200year old cedar in Dorset..

[Tom D]

I got a lot of stick for 'doing it wrong'.

Others said nicer words.

Horses for courses:biggrin:

That was the the chair in which I sat!

codlasher

 

I'm having a go at the NT for allowing this to happen, not the guys who felled it, I have done loads of totally unnecessary arb work that has been specified by others, I need the money at the end of the day. My point here is that the NT should have bent over backwards to save that tree, and they didn't.

[codlasher]

Ah Tom D. I had close relationship with our local NT people and we all agonised over these decisions.

Naphill is a village in The Chilterns with some classic monoculture beech woods (cathedral walks). No one is going to fell/thin them ever but they pose such a high risk to the thousands of folk who walk in them every day, peaking at week-ends. In amongst these are some really magnificent veteran trees.

What to do.....At the moment the decision is to make sure no one can get near. I hear you ask how.....Well, they have been carefully neglected to ensure that there is a lot of scrub surrounding them so no one can get near! That's a start.

They are still there which is good, surrounded by holly and regen.

The vulnerable trees are the ones, like the cedar, that stand out alone where someone can get near.

codlasher

[Tom D]

I hear what you're saying, but we both know that a heavy reduction could have allowed retention for a long time, the pics show a lot of healthy looking leaf area, ok its a big sail, but that tree was not on its last legs.

 

IME it is very rare for cedars to blow over anyway, they almost always snap out, especially under snow weight. I pruned this one years ago, it will continue to shed limbs and become uglier as time goes on but I doubt it will ever be blown over.

 

http://davidho.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/w10282(pp_w898_h628).jpg

[Paul Barton]

I cannot find the YouTube video that the National Trust released about this tree - Jeremy refers to it in his video and recommends watching it. Has anyone else seen it? Have a link?

[Treegeek]

Again echoing what others have said very interesting and on the whole a focused and informed thread I've being reading with great interest and been delighted to see Mr Barrells input in the event all though this, in my head I keep thinking a fence could be erected a road can moved even minor buildings be vacated this tree is " a heritage tree" it should be allowed to grow old disgracefully shed limbs etc it's earnt it ??

I'd be interested if it was say a member of royalty of similar stature (old age ) I'm sure they'd be tolerated by society.

I think that the public would or should have been given an option to decide unsightly tree viewable from a

behind fence that's hundreds of years old and historical ties to one of England's most famous men or nothing ???

After all it's the national trust ??

Stone henge has a fence ??

[kev7937]

I cannot find the YouTube video that the National Trust released about this tree - Jeremy refers to it in his video and recommends watching it. Has anyone else seen it? Have a link?

 

In the comments section he says they removed their video shortly after he released his.

 

I wonder if he put a link to his video from theirs.

[David Humphries]

Mr Barrells briefing note from his website.

 

http://www.barrelltreecare.co.uk/pdfs/BTC88-BriefingNote-Complete-080114.pdf

 

 

.

[Paul Barton]

Once again, I can't find the NT's 'published' document about this tree felling. The only thing I can find is their facebook page announcing the work:

[jwade]

This is an interesting thread, stimulating the debate around managing heritage trees, it also demonstrates how a Picus tomogram isn't always that accurate! Just thought I'd mention whilst on the subject of rot and conifers in general... A fenced (for safety reasons) Pinus x holfordiana at Wisley (a champoin tree) recently failed catastrophically because of dyers polypore. Just illustrates what this decay pathogen is capable of and also suggests that a tree of size and merit can be retained until the inevitable happens. I'm not sure how long ago the decision was made, and fence erected though.

 

[hedgesparrow]

i posted on this as a new thread as did not know this thread was running. what i saw on youtube the tree was ok by reports given just needed prunning. a old grandmother of trees felled due to over zelous HS staff in the NT who have not a clueon trees as other posts a fence could have been put around it so no public got injured. i trust now its to late that the NT will replanr with a new tree to live 200 years plus shame on the NT