gulvain

I started Level 4 with Treelife and then completed with The Training Tree. Although, Treelife have excellent tutors, I found the classes a little tedious. Instead of spending the time lecturing and imparting information, the majority of the time was spent discussing assignment requirements ('teaching around the question instead of the topic'). Whilst the qualification is important, it's not the main purpose of doing the course for me and I began to lose the enjoyment of learning and motivation. Personally, I found The Training Tree better suited my style of learning. We had several different expert lecturers come in and teach (who offered different perspectives) and there were several field trips to look at ancient trees, nurseries and pests and diseases. I found this more stimulating than sitting in an over-crowded room at Syston or Westonbirt being only taught by Andy Summerly (Dave Dowson doesn't teach L4). I'm just giving you my take - there is no doubting the quality and rigour of Treelife's courses, and the majority of students have had excellent experiences. But there is more than one way to teach; make sure you choose the one that gives you the best experience. After all, it's a very hard slog and you're paying thousands for the privilege!

2cm across I believe. I haven't seen the trees myself but my first thoughts was that the holes look too large for a borer, and I would have expected to see more holes with shavings at the base. I did wonder whether it could have been a formative pruning wound (even though I can't see any sign of a former branch collar). Thanks for the advice about the depth of planting. I'd like to give my colleague a clearer suggestion about what's caused the damage though. Apparently it is on a number of trees.

I was wondering whether anyone can help me identify the defect in the enclosed photographs. It was sent to me by a colleague for a site I have not visited. He reports that there are a number of lime trees with what appear to be borer holes of around 2cm. If anyone could help I'd be grateful.