How we grow our trees
Underground Trees is dedicated to nurturing sustainable forestry from seed to sapling, restoring native ecosystems by growing cell-grown native trees in the most ecologically responsible way possible. With our commitment to peat-free propagation and organic-certified processes, we aim to champion greener and more sustainable tree production practices.
Peat Free
There is no peat used within our growing media. This guarantees that the potential postive carbon impacts of tree planting is not diminished by the exploitation of fragile, carbon rich, peatland habitats.
Certified Organic
Our propagation methods have been certified organic by The Soil Association.This means that no synthetic fertilisers or pesticides have been used in the production of our trees.This makes for a biodiverse tree nursery which encourages predatory insects and also ensures no potentialy harmful materials are being planted into wild landscapes, such as forever chemicals - often used in pesticides, or microplastics - sometimes used in synthetic fertilisers.
Air Pruned Roots
All our cell-grown trees utilise airpruning methods to create strong, branching root systems to aid in better establishment.Unlike bare root trees this way of growing preserves the finer roots and surrounding media which are key areas of microbial activity and nutrient exchange.
Plant Health
As well as adhering to the UK government's Plant Passport scheme which requires annual plant inspections,we are UKISG certified: a Woodland Trust plant health scheme that aims to prevent the introduction of foreign pests and diseases by guaranteeing all stock is UK sourced and grown.Our spring water and organic growing media are never reused within the system, preventing any build up of pathogens.Organic practices also make any pests and diseases more identifiable which might otherwise be suppressed by pesticides.
Microbiome
Organic growing methods inherently seek to benefit the soil biota. In a tree nursery this can improve and diversify the microbial community that the young trees utilise in accessing water and nutrients, priming their defences against pests and pathogens.
