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.

In this day course with director and expert plantsman Dr John Grimshaw, we will discuss the great diversity of the genus Rhododendron, its place in the collection and how to identify species.

John will also advise on the best conditions for planting, cultivating and caring for them.

Light lunch and refreshments are included. 10% discount is available for RHS members.

This course is now fully booked.