Planting trees in summer

Extend planting season with cocos-wrapped root balls, air-pots or containers
Larger sized trees, with stem girths greater than 16-18 cm, are usually cultivated in open ground and delivered with a wire and hessian-wrapped root ball. This is also the case at Van den Berk Nurseries, where approximately 95% of our trees are delivered during ‘the planting season’, i.e. from November to the end of April. However, some projects are so complex that to keep the project moving forward, it is practical if we can plant trees in the intervening months.
By using cocos-wrapped root balls, the air-pot system or container trees, the planting season can be extended making summer planting possible too.
Cocos-wrapped root balls and air-pots are specially designed to allow trees from open ground to grow temporarily above the ground. The required trees are lifted before the end of April, in accordance with the order. They then remain at the nursery for several months until the buyer is ready for them to be delivered.

Read more below about the 3 options.

Extend the planting season with cocos-wrapped root balls

The ‘cocos-wrapped root ball’ is an excellent solution if a project is delayed and the trees cannot be planted before they come into leaf. After lifting, the root balls are wrapped with the usual hessian that is held in place by a wire basket, and then wrapped in a mat consisting of two layers of coconut fibres, between which a layer of bio-degradable plastic is sandwiched. Another familiar wire basket is then placed around the wrapped root ball. Although the cocos-wrapped root balls do not differ much in appearance from the usual wire root balls, the cocos mats have highly insulating properties and prevent the roots from drying out. Once the root balls are wrapped, the trees are moved to a special plot where they are placed above the ground and watered with the aid of a drip line. Trees with cocos-wrapped root balls can be supplied at any time of year, even making it possible to plant large-sized trees in the middle of summer. During planting, cocos mats need to be removed. It is best to leave the wire basket and the hessian it holds in place intact.

Please note that although trees can sustain several months in cocos-wrapped root balls, they cannot continue developing. We therefore recommend not leaving trees with cocos-wrapped root balls above ground beyond a single growing season.

Top-quality root balls with air-pots

With air-pots it is even possible to plant trees (including large ones) outside the usual planting season. Unlike the cocos-wrapped root ball, this system allows trees to carry on growing. The tough plastic sheet that is wrapped around the root ball above the ground is known as an air-pot because it features small holes that allow a lot of air to pass into the ‘pot’. The word pot is a bit misleading though because the system has no bottom. Instead, it is a sheet that used to form a pot that is placed on a substrate of root cloth, and then filled with potting compost. The air holes and the good quality soil around the root ball stimulate the growth of root hairs. In two to three months, a root ball of the very best quality is created in the air-pot. When the time comes to deliver the trees, the sheets are removed and new wire root balls are fitted. The great benefit of this method is that the trees go through their transplantation stress at the nursery, which means they can carry on growing right away at their new site. In 2009 -2011, we used the air-pot system to prepare 2400 trees for transplanting in the 2012 Olympic Village in London. These trees had spent an average of one year in air-pots at our nursery. The result was a zero percent failure rate and a beautiful park for the games.

Trees and shrubs in containers

Container plants grow in large plastic pots and once the root systems are properly established, they can be planted all year round. This is in contrast to trees cultivated in open ground, which always lose some of their roots during lifting, preventing them from being transplanted when they are in leaf. Trees and bushes in containers are ideal if you want to plant a few beautiful specimen trees or shrubs outside the lifting season. Van den Berk Nurseries has a container field of trees and ornamental shrubs that come in sizes that are somewhat larger than usual. The product range offers a selection of species and shapes of extraordinary ornamental value. Striking eye-catchers for gardens or parks.