Q Can I plant a new tree where one has just died?
Robbie Barrett, Cambridgeshire
A
PIPPA SAYS I’m sorry to hear about your hawthorn ‘Paul’s Scarlet’. From what you describe, it does sound to be dead, but before you dig it out, check by paring away small bits of bark with a knife. Start at a branch tip and work at intervals to the trunk. If the tissue beneath is brown, not green, then it is indeed dead.
Sadly, if the tree has died I would not only dig it out, including as many of the roots as possible, but I would also recommend you avoid planting anything in the same Rosaceae family in that spot again. Unfortunately this is a very widely grown and large family, and its members include sorbus, roses, cotoneasters, apples, pears and cherries.
Also check the roots for signs of fungal diseases, such as honey fungus or phytophthora root rot
– if these were involved, that will further restrict what you can plant.