In late spring, large clusters of creamy-white flowers appear among the finely divided, fern-like foliage, creating a delicate and attractive display that is highly appealing to pollinating insects. These are followed by abundant bunches of brilliant orange-red berries in late summer and autumn, which often persist well into the colder months and provide an important food source for birds. As autumn progresses, the foliage transforms into striking shades of yellow, orange and red, delivering a spectacular seasonal display before leaf fall.
Sorbus aucuparia is a versatile and dependable tree that works beautifully as a specimen, within mixed woodland planting or as part of a wildlife-friendly garden. It thrives in a wide range of soil conditions and is particularly well suited to exposed sites, where its resilience and ornamental qualities can be fully appreciated. Its manageable size makes it an excellent alternative to larger trees where space is more limited.
As a rough guide when planting Sorbus aucuparia as a specimen tree, allow sufficient space for its mature canopy to develop and position it where the berries and autumn colour can be enjoyed to their fullest effect.
Faster growing trees such as these often grow very tall in their pots on the nursery. While it may sound appealing for us to sell a taller tree for more money, it leaves the young trees thin and vulnerable to snapping in the wind when planted out in their final position.  If you look closely, you may find the main stem (leader) of your potted tree has been cut during the growing season to keep the trees healthy and compact. This is normal practice to thicken up more vigorous, upgoing’ species and will not affect the final shape of the tree because a new leader will develop very quickly if it hasn’t already.
(This does not change the stated sale height of the trees. For example: if we are selling a 180/200cm tall tree, Â then it will be delivered to you at that size)
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How to grow Sorbus aucuparia
Position: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil and site: Moist but well-drained soil; tolerant of most soil types
Flowering time: May to June
Growth rate: Moderate
Ultimate height and spread: Height to 8-15m, spread to approximately 4-8m
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Aftercare: Water regularly during dry periods while establishing. Apply a mulch of compost or well-rotted organic matter around the base in spring to help conserve moisture and suppress weeds. Minimal pruning is required, although dead, damaged or crossing branches can be removed during the dormant season. Leave berries in place wherever possible to provide valuable food for wildlife throughout autumn and winter.
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.
