I wish I could come back in ten years, when all tube trains are fully automated. I could then reflect on how the strike action has accelerated this process, with a how to shoot yourself in the foot appreciation of the striking tube drivers.
However we have to work with the impact of these strikes also I have the nagging feeling that it is going to take a lot longer than ten years, if at all !!!!!
There is a misguided understanding of transplanting hedges. When Ruskins move a hedge, you end up with the same hedge in a new location. We do not accept that the way to transplant a hedge is to heavily reduce it or coppice it.
We ensure that the visual amenity and environmental benefits of the hedge are transferred to the new location. This has to be supported by a realistic watering programme to assist the hedge whilst it re-establishes.
As an Arborist I have a higher than average empathy for trees. When I look at the weather forecast, in spring and summer I do not want to see high temperature, sunny days and lack of rain.
I want to see meaningful rain, mild temperature and hopefully some cloud.
Trees can easily get stressed by lack of moisture and heat, especially when it is prolonged. If it is a extended dry period, if water tables lower this can be horrible for trees, if it goes beyond their root systems.
I also have young children, a Mountain Bike mad teenage son and like the outdoors. So I will settle for tree friendly weather for weekdays and hot sunny weather at weekends !
During spells of hot and dry weather, your trees (including shrubs), will feel it as well as you!
Any trees planted or transplanted within the the last 5 years and all those in containers will need assistance. If any trees/plants show signs of trees, water them. Primarily this assistance is an increase in watering (more each time and more often). Plants will use more water during hot times. I think this is a rare design flaw.
The main way they cool down is by transpiring (sweating like we do), they create a ready brek glow (for those of you who do not remember these ads, it is a surrounding of warmth (in the ads) around kids who had eaten it for breakfast.
So at a time when moisture in the soil / container is usually in short supply,(due to lack of rain); the tree is using/losing it at an increasing rate as the temperature increases, as they try to cool down. When a dry wind is present this is magnified as the ready brek glow is blown away.
With trees/plants in containers, if you can, move them into the shade. If trees/plants are surrounded by hard surfaces, this will increase the effect of heat.
The last blog dealt with the signs that a plant can give that it is under stress. This one deals with how to mitigate.
1) Look closely at the tree/plant, can you see anything? Does the soil look dry /wet, are there infestations of anything, is it at a (new) lean, is there any damage to the bark...
2) It is most likely that the cause is to do with watering when signs occur when it is hot /dry. The rectification could be water more frequently / more each time, or if ponding occurs for prolonged periods (give it a chance to drain), you could need to reduce watering.
3) If it is an infestation, try to identify the pest and treat accordingly.
4) If the bark is being eaten or is being damaged by mowers / strimmers, protect the trunk.
Next blog, I will talk about how to give your tree other assistance
In the northern hemisphere summer is with us, this is the potentially the most stressful time for trees and all plants, with a combination of lack of moisture and increased heat.
Newly planted/transplanted, all container grown and all trees surrounded by hard surfaces and close proximity to structures (reflected heat) are at increased risk. This is due to their lack of a natural (sized) root system found with young mature and mature trees. How do you know if they are suffering?
1) Firstly have empathy for them, know when they are likely to be feeling stressed (and help them to overcome this).
2) Are the leaves drooping /wilting? Have they lost their lustre/changed colour ? Is the specimen dropping leaves ? Are leaves dead on the tree? Is there dieback in the canopy? Is the specimen creating epicormic / basal growth.
3) The next blog will be about what to do if any in 2) occur, call us if they are already exhibiting these signs.
Ideally the tree or shrub selected should be allowed to mature without any management to control it's size.
There are however many circumstances when pruning is necessitated, to direct growth where it is required, to restrict growth where it is not, to stimulate flowering/fruit or to remove defects i.e. crossing branches.
When pruning, leave a small collar, do not take right back to the trunk/branch, the smaller surface area, will make it easier to heal.
Pruning should be planned and reviewed as you progress, we often advise to do it with a drink in the other hand, it will slow you down. Visualise the flowing of energy and pruning diverts the energy where you need it or away from where you don't.
It was a delight to meet potential customers, existing customers and past customers at the Show. Where we have undertaken to assist you, we will be contacting you shortly, where you have taken our contact details, we await your call or email! We look forward to assisting you.
