January 16th - January 31st

We are still harvesting rainfall at 1000 cubic metres per 24 hours and our reservoirs will be full by the end of January at this rate. It has proved to be a very wet winter.

Potting is similarly going well, we are up to 40,000 and will reach our 75,000 target by the end of March. We have introduced several new varieties to our range this year but more on this in the Spring. We are lifting semi mature Betula Jacquemontii from the field this week and they are going straight into 150L Light Pots. Last week we lifted over 300 semi mature Pyrus Chanticleer for 250L Light Pots as well as over 200 Eucalyptus  debeuzvillei 3 metre multi stems that went into 85L Light Pots. It's our busy time of year for production.

Our attention now shifts to our trade stand at this years Chelsea Flower Show in tandem with Thomas Hoblyn's show garden which will feature our trees. It will be the first time we have done Chelsea so we will have much to learn.

It won't be long until the Cornus mas and Hamamelis Arnold Promise come into flower on the nursery and we are all looking forward to the longer days and warmer temperatures. Betula ermanii is always the first tree to get into full leaf at Barcham but we have to wait until the end of March on this one.

All the best

Mike