Barcham Trees: small business ethos – large scale production
For a garden designer, a visit to Barcham Trees, the largest container tree nursery
in Europe, is like putting a child in a giant sweet shop. A walk around the nursery
is likely to lead to dangerous thoughts of purchasing more and/or larger trees than
actually required. To see row upon row of plants in such excellent condition all
standing tall in their patented white pots is very exciting.
Originally growing seedlings and field grown trees, the then owner and now Financial
Director, Peter Wells, became dissatisfied with the loss rate following transplanting,
and experiments began with white pots. The science behind the success of white pots
is roots react to light in that they move away from it. The white side wall of the
container is translucent so allowing a small amount of light through causing the
root to grow down rather than following the circumference of the container wall
as happens with black rigid containers. Therefore using white pots helps prevent
root spiralling and subsequent establishment problems.
With the arrival of Managing Director Mike Glover who had already been taught by
an Australian nurseryman at Writtle College that white pots were better than black
for any plant that stays in its container for more than a few months, it was probably
inevitable that full conversion would soon follow. Initial containers were made
of polythene but turned out to be difficult to handle so aggregate bags with handles
were tested and proved very successful. The latest version known as the Light Pot,
is made from woven polyethylene that supports handles for easy movement and has
a drawstring at the top of the bag to pull tight when despatched. It also incorporates
a permeable and degradable mulch mat and a root barrier designed to assist customers
where root invasion may be a potential problem. The sides of the bag are peppered
with holes to improve the flow of oxygen within the compost creating a more fibrous
root system similar to that seen with air pots but with the additional benefit that
the white bag can be retained during delivery so protecting the roots until the
final moments of planting. Barcham has now patented the pot design and markets the
container in the United States as well as producing trees exclusively in them for
sale in the UK.
As the business grew it became clear that to keep up with demand a new way of containerising
trees would need to be developed. Production Manager, Warren Holmes-Chatfield, designed
a machine (subsequently built by a local foundry) that can containerise up to 50,000
trees during the dormant season (that’s approximately 1,000 trees per day!). It
even barcodes each tree, allowing its time at the nursery to be tracked and recorded.
Every tree is given a sell-by date and any that are still on site after that date
are removed from stock.
One of Barcham’s aims is to provide its customers with high quality container grown
trees which will establish quickly with a minimum of post-planting stress. The white
pots go a long way to helping achieve this goal but also playing a vital role is
the extensive husbandry and aftercare each tree receives until it leaves the nursery.
Each specimen is head-pruned and root-pruned before potting according to the needs
of each individual species and variety and then given formative pruning when developing
on the nursery. The drip irrigation to each container, linked to a steady flow of
liquid feed, ensures that each tree is in constant growth throughout the growing
season and is able to develop to its full potential. Needless to say, all stock
is inspected closely for pest and disease and a rigorous environmentally sensitive
spray programme ensures such problems are kept to a minimum and no stock is allowed
to leave the nursery until it has been checked thoroughly.
Compost within the pots is mainly a peat and chipped bark mix with the addition
of a brick waste produce known locally as ‘grog’ to keep the compost mix open. However
a small proportion of trees each year are grown in a recycled compost for those
clients (mainly councils) that require this. Unfortunately consistent supply and
quality is still difficult to achieve, but Barcham will continue to look at green
alternatives to peat and if a suitable substitute can be found in the future they
are sure to consider its use.
With climate change threatening to upset the normal balance of water supply, along
with rising bills from the local water company, Barcham now has a system in place
to collect all rainwater that falls on the site. Water from the nursery drains into
a ditch which runs along the northern boundary and empties into two reservoirs with
a combined capacity of 72,000 cubic metres which makes the company virtually self
sufficient in water and saves it tens of thousands of pounds in charges each year.
It has to be remembered that trees are only part of this nursery. A vital element
for its success is the staff and the service they provide to customers. It should
be noted that all telephone enquiries to the nursery will be answered personally
by a member of the sales or despatch team who will be able to offer advice and or
prices as required. Barcham refuses to use an electronic answering service, preferring
to trust in people and individual contact. Staff are highly knowledgeable and will
be able to advise on all aspects of trees, from which tree will be best for a particular
site to how best to stake. Unless particularly complex, quotations requests (via
fax or email) will be answered on the same day.
Where customers need on site advice Barcham will make site visits with the cost
of such visit offset against any orders subsequently placed and can guarantee that
only trees produced by Barcham will be sold by Barcham. Similarly, if a customer
has specific requirements and there is a long enough lead time Barcham will produce
trees under contract ensuring the right number of trees at the right specification
are ready to be despatched when needed at a known and agreed fixed price.
Each tree for each order is carefully selected from the tree stock on the nursery
to meet the customer’s specification and labelled accordingly. Customers are welcomed
to the nursery at this stage of the proceedings if they would like to label their
own tree stock.
The despatch team will contact each customer prior to despatch and discuss individual
requirements and timings which will be built into the despatch schedule wherever
it is possible to do so. Once a despatch date has been agreed each tree is lifted
by the specialised despatch team who check each tree for quality prior to loading
on the lorry.
Barcham also has an excellent online presence with two separate sites, one for trade
the other for private customers (see information below). Both sites include a huge
amount of information about each tree and are an invaluable tool for the designer
whether searching for a common or unusual specimen.
The trees at Barcham are very impressive but what is truly impressive is how ‘the
largest container tree nursery in Europe’ has managed to maintain a ‘small business’
approach, with friendly, professional and knowledgeable staff providing a high quality
product and service. Fantastic!
Barcham Trees plc
Eye Hill Drove, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5XF
Tel: 01353 720748
Fax: 01353 723060
Email: sales@barchamtrees.co.uk
Trade website: www.barcham.co.uk
Private website: www.barchamonline.co.uk
© Sharon Brown
24th July 2008