Fruit and Nut
Updated 22nd November 2020
For barerooted fruit and nut tree special offers click here
For seed and germinated seed special offers click here
For hedging, woodland and conifer special offers click here
For plant pot and sundries special offers click here
For non-horticultural special offers click here
Ordering advice
Except for pallet sized orders (minimum order value €300) special offer stock is collection-only.
1yr Heartnut offer
We are releasing some of the smaller 7.5l heartnuts at a reduced price. They are the same age as the 12l heartnuts but smaller (around 30cm). Prices as follows:
3-9 trees 25.00 ea
10 or more trees 20.00 ea
We have the following varieties available:
Adelphia
Campbell CW1
Campbell CW3
Fodermaier
Imshu
Kalmar
More information on heartnuts can be found here
3yr Aronia offer
Shrub native to Northern Asia and North America, long bred for its richly flavoured berries used in fruit juices and jams, or eaten raw. Important bee plant. Now known to be one of the richest sources of antioxidants, even superior to blueberries, sea buckthorn or gojiberries. Planted commericially in North America, Russia, Poland, Germany, the Baltic States and Scotland (mainly for juice production). Yields are among the highest of any berry: three times that of blueberries and ten times that of goji berries.
Aronia juice is starting to appear in health food shops in Ireland, where it sells at a premium price.
Easy to grow with good yields from the second or third year. An established bush can produce 10kg of berries per annum, with production continuing for thirty years or more). The picking season extends 4-6 weeks, from late August (in 2019 the last berries were picked 2nd November). The berries can withstand frost.
Aronia is very frost hardy (won't be killed off by a repeat of December 2010) and tolerant of most soils. However, it is not suitable for very exposed maritime situations or waterlogged ground.
We are offering 3yr plants of the variety Hugin, the most compact of the aronia varieties, with the smallest but sweetest berries, with the highest content of phenolic compounds (the compounds linked to health benefits). Maximum height 1.2-1.5m. Aronia combines very well with cranberry and/or lingonberry (see below) in a sugar-free conserve.
Hugin is particularly suitable to growing as a hedge; plant at 60cm apart. Stand alone bushes intended for maximum berry production can be planted at 1.5m spacing with 3-4m between rows. All the plants will produce berries this year (almost all of them already cropped in 2019).
The plants are sufficiently robust for planting out into a final position, or can be grown on in a bed for a further year. Almost all the 3yr plants produced berries this year (harvested 23rd September).
50 plants €200, 100 plants €375, 200 plants €700. Further discount negotiable for larger quantities.
American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)
Long cultivated for its tart purple-red berries, popular in cranberry sauce, the American cranberry requires moist, free draining acidic ground to do well. Providing those conditions are met, it is very easy to grow.
Large scale commercial producers construct special beds that can be briefly flooded several times a year. This helps reduce certain pests (generally only a problem in large scale production), control weeds and also facilitates harvest. However, for the small scale producer, cranberries can be easily grown on wide, slightly raised beds. An established bed will yield 1-2kg (occasionally 3kg) per m² (10-20t/ha).
For best results, the water table should be maintained at 30-60cm below the ground surface. The American cranberry does not thrive in permanently waterlogged or very dry ground. The ideal pH is 4.0-5.0 (upper limit 5.5)
We offer the following varieties:
Early Black, vigorous, adaptable to many soil types, berries dark red, fruits early in season, very good storage life. One of the most popular varieties in the US.
Bergman, mid season variety, compact growing and highly productive. Red berries, fruits large with good storage capability. Good disease resistance. Very good variety for home production. Strongly recommended.
Pilgrim, a late, high-yielding variety with blueberry size purple-red berries, popular in the United States since the 1960s and now grown commercially in Europe. Very vigorous. This variety cropped well at our former trial site at Cooloughra.
We believe the cranberry has massive potential in Ireland. Although trialled in the 1980s and 90s by Bord na Mona, the idea at the time was to compete on international markets. Given the two hundred years of experience and know-how of the North American producers and their huge scale of production, this was always somewhat optimisitic!
However, for niche Irish markets, the cranberry is a potential winner. In the United States (supplier of nearly all the cranberries consumed in Ireland) the berries are planted in vast monocultures and are routinely sprayed with fungicides and pesticides. For the small scale low density producer, cranberries are perfectly suited to organic methods. Cranberries combine well with aronia and apple for a sugar-free cranberry sauce.
2yr plants in P9 pots. Some plants have flowered and will produce a small number of berries this year. As a result of the lockdown we are overstocked hence low price. 20 plants €50, 50 plants €100, 100 plants €175, 200 plants €300
Pear Benita Rafzas
This wonderful pear is a hybrid of the European and nashi (Asian) pears. Parentage: Pyrus communis 'General Leclerc' and Pyrus pyrifolia 'Hosui'. Developed by plant breeder Peter Hauenstein (Switzerland). It needs a warm site to do well but will succeed in places where the nashi pear would struggle to crop. Sweet, flavoursome and crisp, fully hardy in Irish climate with good disease resistance. Fruiting from mid September. Pollination group 2 (suggested pollinator: Invincible).
2yr bush trained tree on quince A rootstock in 12l pots. Will grow to approx 4m x 4m. €40 ea. Very limited supply so order now!
Pinus pinea
Pinus pinea, the Mediterranean stone pine, grows well in Ireland and will produce the first nuts after 8-10 years. It is a tough hardy tree, slow growing with spreading habit, tolerant of frost to -15°C. Hardiness Zone 8. It will grow in any well-drained soil. Very good in coastal locations. This is by far the best choice of pinenut tree for Ireland.
