Are your fruit trees UK-grown?
Hello, I hope this email finds you well. I am hoping to order some trees from you but how would I know if the tree I want is UK-grown? I am very keen to keep the carbon footprint down and avoid imports,
I am looking for an Old Green Gage and Shropshire Prune, both on VVA-1, if that makes any difference to your answer.
Asked by: Joanna from North Leeds, 02-Dec-2021
Hi Jo. Thanks for contacting us.
The vast majority of our trees are grown in the UK. However tree production requires a range of raw materials, some of which may come from specialists on the continent. For example the VVA-1 rootstock which you mention is in limited supply and almost always imported from the plant rights owner in Europe.
A pot-grown tree will have a worse footprint than a bare-root one, since it will require a pot, compost, nutrients, and extra packaging.
If you want to minimise the carbon footprint of a new fruit tree I would specify a 1-year bare-root tree grafted on a traditional (not modern) rootstock. And when you plant it, do not use additional compost!
To put this in context I think there is little difference in the carbon footprint of a tree supplied from a nursery in, say, Belgium, with one in the UK - compared with most other consumer products which do not go on to absorb CO2 for their productive lives!