Fallen Beech Tree

 Fallen Beech Tree

We’ve had a casualty from this month’s winds. The in laws twenty year old copper beech tree came down in a strong gust. 

There were other small branches flying from other trees and I didn’t really think the winds were that strong to bring down what I thought was a healthy, well-formed specimen. It’s been well looked after over the years so my fist though when I heard it toppled over was that the roots were really shallow and just gave up their grip on the earth.

On closer inspection the following morning I could see the roots were still very much in place, it was the trunk that gave way a few inches from the ground. The whole of the inside of the trunk was rotten and must have been ready to topple over for ages. There were no external signs that anything was wrong – if there were we would have taken the tree out as it could have easily fallen on a car.

I have a couple of theories, one is that the tree is on the lawn and the constant mowing around it damaged the roots so much that they no longer passed nutrients to the tree. The second theory (which is the most likely) is that tree beech trees are sometimes susceptible to root rot from a variety of fungal pathogens, including Phytophthora and this probably went undetected. Some trees can suffer from beech bark disease, caused by a combination of a sap-sucking scale insect (Cryptococcus fagisuga) and canker fungus (Nectria coccinea) but this generally shows signs on the external part of the tree so I don’t think it’s that.  Whatever the cause, the tree will need to be disposed of safely and cleanly because there are other trees around and it could be infectious. I’ll give the other trees a wobble and poke to see if they have rotten trunks too.

October in the Garden

This month it would make sense to tie things down in case another storm comes along soon. We lost all of our sunflowers and pea and bean poles in the wind and most of the pots flew to the top corner of the garden so any old annual plant displays could be composted and store the containers.  Aquatic plants might need a bit of protection too.

The autumn leaves are looking wonderful and will only get brighter before they fall so there will be a lot of chances to get out and do a bit of gentle raking to pick up the leaves before they mound up, go soggy and leave the paths slippery. It’d be a good idea to check the guttering too as the downpipes could get bunged up with clumps of leaves.

Rhubarb

If you have enjoyed rhubarb this year then now is the time to dig up the clumps and divide them with a spade to increase the stock

Chutney

A friend of ours gave us a delicious jar of pear chutney this week. It was from the fresh fruit and one of the nicest I have tasted. Other fruits like apples, grapes and nuts are all ready now for harvesting.

Climbing roses

The harsh winds can damage rose bushes as they sway in the wind. Climbing roses especially get damaged as they don’t hold on very tightly to things. Prune the back quite hard to keep them secure.

I’ve been collecting millions (I am not exaggerating) of Irish Moss seeds this week. I think the plants are becoming a bit of a problem in the garden as there are billions more germinating in every corner of the garden. There are less vigorous seeds you can collect to build up your stock for next year ranging from vegetables to annuals and perennials.

Lawn Care

It’s nearly time to ignore the lawn. I tried to do this a couple of weeks ago but it has just kept growing and growing. One or two moderate cuts left and I think we can take it easy until the festive holiday. If it’s dry we can escape for an hour or two and give it a quick trim. Keep the leaves off the lawn if possible but don’t worry if they stay as worms actually take a lot underground for you if you leave them. If you have a moss or thatch problem on the lawn this can be addressed now as well. Feeding isn’t necessary as this will just promote lush delicate leaves vulnerable to the oncoming frosts – They are not far away now.