Allenton Nurseries Ltd specialises in growing hardy trees, shrubs, Fruit & nut trees and was established in 1951 by Ivan McIlroy and has gone through a number of changes in its emphasis over the years. Initially the concentration was on forestry and shelter trees before commercial fruit trees to orchardists became the dominant product. Gradually, over more recent years ornamental trees and shrubs have assumed the lead role in the company's thrust. Today 90% of production on the nearly 100 acres of nursery land is of ornamentals. Of this the majority is still 'open-ground' much of which is sent out 'bare-root' although increasingly customers are electing to have their trees bagged.On average 18 full time staff are employed by the nursery and this is set to gradually grow as production increases.Skills such as budding and grafting are very much a part of our specialisation and it is recognised that these will always be key parts of our organisation. Many of our new and more unusual varieties are grafted or budded and we are always looking to introduce new and improved selections to keep our range 'up-to-date'. Increasingly we are also using tissue culture as a means of bulking up new and difficult-to-propagate lines.We take pride in our product and consider ourselves to be New Zealand's leading growers of deciduous ornamentals.