Arduaine Gardens to axe trees in bid to stop rot
Workers have started to axe 900 trees at Arduaine Garden to tackle the spread of sudden oak death, writes Kathie Griffiths.
The £250,000 move is the latest step in the National Trust for Scotland’s conservation plan to manage the damaging disease which has affected a number of forests across Scotland.
The trust has been managing the disease at the coastal paradise garden near Craobh Haven since it was first discovered in 2007 but is now moving into full-scale operation.
The work is part of an innovative four-year plan to protect the 20 acres at one of Scotland’s most special gardens, while boosting its biodiversity and resilience, said Simon Jones, who is gardens and designed landscapes manager at the National Trust for Scotland .
The larch species which makes up much of the shelter belt that enables Arduaine Garden to grow its unique mix of plants, is particularly prone to disease.
In 2007, several of the garden’s Japanese Larch were diagnosed with the first cases of sudden oak death in Scotland and were earmarked for removal. The disease spread and, in 2016, a statutory notice for the trees’ removal was issued.
Trust arborists and horticultural experts will uproot, process, and then mill the affected trees on site. This will kill disease in the wood, allowing it to be recycled and transported for other purposes without fear of spreading infection.
Among a variety of uses for the felled wood will be the creation of an organic, Queensferry Crossing-inspired, windbreak to replace the larch shelterbelt.
In the area where the larch will be removed, the trust intends to plant a variety of new tree species which are more resilient to disease, including black pine, birch, western red cedar, goat willow and sycamore. The conservation charity expects the initiative to be completed by the end of March 2022.
Mr Jones added: ‘We’re doing what is scientifically and morally right for the state of plant health in Arduaine Garden and beyond. While we can’t be definitive about removing disease from the property altogether, this innovative approach will go some way towards helping us protect this historic garden from future outbreaks of sudden oak death, by creating a more diverse and resilient arboretum.’
The project at Arduaine Garden is part of the trust’s programme to invest almost £60 million over the next five years. It is also an example of the ‘100 Ways’ the National Trust for Scotland is protecting Scotland’s heritage.
Mr Jones said: ‘These are the first steps in what will be a long and thorough process – it’s important that we get this right for the future of the garden. It’s another example of how we’re investing significantly in Scotland’s natural heritage, to maintain and enhance the way we celebrate its history and culture for current and future generations.
‘We very much see the project at Arduaine Garden as an exemplar of what we do for the love of Scotland and what a designed landscape could look like in the future. It will also go some way towards forming how the trust goes about conserving many other parts of our natural environment.’