Fresh green, deeply lobed leaves emerge in spring, creating a dense canopy that provides welcome shade throughout the summer months. In autumn, the foliage turns warm shades of yellow-brown before falling, while the tree’s distinctive acorns add seasonal interest and provide an important food source for birds, mammals and other wildlife. As it matures, Quercus robur develops a rugged, textured bark and commanding presence that only enhances its appeal.
The English Oak is an exceptional choice for creating a lasting landscape feature and is renowned for supporting a vast range of wildlife, making it one of the most valuable native trees for biodiversity. It thrives in fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soils and is highly adaptable to a variety of growing conditions. Given adequate space, it will develop into a truly magnificent specimen that becomes more impressive with each passing year.
As a rough guide when planting Quercus robur as a specimen tree, allow ample room for its eventual spread and avoid positioning it too close to buildings or other large trees that may restrict its future development.
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Position: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil and site: Fertile, moist but well-drained soil; tolerant of most soil types including clay
Flowering time: April to May
Growth rate: Moderate
Ultimate height and spread: Height to 20-40m, spread to approximately 15-25m
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Water regularly during dry spells for the first few years after planting to encourage strong root establishment. Apply a mulch around the base in spring to help retain moisture and reduce weed competition, keeping it clear of the trunk. Pruning is rarely necessary beyond the removal of dead, damaged or crossing branches. Allow sufficient space for the tree to mature naturally and develop its characteristic broad, spreading crown.
Potted orders are usually despatched within 3-5 working days and delivery is 1-2 days after we despatch. Pleached tree and tall plant deliveries are booked in for delivery at the earliest possible convenient date.
Delivery is free for most orders above our free delivery thresholds, these are displayed above our prices in the product listings and summarized below. If you don’t need that many plants it’s not a problem, you can choose to pay our subsidised delivery charge and only order what you need.
Delivery is convenient – no signature is required so you don’t need to wait in, we will leave your parcel in the safe place that you nominate.
Delivery is fast – because we pick orders daily from our own growing beds your plants only travel the small hop to our packing shed before being sent to you, they are usually delivered within 5-7 working days.
Delivery is reliable – we have been selling and delivering Hedging Plants to our customers nationwide since 1992. We have a lot of experience in packing them safely and only use tried and tested delivery partners.
Smaller Plants (Parcel Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Up to £300 | £9 |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £300 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | £24 |
Heavy Plants (Pallet Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Up to £500 | £50 |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £500 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | £90 |
Tall Plants 2.5m+ (Specialist Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| Mainland England and Wales only | Under £1800 | Please call us |
| Mainland England and Wales only | Over £1800 | Free |
| All other areas | All orders | Not available |
Exceptions to our delivery charges are Scottish Highland and Isle of Wight delivery areas where we need to charge a little extra to cover the cost of deliveries to these outlying areas. We don’t currently delivery to other offshore addresses including Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.
Tall plants over 2.5 metres have to be delivered by our own specialised transport, our delivery area is limited to mainland England and Wales only.
For pleached tree orders we can often deliver smaller orders of £600 or more (£500 plus VAT) with a contribution towards delivery, so please do call our sales team on 01580 765 600 or take a look at our Delivery Information page.
Please note there is a minimum order value of £50 for orders containing smaller plants and £250 for orders containing heavier plants.
Complete delivery information can be viewed on our Delivery Information page.