Height

15-30cm 30-60cm 40-70cm

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Britain’s most widely planted productive conifer. Extremely fast-growing (up to 1 m+ per year when young), highly tolerant of exposure and poor/wet soils, and delivers high timber yields for construction, packaging, fencing, pulp and paper. Easy to establish with good early growth; versatile and well-suited to upland and western sites.

Key growing conditions

• Grows best in full sun 
• Moist to wet soils of poor to medium fertility; acid to neutral pH 
• Prefers high rainfall (>900–1,000 mm per year) and maritime climates – best in northern and western Britain
• Highly tolerant of exposure; cold hardy but sensitive to late spring frosts and air pollution 
• Avoid dry or shallow soils

When to plant

• Bare-root: dormant season (typically November–April), avoiding frozen or waterlogged ground

How to plant

• Dig a suitable hole or plant into prepared ground (ploughing/mounding common on wet sites)
• Position so the root collar is at soil level; firm gently and water if needed
• Plant at ≥2,500 stems per hectare (approx. 2 m spacing) for quality timber to limit coarse branching
• Give far more space for specimen or amenity trees (mature height often 40–55 m+)

Aftercare

• Weed control for the first few years until canopy closes (typically 15–20 years)
• Generally less palatable to deer than many other conifers, aiding establishment
• Minimal pruning required
• Rotations commonly 40–50 years in commercial stands

Ideal for commercial forestry, shelterbelts and large-scale woodland creation on wetter, more exposed upland sites; less suitable for dry lowland or small gardens.