Treatment of the old elms

The Aboricultural (tree) Department of Brighton & Hove council are considering some treatment of the old elms that line the main road. The treatment will make the trees more healthy and will therefore probably prolong their life, but the nature of the treatment will have a big visual impact on the look of the park. So we need your opinion on this important dilemma.

The thought is to aerate the roots of the trees and to then cover the ground underneath the trees with wood chip to help the roots to ‘breathe’. The wood chip area would be large – about the circumference of the canopy of each tree – so the park-like look where these trees are will be lost.

It’s difficult to say how long the trees will last, they are already pretty old. If nothing’s done they might last another 20 – 30 years or so. If they are ‘treated’ they could go on for a lot longer. Here’s a website link about the treatment which is being successfully carried out in Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place.

We have asked the Aboricultural Department to do a trial on one of the trees so that we can see what it will look like. They’ve agreed and will carry out the trial on an elm near the tennis courts. We’ll let you know when this will happen.