Trees are a brilliant addition to any garden, whether you're considering varieties for small gardens, fantastic autumn colour, trees to help wildlife, weeping trees, evergreen trees or a combination selection of trees to complement your outdoor areas.

If space is tight (or you like to be able to take your garden with you!) you can even keep your trees in a container.  In this guide we give you the Groves Guide to Tree Care, with pointers for the best ways to care for your trees in every season of the year.

Remember, our Plants Team are always happy to discuss best options with you before you buy or plant; they're a brilliant gardening resource for brainstorming garden ideas and troubleshooting problem areas.

Autumn

• Key time for planing ornamental and fruit trees
• Mulch around trees
• Lightly prune Walnut trees
• Feed fruit trees with potash fertiliser
• Apply grease bands to fruit tree trunks to protect from pests
• Cover outdoor peach, nectarines and apricots with a rain proof sheet to prevent peach leaf curl

Winter

• Prune most trees to shape (except ornamental, fruiting Prunus and Espalier trees)
• Apply winter wash to fruit trees to help protect from pests and disease
• Check tree stakes are firm

Spring

• Apply mulch in early spring
• Check for aphids damaging young growth
• Begin water if it's a dry spring
• Protect smaller early flowering fruit trees from frost with fleece
• Feed any potted trees with slow release tree and shrub fertiliser
• Remove rain proof sheet from outdoor peach, nectarines and apricots from mid May

Summer

• Water any trees planted in the last year and any potted trees
• Continue to feed any potted trees
• Prune Prunus trees (ornamental and fruiting) and Espalier trees
• Check for pests

Visit us at Groves or Little Groves to talk trees with our knowledgeable expert Plants Teams.