Barcham Trees Shelf Life

Recent research trials in Florida have shown the effects of spiralled or tangled roots and these problems have been perpetuated by potting up stock from container to container. Trees grown in this way are very susceptible to blowing over in strong winds, a regular occurrence in America, and there is now a huge backlash over there on the fallibility of nursery production methods.

At Barcham we have always containerized trees rather than container grow them. This may seem a small distinction, but it can make a huge difference to how the plant establishes long term. An outward facing radial root system is what’s needed, as if roots are deviated for too long they randomly knot together and as they expand with secondary thickening they girdle, leaving the tree with both poor anchorage and growth potential.

Our trees are lifted from our field unit bare rooted and then containerized into our Light Pot™ to re-grow a root system fit for sale some twelve months later. Once ready for despatch, if stock remains unsold they continue to develop and can girdle if left for too long even though the top of the tree looks like it is still thriving.

With this in mind we issue every batch of trees a bar code to monitor how long they have been in their pots and so keep track of their shelf life. It is our trick to despatch our stock before shelf life is reached but trees that go past this point are routinely culled. The shelf life is decided by genera and as far as we know we are the only nursery that manages stock in this way.

Barchams track record

We have been growing and selling trees in our containers for over 20 years and our stock is now planted along the length and breadth of the UK so you will never be too far away from a Barcham Tree.

My six year old claims that every tree she passes is from Barcham which is rather an overstatement but if you would like a local reference for our stock we would be pleased to point you in the right direction

Mike Glover, Managing Director, Barcham Trees Plc