A treated stump
Sometimes you just have to take drastic action in the garden.
I know I usually spend all of my time trying
to spare things in the garden; I’ll even trip up trying to avoid stepping on an
ant. But there has come a time when one of the neighbours many self-set ash
tree just had to go.
The trunk of the tree over the years has undermined one of
the walls of our garage and has started to push the blocks inwards, cracking
the joints. A builder assessed the damage it was doing and labelled it as
‘critical’ it’s not the first time attempt with the tree. Four years ago the
main trunk was cut down but because it wasn’t killed off, the side shoots shot
up with a vengeance as ash trees actually like being coppiced. These offshoots
were again pushing at the garage foundations and are too close and too large
for us to dig them out.
This time, all of the growth has been cut back and plugs
have been inserted into drilled holes in the tree. These plugs contain
glyphosate mainly so I had to look away as the tree surgeon put them into place.
He topped it all off with a bit of tarry looking liquid just for luck.
These
types of plugs are becoming very popular now for tree control and it’s claimed
they are less harmful to the environment that some of the more ‘natural’
methods. These can include pouring salt into holes, adding the much overused
Epsom salts to all the cracks and crevices, pouring bleach over the stump and
the one we see more than any other, a few buckets full of diesel poured
everywhere.
Trees can be dealt with either with the foliage in place
with sprays, which can cause problems, especially when the wind blows.
There
are some that claim if you use paving right up to the trunk this will kill the
tree. Copper or brass nails are sometimes suggested but I have never actually
seen that work. It’s a favourite suggestion from people who want to kill a
neighbour’s tree without the neighbours knowing. A bit sneaky and thankfully
the neighbour and I worked closely together in a friendly manner when this ash
tree was taken down. Removing the bark around the diameter of the tree can kill
them too so it’s important to keep the strimmer away from young trees in the
garden as the thin bark can easily be damaged.
The whole process of removing the tree wasn’t an enjoyable
one and to spare me going into more details about how we can kill them off I
thought as a mark of respect I would quote the poem by Gieve Patel, which
highlights the lengths a tree will go to to survive, after all, ash trees can
live to 400 years old. Hopefully in the near future I will be planting a few
more trees to offset the loss.
On killing a tree
It takes much time to kill a tree,
Not a simple jab of the knife
Will do it. It has grown
Slowly consuming the earth,
Rising out of it, feeding
Upon its crust, absorbing
Years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide
Sprouting leaves.
So hack and chop
But this alone won’t do it.
Not so much pain will do it.
The bleeding bark will heal
And from close to the ground
Will rise curled green twigs,
Miniature boughs
Which if unchecked will expand again
To former size.
No,
The root is to be pulled out —
Out of the anchoring earth;
It is to be roped, tied,
And pulled out — snapped out
Or pulled out entirely,
Out from the earth-cave,
And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
Then the matter
Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
And then it is done.