4yr trees 50-70cm in 9L airpot (final reduction)
5 trees €80, 10 trees €150, 20 trees €250, 50 trees: €500 Amazing value! This offer will close once trees are repotted (August)
5yr trees 60-80cm in 25L airpot. Similar to the 9L trees offered above but with more side branches and greater root development. The first cones can be expected within 5-10 years. Very good value
Price: €40 ea, 5 trees €150, 10 trees €250
Bulk offer 20 trees: €400
Holm oak (Quercus ilex)
This is the evergreen oak native to Mediterranean countries. The acorns have a long history of being used for food. Will produce first acorns at about 10 years. Very tough, excellent for seaside exposure. Can be grown as a hedge.
4yr trees 25-40cm, in 7L pots. 10 trees €75, 20 trees €140, 50 trees €300
Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum)
The cultivated blueberry, sometimes called the highbush blueberry, is closely related to the wild European bilberry or blaeberry found in many of our upland areas. While the wild bilberry is a small plant with varying amounts of tiny intensely flavoured berries, the highbush blueberry grows on tall plants and produces heavy crops of blackcurrant sized (or often larger) berries.
Blueberries require good drainage and do best in a dry acid soil of pH 4.5-5.0. They are particularly suited to growing in pots.
Varieties on offer (2yr plants in P9 pots):
Bluejay
This is a vigorous upright maincrop variety, now being used to replace Bluecrop. It flowers relatively late so misses the frosts but fast maturing so fruiting approx 1-2 weeks earlier than Bluecrop. Good disease resistance so particularly suitable for organic cultivation. Plants are currently 20-30cm in height. 25 plants €50. Sold Out
Duke
Clusters of medium sized fruit with good flavour, high yields. Less tolerant of wet soils. Early to mid season. The flowering period is relatively late, so a good choice for frost-prone sites. High disease resistance so well suited to organic cultivation. Plants are currently 30-40cm in height. 15 plants €45, 30 plants €75 Offer closed
Pinus cembra
Pinus cembra , the Arolla stone pine, is native to the Alps and Carpathians, where it grows at a higher altitude than any other conifer. It is a very tough tree, capable of thriving in barren stony soil. In its harsh native environment it can take decades to reach nut-bearing age but when cultivated the first nuts appear at about 12 years. Requires well-drained soil. Slow growing, adding only 6-12cm per year in the early years (about 30-40cm per year at peak growth), and eventually reaching ten to twenty metres. Best planted in small groups on your driest, stoniest land! Provided the trees are kept weed free, can be planted into final positions even at 20cm tall.3yr trees 20-30cm in 2L pot.
Price: €10 ea, 5 trees €40, 10 trees €70, 20 trees €120. Offer now closed
Pinus pumila
Pinus pumila, the dwarf Siberian pine, is native to eastern Siberia, northern Japan and parts of Korea and China. Closely related to Pinus koraiensis and Pinus siberica. It forms a dwarf tree or large shrub, occasionally reaching 6 metres but more typically 2-3 metres. Compared to other pinenuts, the nuts are very small. In eastern Siberia the nuts are harvested for their oil. Of the pinenut species we supply, this is by far the most suitable for really tough situations. Very suited to mass-planting in harsh coastal or upland environments. Unlike other pinenuts, Pinus pumila can be grown as a hedge.3yr trees 15-25cm (20-25cm spread) in 5L pot
Price: €10 ea, 5 trees €40, 10 trees €70, 20 trees €120
Holm oak (Quercus ilex)
This is the evergreen oak native to Mediterranean countries. The acorns have a long history of being used for food. Will produce first acorns at about 10 years. Very tough, excellent for seaside exposure. Can be grown as a hedge.
4yr trees 25-40cm, in 7L pots. 10 trees €75, 20 trees €140, 50 trees €325
Pinus wallichiana (syn P.griffithi) - Blue Pine
Native to the Himalayan mountains from Arunachal Pradesh in northern India westwards into Afghanistan. Medium to large tree reaching 35m in favourable native locations. The likely maximum height in Ireland is 20-25m. As the name suggests, the blue pine has distinctive and highly fragrant foliage varying in colour from light green to green- blue, occasionally bright blue. This beautiful tree is regarded as one of the most ornamental of all the pines. It produces a small nut which has potential for nut oil. Quite fast growing tree but requires a sheltered situation to do well.
4yr trees 45-70cm in 12L pot
Price: €12 ea, 5 trees €50, 10 trees €90
Bulk offers: 25 trees €200, 50 trees €350
Prices exclusive of delivery by pallet crate (small quantities are collection only). Offer now closed
Pinus peuce - Macedonian Pine
Native to Albania, Macedonia, southwest Bulgaria and northern Greece. Medium to large tree typical maximum height 20-30m. A slow growing and very tough pine, sometimes used as a shelter tree for other species though rarely planted in Ireland. Tolerant of a wide range of soils including acid peat and shallow limestone soils. Good in exposed situations, including coastal areas. Also tolerant of cold sites, including frost pockets. Produces a small nut with potential for nut oil.
4yr trees 25-40cm in 7L pot.
Price: €10 ea, 5 trees €45, 10 trees €80
Bulk offers: 25 trees €175, 50 trees €300
Prices exclusive of delivery by pallet crate (small quantities are collection only). Offer now closed