WELCOME TO SHELFANGER COMMUNITY TREE NURSERY
Hello and welcome to Shelfanger Community Tree Nursery's new website.
We are a volunteer-led community tree nursery in Shelfanger, South Norfolk, run by local people who care deeply about trees and wildlife.
A small community tree nursery on a big mission..
Our primary goal is to make a difference to the number and quality of native trees and hedging being planted in South Norfolk, especially trees were numbers have been impacted by disease.
We do this in four ways...
We work with specialist growers and researchers
We focus our tree growing time on trees that deliver the greatest impact to Norfolk's biodiversity and landscape, so we continually seek excellence in our processes and partnerships.
Our seeds are of local
provenance
We always aim to grow trees with the strongest genetic qualities. To do this. we identify veteran trees as seed sources and we then work with the permission of the landowners to harvest seed from these trees. Do you have a tree of interest that we could collect seed from?
We focus on regionally appropriate trees
We supply trees that will thrive in Norfolk's climate and soils for years to come.
We champion community involvement
We are passionate about ensuring everyone has the opportunity to deliver a tree growing project and access the joy of planting trees. Why not join us by planting some trees?
At a glance...
Shelfanger Community Tree Nursery in a nutshell
Locally sourced hedging
We supply no-cost hedging plants to homes and farms in and around Shelfanger. Our hedging packs include cell grown hazel, hawthorn, blackthorn, rowan, oak and dog rose 20-40cm tall.
Disease resistant trees
We source, grow-on and supply disease resistant elm and ash trees. We work with research facilities and specialist growers to supply these very special trees into our local community. 100-250cm tall
Local provenance trees
We grow and supply English oak saplings from the seed collected from some of the oldest oak trees in our community. Our oak saplings are between 20-50 cm tall and between 1-2 years old.
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Giving back
We give away and also sell the trees we grow and every penny we make from tree sales is used to plant more trees and hedgerows across our community.
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Local provenance
We grow and supply native broadleaf trees of local provenance and carefully selected disease-resistant varieties.
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Treasured trees
Our saplings are raised from seeds collected from veteran trees across in and near Shelfanger,
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Special varieties
We work closely with specialist research facilities and growers to offer our resilient elm and ash trees.
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Seed gathering season is here
Seed will be ready for gathering in October 2025. Would you like to join us to collect seed from veteran trees in the South Norfolk*
*Please seek permission from tree owners before collecting seed.
Seed Gathering Masterclass
Do you know your winged seed from your fleshy fruit or your nut from your cone?
Explore the fascinating world of conkers, acorns, apples and pears, helicopters, cones and poisonous berries.
Field Maple Seed Gathering
Everything you need to know about identifying and harvesting field maple seeds to grow your own healthy, happy Field Maple tree!
Rowan Seed Gathering
Learn how to gather seeds and grow them into Rowan trees, caring for your seeds to ensure they grow into a healthy Rowan tree
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We supply four types of disease resistant tree elm
Lutece, Vada, Wingham and Ademuz
Ulmus 'Lutece'
LUTECE is a complex cultivar that combines four field elms with a selection of resistant Asian elms, producing an elm that is considered to most closely resemble native European elms.
The stem of LUTECE typically forks at a height of 1–2 m, and the cultivar grows quickly in moist, well-drained soil. Its leaves flush relatively late and are usually not seen before mid-May.
Ulmus 'Vada'
Vada, a cultivar that is one-quarter Himalayan and three-quarters European elm, has been cultivated to be a narrow tree, making it highly suitable for street or avenue planting.
Leafing is late, though not as late as LUTECE. Vada displays high levels of disease resistance and shows some of the lowest levels of wilting during inoculation trials. The “Queen’s Elm” planted on the main lawn of Holyrood Palace is an Ulmus Vada.
Ulmus 'Wingham'
Wingham, named after the village in the UK where it was successfully trialed, is a complex cultivar that combines four species of elm to create a highly resistant tree.
Wingham has a less regular foliar formation and can grow up to 1.9 m per year. It thrives in fertile soils near river valleys but is less tolerant of clay and chalk soils.
Ulmus 'Ademuz'
Ademuz, discovered in 1996, is a pure Spanish Ulmus minor (field elm), of which the English elm is a distinct variety.
Ademuz is considered one of the most attractive and resistant elm cultivars, with leaf burst occurring in late April. The tree is usually monopodial up to a height of five meters and has a medium foliar density.
How to buy our trees
We sell our trees to the local community through our pop-up shop and through our online shop on our website.
Our next pop-up tree tree sale will take place on Saturday 22nd and 29th November 2025, from 10am to 12noon in the centre of Shelfanger (next to the bus stop). We look forward to meeting you there.
Our Norfolk Oak Project
We aim to give away 500 English Oak saplings each year to our local community. Our saplings are grown from seeds collected from some of Norfolk’s oldest oak trees, helping to preserve the heritage of our county’s woodlands.
If you’d like to participate in our Norfolk Oak Project and receive a sapling, please contact us — we’d love to hear from you!