Blog - Tree management

As I write, we continue to be at the mercy of the all too familiar wet & windy weather, it has already been a long winter.

No two days are the same for me at Westonbirt, & I have to say that the great variety of my role is something that I do enjoy.

You may have seen some work going on in Silk Wood. We are improving access by creating a new stone surfaced path that links between Waste Drive and Broad Drive.

You may have noticed there are two large trees at the edge of the arboretum that overhang the A433 road heading towards Tetbury.

Predicted high winds and heavy rainfall resulted in the closure of the arboretum to the public on Thursday 22 November 2012.

Last week saw the start of an exciting new research project that aims to discover new forestry tree species for the future.

The last four weeks have flown by and the final BBC Autumnwatch Live show will be broadcast from Westonbirt Arboretum this Friday, 28th October.

With two great BBC Autumnwatch Live shows completed from the Great Oak Hall at Westonbirt Arboretum, and the Autumnwatch team onsite to get ready for another packed programme tonight.

In August 1896 the owner of Westonbirt, George Holford, wrote to Mr Thistleton Dyer the director of Kew Gardens.

If you’ve been a visitor to Westonbirt these last few weeks you might be surprised to see the cutting and removal of quite a few Rhododendron ponticum plants whilst in full bloom.

Recently my volunteers and I have been recording potentially hazardous trees, unfortunately a number will have to be removed so I have provided a list and maps for the tree team.

October at Westonbirt is a very busy time for us all, especially the tree team. Along with the seasonal added car parking and admissions work we still have to under take our usual duties.

As members of the tree team here at Westonbirt, we are always looking to find ways to improve the management of plant collections.

As well as propagating trees and shrubs for the Westonbirt collection, I am also working with two other organisations on conservation projects, namely Natural England and Plantlife.

Along with planting this time of year, we also remove trees deemed to be hazardous. Although it is always sad to see these large trees come down, it is part of the ongoing management cycle of any collection.