Trees

Experiment to find trees of the future

I’m doing a bit of shredding this week. We have chopped back a few old shrubs in the garden and thought it would be a better idea for us to put everything back into the garden as mulch.
We have a small electric Mountfield shredder with the words “Quiet” written on the side. It is quiet too, sitting there on its hollow plastic wheels with only one moving part making the log grumbling noise. The machine actually grinds more than it shreds. There is a circular disc inside the bit where you push the twigs with sharp edges that push the waste through a very small gap. It is effective for anything up to the size of a broom handle, as long as the material isn’t too hard, dry, soft, wet or anything that resembles brambles as it causes the machine to clog up and irritatingly puts the grinding mechanism into reverse so it pushes everything back out of the hole.

All in all then it’s not really that good and every time I shove some shrub cuttings into the extremely small hole I wonder to myself if I would be far better off just building a small bonfire and have done with it. I am persevering though and hope to get through everything by Christmas, as long as I work nights.
I’m being a bit unreasonable here I think. There’s no point buying a machine for €80 and expecting it to do the same job as a €10,000 professional machine that can shred a whole tree in minutes.

Resilient trees

According to some boffins we might not have any trees left soon unless we find species that will be able to withstand higher temperatures. An experiment is under way to find the garden trees of the future, able to withstand the extremes of weather brought about by climate change and potentially replace any of today's garden favourites which may not survive.

The trial at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, entails planting tree species from all over the world to see how they fare in UK and Irish conditions over the next 40 years. It's predicted that in that time the currently temperate climate in here will become more like that in the Mediterranean, with overall temperatures rising by 2-3°C.
The first trees to be planted in the 1 ha (2½ acre) site have already had their first challenging test with the winter of 2010-2011, which saw the coldest December in a century. Many succumbed to cold, including Eucalyptus dalrympleana, African Juniperus procera and Acacia melanxylon.
However there were notable survivors, too. Turkish Mallotus japonicus (kamila trees) and Liquidambar orientalis, both trees with outstanding autumn colour, are now earmarked as possible substitutes for vulnerable species such as Acer which may suffer in the anticipated hotter, drier conditions.
'People are reluctant to change but this is why we've got to start thinking about it now,' said Hugh Angus, Head of Tree Collections at Westonbirt to a reporter from the Royal Horticultural Society. 'The weight of scientific opinion is that the landscape could look very different in 50 years' time.'
About 50 species, raised from seed collected in countries such as Japan, Chile and Mexico, will be planted to begin with, with casualties replaced with new varieties as the trial proceeds. I wonder if my shredder will be able to get through those branches.

Get ready for winter

Even if you are an optimist it does no harm preparing for the worst in winter.

With weather forecasters warning that the UK may suffer from the coldest Winter in decades the Royal Horticultural Society is advising gardeners to get prepared. Cold winters are actually very good for gardens, they force the trees and shrubs into a heavy dormancy making them less susceptible to frost and icy cold winds later in spring.
• Wrap your cordylines up with sacking; it protects them from frost.
• Cover pots with loads of bubble wrap (do the water pipes too while you are at it)
• Mulch thickly around plants, this protects emerging shoots and keeps soil in place come the floods.
• Try not to use too much salt on the paths, it can kill of delicate plants or burn their leaves. Get the kids outside and arm them with shovels.
Enjoy the winter process in the garden and look upon it as nature doing a lot of the hard work for you. Most plants will survive and if they don’t we can plant some new ones like they are doing at Westonbirt or put in something that’s more suitable.