The Nursery The Observatory is the home of Al and Anne, and about three thousand trees.
We have been growing trees since the early sixties. The first tree arrived and lived in a margarine container on the outside kitchen window sill. It is an oak, now 30 years old, and we are waiting for it to grow its first acorns. We now know a lot more about trees, and have a wide range of well established and hardy trees, including maples, pines, zelkovas, crab apples, field maples, larch, hawthorns, oaks, hornbeams, and many other British trees.
Stock
We specialise in home grown hardy trees, which we grow and train for development into bonsai. We have experience of many native British trees. Most of our trees have been grown over a long period from whips. Some have also been grown from cuttings and seed. We do not sell collected trees.
Cultivation Trees are generally started in dwarf pots, until they establish a good root system, and then gradually potted on, into half or full seed trays. We don't normally wire the trees to the pots, because with a good flat root system, they are completely stable, and stand up to the winter elements quite satisfactorily. We do not bring any trees in for winter protection, so our trees can be said to withstand winter temperatures and conditions similar to those in our area. Only if temperatures dropped to 10 degrees C below freezing, would we worry and selectively protect pots. Temperatures below this we have not experienced, but many if not all the trees would probably be all right for short periods.
