackles pruning work of extreme precision and intensity. All spare parts and blades are readily available.
For more information, visit www.ceuk-intl.com, email info@ceuk-intl.com, or go to the CEuk Facebook page, www.facebook.com/CEuk.Intl.
TREES PLEASE
BIO-SPIRAL TREE GUARDS
Trees Please is delighted to be able to offer the Bio-Spiral, the first tree and shrub spiral guard that genuinely biodegrades in a timeframe that still provides suitable protection to young plants. The Bio-Spiral tree guards are made from ‘OK biobased’ plant-based raw materials, which are certified as biodegradable when composted. The plant-based raw material has a UV stabiliser added, which is also biodegradable, to slow the rate of degradation, and the guard is designed to then begin physically breaking down between four and five years after being placed around a tree, shrub or hedge plant. The remaining material ultimately degrades in a composting environment, going back into the basic organic materials that make the material in the first place. The timescale for this complete biodegradation is proportional to the ambient surrounding temperature, pH levels of the surrounding moisture, and the type of bacteria present.
The Bio-Spiral tree guard is a plant-based product rather than the traditional oil-based plastic guard, with a cleaner production process and lower impact on the earth.
For more information, please contact 01434 633 049, email sales@treesplease.co.uk or visit www.treesplease.co.uk.
GREEN-TECH
MULCH MATTING RANGE
GREEN-TECH, the UK’s largest landscaping supplier, offers a wide range of tree planting products, from guards and shelters to stakes, ties, and belts. The company also supplies mulch mats, which have been used on projects across the UK.
When placed around newly planted whips and hedging plants, weed mats allow water and air to percolate through to the planting and suppress weed growth that would compete with the planting.
The gt Ecomatt mulch mat is manufactured in the UK, exclusively for Green-tech, from 100 per cent recycled materials. The product is needle-punched onto a degradable polythene backing to allow both air and water to pass through the layers. The gt Ecomatt helps to suppress competing weed growth within the vicinity of the plant’s root development area, allows water and air to percolate through the wool layer, and helps to retain moisture in times of drought. The matting acts as an insulator and absorbs heat from the sun, thus creating an assisted environment for the plant to establish itself. The mat is totally degradable, lasting a minimum of two seasons.
READ MORE: Forestry mulchers: 4 solutions on the market right now
Polythene weed mats are an inexpensive, effective method of weed control and reduction of water loss. The mats are made from 500 gauge (125 micron) photodegradable polythene and are effective for approximately three growing seasons.
Woven weed mats are made from black woven polypropylene, are water permeable, reduce weed growth, and are effective for approximately five seasons.
Where landscape planting is required, particularly on slopes, Greenfix Mulchmats provide mulching, moisture control, non-chemical weed control, soil erosion protection, and soil temperature balance in one single operation. Type 10 Mulchmats provide weed control and mulching typically for at least three years.
For more information, please contact 01423 332100, email sales@green-tech.co.uk or visit www.green-tech.co.uk.
SUREGREEN
VIGILIS TREE SHELTERS
SINCE the launch of the Vigilis tree shelter range in 2018, Suregreen has become the fastest-growing manufacturer and supplier of tree shelters across the UK and abroad, with case histories from roadside planting on Highways Agency projects to large-scale forestry and restoration plantations. As a trusted and growing online and trade supplier, Suregreen can dispatch anywhere in the UK in mixed consignments of different-sized shelters, with or without stakes, and it also offers a wide range of complementary products including fencing, bamboo canes and tree ties.
Suregreen prides itself on listening to the people actually using its goods, as this allows the company to constantly evolve and improve its products to greater suit the needs of its customers. Over the last two years, Suregreen has refined, developed and improved its range to provide the best performance tree shelters at the most cost-effective prices.
So, why choose Vigilis Tree Shelters?
INCREASED DIAMETERS
With diameters ranging from 73–110 cm, Vigilis tree shelters are the largest standard tubular tree shelters on the market. The increased diameters allow more movement within the shelter and, at the same time, make the nests easier to pull apart, particularly with Suregreen’s superior quality ties.
PERFORATED BREAK-LINES
Designed to ensure that the tree shelter splits as the tree grows, Vigilis tree shelters feature a laser-line, which is crucial to ensure that the tube splits open once filled, with no constriction on the tree.
BESPOKE TIES
Suregreen’s bespoke ties have an easy-release tie with a tuck-back tab, for simple operation even with gloved hands. Maintenance operations often happen in winter and taking off gloves to remove ties can add as much as 15 per cent to the cost of the maintenance operation.
IMPROVED FLARE
Designed to minimise any abrasion of the soft stem of the tree caused by wind movement, the improved Vigilis flare is particularly important with fast-growing species in windy environments.
IMPROVED COLOUR
The new and improved Vigilis tree shelters are a darker, muted green shade, which both blends inconspicuously with the surrounding forest environment and encourages healthy growth of the tree inside the tube by allowing optimum light wave transmission.
THE SERVICE
Buying direct from the manufacturer means customers can specify exactly the product they need, with variations on tie height and additional tie holes a speciality, and Suregreen can deliver direct from its large warehouse in Essex to anywhere in the UK – where you want it, when you want it.
For more information, quotations and case studies, please contact Suregreen’s technical sales manager, Tim Oliver, on 07872 542282 or tim.oliver@sure-green.com today.
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