Root Ball hedging plants

Root ball plants are a great way to buy large, heavy, bushy evergreens - absolutely beautiful plants. This growing method leaves the plants in fields for the whole of their lifetime - they are easy for our growers to fertilise, the weather takes care of most of the watering needed, and they have the space to grow into huge plants. Each year, their roots are "undercut" by a specialised machine which trims the longest roots so that the root balls stays compact. They are "lifted to order" which means that we only lift the plant out of the field in which it has been grown when an order for that exact specification of plant is placed. We therefore have no waste and this, together with the economic growing method, helps us to make these plants cheaper than the same size plant grown in a pot. Root balls are also bushier than the same height of plant grown in a pot, just because of the growing method. Although these are expensive plants, you get a lot for your money and their bushiness means that you don't need as many per metre as you do with pot grown plants.

Not every species is grown this way but we do have a wide range - Box, Holly (3 varieties), Laurel (both Cherry or Common Laurel and also Portuguese Laurel), Leylandii, Photinia, Privet, Western Red Cedar and Yew.

Root Ball plants are not as easy to establish as pot grown plants because they are uprooted from their permanent home. The risk is minimised by only planting root balls when they are dormant (so that they do not have the stress of leaf production and can put all their energy into root development) between late October and mid April. We also strongly recommend the use of RootGrow with all root balls. You have to take on the responsibility for keeping them well watered - this is absolutely essential and if you think you may not do this, you should really steer clear of root balls and go for pots instead (or bare roots if the species is available). We send detailed planting instructions when you order. Having said that, we sell thousands of root balls each year and the success rate is exceptionally good because our plants are top quality - so as long as you know that you will need to plant them properly and then keep them watered (that's not asking too much is it!), then you have nothing to fear.

You can find a more detailed explanation of the pro's and con's of root balls on the right hand menu in the section called "Bare Root, cell grown, pot grown and root ball - an explantion of terminology".

Because these plants are "lifted to order" rather than being kept ready for despatch, there is a short delay between ordering and receiving the plants - normally around 7 days, sometimes quicker and only very occasionally would it take any longer. All deliveries of root balls are made on pallets - we offer free delivery providing your order is £200 plus VAT or more. If you need smaller quantities, you can pay a delivery supplement. On large quantities (over £500) we can sometimes give a discounts - definitely we can discount on orders over £1000.

We have a good photo library of these plants (we take new photos each season so you can see the current stock) - if you would like to see a photo before you order, please call us.

Don't forget to order RootGrow and/or Bonemeal Root Builder.