Native trees and shrubs - part four

Knowing your native Sambucus and Sorbus can help to unlock a variety of potential income opportunities, Sally Drury explains.

Hardy Plant Focus: Crab apple (Malus) — star billing for showy fruits

Crab apples should have star billing in their own right because they often give them one more season of interest and provide nourishment for birds and other wildlife in autumn and winter.

Hardy Plant Focus: Hawthorn (Crataegus) — fragrant flowers and tasty haws

One of the great joys of May is coming across our native hawthorn Crataegus monogyna (below), bedecked in her frothy, fragrant flowers.

Leafhoppers, capsids, lace bugs & sap suckers: how to defend ornamentals crops against these pests

Plane anthracnose: how to treat a disease that can quickly render plants unsaleable

Peach leaf curl: how to combat the disfiguring effects of peach leaf curl on ornamentals crops