Peat-free Boultons sell plants on own merit

The nursery propagates and grows on 750,000 plants a year, supplying garden centres as well as country estates, botanical gardens and landscape gardeners.

Peat-free mixes

Casting his mind back to early peat-free trials, nursery manager Adrian Roughton recalls the quality of the original mixes was extremely variable.  “In 2011 we switched to ICL, and a bespoke Levington Advance Sustain peat-free mix, and haven’t looked back,” he says.

The two CNS mixes contain Fibagro Advance Standard, two grades of pine bark and coir together with Osmocote 5 controlled release fertiliser and Micromax Premium – containing all the minor nutrients.  For early N availability and to help minimise leaching, the mixes contain Osmoform High N – a slow-release fertiliser with an 8-10 week longevity, plus H2Gro granules to aid water management.

“We’ve always relied on Osmocote for plant nutrition – it has consistently done the job,” says Adrian. “The latest generation product, Osmocote 5, has been specifically designed for peat-reduced/free growing media.”

Consistent high performance

“These sustainable ICL mixes give us the consistent high performance that was lacking in previous peat-free mixes,” says Andrew Dobson, general manager.

“This is quite a wet area, and with overhead irrigation we need a free-draining mix – one which contains plenty of bark. Working with ICL’s knowledgeable technical team, we’ve developed bespoke mixes which suit our site well.

“Some customers are unaware of our peat-free status.  We produce high-quality plants that sell on their own merits. With the peat ban looming, we have begun to actively promote our peat-free status on our pots to make customers aware.

“We take the quality of our peat-free growing media for granted, and the quality of our finished plants speaks volumes.”