Audience

Amateur gardeners, early career private gardeners and horticulturists, and conservation volunteers.

Why

There’s a lot of interest in planting trees at present, for carbon capture and other ecosystem benefits, as well as their own beauty. Planting a tree in your garden or neighbourhood can help a lot, but choosing the right tree, planting and looking after it can be a daunting prospect. This investment can be costly both in time, money and enthusiasm when it goes wrong.

Aim

To ensure that trees thrive Garden Trees: Best Start will guide learners through choosing and planting a healthy tree and its important early maintenance. Learners will leave confident in the knowledge of how to establish a tree for future generations and know about pitfalls that should be avoided.

Objectives

• Talk through the importance of sourcing healthy plants.

• Share a succinct list of important criteria to choose a high quality retailer.

• Use live examples and images to highlight what to look for when purchasing healthy trees.

• Explain the best time to plant and show how to handle and care for trees until that time comes.

• Demonstrate preparation and planting whilst discussing different situations and supplements.

• Use a short tour to show different methods of planting support and protection.

• Prioritise the aftercare and maintenance that learners should invest their time in.

Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

• Confidently select good quality healthy trees in a garden centre.

• Understand the need for plant passporting and traceability that this provides.

• Consider and minimise the factors that might limit your tree’s establishment.

• Maximise the likelihood of your tree thriving through appropriate and effective preparation, planting, support and maintenance.