The two most concerning aspects of the show (apart from the weather which was sub-optimal/English) were:
i) Only one exhibitor concerned with soil. What do (nearly all) plants grown in and rely on?
ii) There was no stand (for the first time ever we understand) by the Royal Hospital. Apparently they had to take this decision as they were unable to make a profit due to the cost of the stand.
We are on our stand on MR1 (top right of showground) all this week. If you are one of the 161,000 visitors, please come and see us for a chat!
Existing customers are especially welcome, but it is potential customers with a problem that they are not sure can be solved, we would love to see, to listen to the explanation of their problem, be it, screening, replacement trees, transplanting of trees/hedges/shrubs, specimen trees, commemorative trees, compacted soils, trenches through root systems, locating roots..... and advise if we can solve their problem, then in the majority of cases feel their relief when we assure them that we can help.
It is amazing how little attention is paid to soil health at this Horticultural Show. We will scour the show and provide links to all the exhibitors that mention this huge issue.
Whilst there has undoubtedly been a reduction in new tree planting, it is the neglect of recently planted trees that this rant is concerned with.
I see on my travels hundreds of trees planted in verges and pavements, that have (against the odds with inadequate aftercare) established. After doing the hard part, the reduction in tree care budgets means that the epicormic and basal growth is not being removed.
In addition to the issues visually with this, it is the impact it will have when it gets drier, hotter and more stressful for the trees, that vexes me.
When trees are stressed this new epicromic growth will take energy away from higher up the tree, potentially leading to dieback. If it was removed the energy would have no option but to flow to the canopy, now it will take the easy option and it will be tempted to remain with the epicormic growth, here is does not have to battle gravity as much.
This is an unintended consequence of the budget cuts and not in keeping with the much hear green agenda.
It is a relief the weather has turned cooler and there is a bit of rain. Unless however it is prolonged heavy rain it should have no effect on the need to water trees planted / transplanted in the past five years (or plants in pots).
Minimal rain will only touch the very surface of the soil and this is often consumed by grass and not tree roots.
The primary benefit of cooler weather and bits of rain, is that a tree will transpire less. Quickly however a moisture deficit in the soil will occur (as now) and watering has to be increased.
If you have a tree (or shrub) that has been planted or transplanted within the last five years or in a pot, please start watering them. We have had 3-4 weeks of dry weather, at a time in the year when this should not occur.
Watering is best undertaken so that it penetrates deep into the ground, by slowly watering (drip irrigation is best for this). If your trees have an aeration/irrigation tube, only put around 20% of the water down this pipe. The majority of the roots in newly planted / transplanted trees are within the rootball (or very close to it). It is therefore imperative to water across the top of the rootball and immediate surrounding areas.
Aeration/irrigation tubes are inserted to deliver air and water to lower in the soil to encourage roots and bypass (although alongside) the rootball. Whilst this is a beneficial, unless the tree is alive, it is of no use.
Cheap automated valves and drip irrigation systems are available from
http://www.lbsgardenwarehouse.co.uk/Drip-Irrigation-and-Tools-DPTDRIPIRRI/
We recommend the following automated valve, it is not only the easiest to programme, but the cheapest. Fit with a "splitter" to enable your tap to be used as normal
http://www.cityirrigation.co.uk/acatalog/Orbit-Buddy-single-outlet-Digital-Tap-Timer-CPORBAT01.html
Please call us if you need advice, although both of the above suppliers provide excellent guidance.
The bud swelling and leaf burst is not a good indicator of the health of trees. This change is chemically induced in response to longer daylight, stronger sun and increased temperature. The true test is if the tree can support this new growth.
Leaf burst should be all over the canopy, if areas are devoid of new leaves or sparse, it is an indicator of stress, the tree can no longer support these areas of it's canopy.
Please do not expect all your trees to come into leaf at the same time. Specimens of the same species may be in colder areas. Trees from warmer climates will be later into leaf.
I my view, it is because it is the closest the tree will get to being surrounded by the woodland floor, where (most of them) came from.
Does anyone have a view on this suggestion?
I was asked on Friday to help a national charity with a large scale, multi location, community tree planting project. Even though we would not benefit from this, spreading the love of trees is a passion of ours.
In response to the question from the client of " What do we do to ensure success", at first I envisaged a long list of different factors that needed to be taken into account. Then I remembered BS8545, it encompasses the selection of trees, where to plant trees, how to plant trees and then critically that they need looking after for 5 years whilst they establish (attain the root system of a "natural tree", when they can support themselves and have "independence in the landscape".
