General Chat

I find it amazing that the government is banning the import of ash trees into the UK - why on earth woud be importing these trees. To my mind they are a pest - if you have an ash tree in the vicinity you will have small ash trees all over your garden and if you don't nab them when they're small they ar the very devil to get rid of

He, he! Quite agree with you!

Perhaps thats the problem - when the seeds land on fertile ground, we are quick to destroy them.

You must admit that a mature ash is a majestic tree, especially if it has been cared for.

the reason is that there is disease possibly being brought in on imported trees.


similar effects to dutch elm disease a few years back!!

but when we have so many of them why on earth have we been importing them?

The question not being ask why did the system fall down, because all Trees, Plant, bulbs and seeds , must be certified desease free when imported, so who didnt follow the rules. These people should be made to foot the bill

Robert I agree because I believe the disease has been present on the continent for a while (or did I mis-hear that?)

I presume they are imported for forests and arboretum not gardens though.

It begs the questions -

Why has the UK had to import Ash Trees?
Why have we ( commercial/forestry organisations) not grown native ones from seed?

when you see programs like "nothing to declare" you might think that the immigration people are being too fussy about what seeds/ foodstuff is allowed into the country.......THIS is the reason!!

trees , forests and the like can be completely destroyed in a very short space of time.....

why Import?
possibly because we have depleted our stock of native ash, and the wood is needed for the growing garden centre usage apart from furniture.....

The imported trees are not the main concern. It is the fact that it has been found in established trees in East Anglia which suggests that the prime vector is birds or wind.

I also have had a garden full of ash seedlings.!! No longer have the tree, but the neighbour has several.!! I love our native trees, but some are much too large for the average garden. I saw on TV that it is at the moment contained in East Anglia, but like most tree diseases, think it will eventually spread.

First the Elm, the chestnut and the oak have problems,. Wonder what the bigger picture is.? Environmental changes, possibly. Sad anyway.

Sue

I listened to a report about this on the radio yesterday.
Apparantly, a diseased tree has been found on a caravan park in Lincolnshire, so the government has implemented it's plan of banning their import.
And yes it is akin to Dutch Elm Disease, and just as voracious.

Julia in Derbyshire

It's not directly related but as it 's about trees and imports perhaps someone can tell me?

In the shopping centre I was looking at a huge amount of oak furniture...you may have seen the ad on tv...it's solid oak and the oak used is very 'chunky '. I know from growing an oak tree from an acorn that it takes a long time to get a large oak ! So where is this wood from?

China? everything else seems to come from there :-)

lol Ann, I was looking at 'very English' Christmas gifts in the shops on Saturday ...all made in China :-(

My question would be - why did they not stop importing them before. This disease has been known about for ages and it was almost inevitable it would get here eventually. Yes, it might not have stopped wind-borne contamination but at least it would have meant that we weren't actually importing diseased plants.

The Forestry Commission have sent out warnings about Chalara to all owners of woodland:

www.forestry.gov.uk/england-chalara

Unfortunately it may not show up until having been planted for 5 years.

When we received notification we could not stop laughing as our garden is plagued with them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20107186

Some people wanted the ban in 2009 it would seem...........

Widespread loss would have a marked effect on landscapes.

Gwyn

I like nothing better than to sit for a while under the shade of any tree during those long hot summers we all remember (except this year) while pondering the meaning of life.

Unfortunately, I sometimes forget that the local four-legged pets like to visit the same place too. If I shoo them away from sniffing my sandwiches, their owners usually give me a look so cold that it would freeze a waterfall.

I'm still considering the meaning of life - what's left of it.

A report pn the radio claimed that all our trees for Forestation etc are grown on the continent because there are no suitable nursery facilities in this country.

They are our seeds sent for growing :-(

Can that be true ?

The local Forestry Commission Arboretum has its own nursery area, but why ash seedlings need to be imported amazes me ... I pulled up over 20 from 1 flowerbed today & burned them, the ash has killed off large areas of old garden hedging & seems resistant to all the things we have tried. A 50foot long +100 year old mixed hedge is now almost all ash & the only way to get rid of it will be to grub it out & replant.