I urged him just to state the works had to be done to the standard, but then realised that I would have to explain the long list of different factors so that he could assess if the tenders were to the standard. It was still a pleasure to pass on what it takes to make a successful tree planting.
Soil should be viewed as a living ecosystem, it's health underpins plant, animal and fungal growth. It's is commonly understood that:
Soil can be lost through erosion
It takes a long time to create (the quickest estimate is 500 years and the longest tens of thousands of years).
Soils can be poisoned by pollutants or compacted.
An area often overlooked is that soils need to be healthy to function efficiently.
The link below explains the soil ecosystem and it's importance.
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/soils/health/biology/?cid=nrcs142p2_053868
When considering planting or when investigating plant health issues, the health of the soil should be a prime consideration.
A common problem is caused by the annual removal of leaves, which if left in situ are a closed loop recycling, providing the tree with vital nutrients, as nature intended.
As trees sense spring is starting (by a combination of longer daylight, increased temperature and stronger sun rays (caused by elevation of sun in the sky)), they send signals to buds to begin to swell.
The buds will enlarge and then leaf burst will occur.
Please note this is a chemically triggered event, it is not an absolute indicator of the health of a tree. The acid test is whether the tree supports the new leaves.
Just to confuse things late frosts can damage new leaves.
Aftercare of newly planted trees and stressed trees, should commence as the buds swell to support this process and continue through spring and summer. It is recommended to assist newly planted (and transplanted) trees whilst establishing for upto 5 years. Established is when the tree can support itself. During later extreme dry and hot weather, the trees will always thank you for additional help.
There are trees which have fallen out of foul of current trends. Likewise there are some trees that are so ubiquitous that they are often specified without taking into account the planting location. Betula utilis var Jaquemontii (especially multistem), Pyrus calleryana Chanticleer, Photinia fraserii Red Robin in my view, fall into this category, whilst they all have many plus points, doesn't the frequency of planting reduce this?
Even where these ubiquitous trees are planted, don't specifiers have an obligation to plant a wider range of trees? Are they being lazy just recommending the same trees over and over for different sites.
Tree Nurseries are always introducing new trees and new varieties of existing trees. Whilst I acknowledge that these trees are often suited to; a warming climate, planting in relatively restricted areas or clones that do not fruit, the nurseries after all that investment will push these trees, without the knowledge of the specific planting locations possessed by the planter.
A prime example of a group of trees that have fallen out of favour are Lawson Conifers. These have a variety of forms and foliage colours. In addition they are relatively slow growing compared to other similar Conifers and mature at smaller sizes.
We appreciate that if there is not demand from specifiers, growers will be less likely to invest in un-trendy trees, due to a combination of cost and risk of not selling them, but how do we break this cycle? Even is there a need to break this cycle?
It is heart breaking to see damage to the bark of trees caused by strimmers. After all the hard work that has gone into selecting the right tree, paying for the tree, planting the tree and then caring for it to ensure it establishes a moments error by a strimmer operator can cause irreparable damage, to a tree.
If a very bad case or repeated damage, this can kill the tree.
Solutions:
Training operators of strimmers can be on great benefit.
Mulching 3" deep as wide as you can, with the immediate area around the trunk kept clear, can keep the area weed free, negating the need to strim. Mulching also has massive other benefits for the tree.
Protecting the lower trunk with a strimmer guard will prevent damage. These are available from suppliers, but you can also use a length of plastic drain pipe but vertically split to allow for future growth. We can put you in touch with suppliers.
Weedkiller can be carefully applied but we would rather not recommend this, it needs to be applied as per manufacturers recommendations and cannot be sprayed on the trunk (as the trunk will absorb it).
You could weed by hand (if a reasonable task)
Whilst it is hugely beneficial to plant a tree, when selecting which tree it's future size should be a primary consideration.
The real benefits from a tree come when it is middle - mature in age., when it is near or at it's maximum size. Unless it has the space to grow into this size, as a minimum it will need to be pruned on an on-going basis to restrict it's size or it will be felled.
A competent arborist will be able to visualise a tree in 100 + years time and assist by recommending a tree that will be able to mature in it's location.
Our popular services:
Air spade
Decompaction & helping trees
Golf greens & turf
Tree moving
Tree supply & planting
Screening trees
