Tree planting: growth update

We regularly check the progress of the trees that were planted last November/ December, to see that the tubes and stakes are still upright and secure from rampaging deer.  There have been  very few 'failure to thrive' saplings, and of those that have flourished in the 8 - 9 months since they were planted, the Hornbeams are winning in the growth stakes, closely followed by Sweet Chestnut. They've all burst out of their 1.5m tubes and some are now over 2m high. The hornbeam whips were 80cm-1m high and 2 - 3 years old when planted. So they've grown between 50-70cm in 8/9 months. Not at all bad, and perhaps due to a summer with lots of  hot sunshine and regular downpours.  The Wild Cherry are also growing fast, and some have reached the top of their tubes.  Not surprisingly the oaks and beech lag behind but even these have made slow but steady progress, and look healthy when we stand on tiptoe and peer down the tubes. The beech are in mesh tubes and can be seen easily. Other trees doing particularly well are our three Plymouth Pear specimens.

Hornbeam
These seem to be very easy to grow.  On average they reach 6m high and 4m across in 10 years and 25m x 20m when fully grown.  Ours appear to be growing at a much faster than average rate, in their first season at any rate.  They grow in full sun or partial shade and can tolerate any aspect or soil. The leaves provide food for many small moth caterpillars and the nut-like seeds are eaten by wood pigeons and the uncommon and elusive hawfinch. There were two Hornbeams in the entire 30 acres until  many more were planted last winter.

Flourishing hornbeam sapling with improvised tube extension 

Wild Cherry 
These can grow 35ftx25ft (11m x 7.6m) in 20 years, with a full grown height of 60ft (18m) Its Spring flowers provide an early source of nectar and pollen for bees, and the berries are eaten by birds including the blackbird and song thrush, as well as mammals such as the badger, wood mouse, yellow necked mouse, and dormouse. The foliage is the main food plant for caterpillars of many species of moth, including the cherry fruit and cherry bark moths, the orchard ermine, brimstone and short cloaked moth. There was one sizeable group of these in OC2, plus a few scattered individuals, and the new plantings will help distribute them better across the wood.

Sweet Chestnut
These are also fast growing,  long lived, and stately trees, usually growing to around 8 metres  after 10 years, and 35 metres  when fully grown, They can live for up to 700 years. We only have one mature specimen in the wood.  The flowers provide an important source of nectar and pollen to bees and other insects, and red squirrels eat the nuts - sadly we have only grey squirrels but I think they would enjoy chestnuts too. A large number of micro-moths feed on the leaves and nuts as well.

Plymouth Pear
This is a rare wild species of pear which was discovered in Devon in 1863. It's not a native to our wood, but is one of a small number of non local trees which we have planted for interest - and also because it's one of the rarest trees in the UK. There are only c 15 trees left in the original spot where they were found in hedge banks around the city of Plymouth.

Alder Buckthorn 
Mature trees can grow to a height of 6 metres. The outer bark is dark brown but the inner bark is bright yellow when exposed. It is the food plant of the brimstone butterfly whose caterpillars eat the leaves. Its flowers provide a source of pollen and nectar for bees and other insects and its berries are eaten by birds. It is 'widespread but rare'  says The Woodland Trust.

Alder buckthorn growing at the edge of the ride

 Quite a few of these were planted and protected last winter, since nearly all of the naturally regenerating ones were being enjoyed by snacking fallow deer. But to our surprise  numerous alder buckthorn have survived deer depredation this year.  Some of this success must be down to regular and well organised deer management, but also we think due to the large amount of brash left as a result of our Big Pine Thin of late 2015. Deer like an easy meal, and are reluctant to negotiate large amounts of woodland 'rubbish'  in order to reach a tasty morsel.  This has helped protect new growth, and now it's coming up all over the Northern end of the wood, where the majority of  felling took place. It's very welcome as it provides excellent shrub layer/understorey which we're very short of at Old Copse.

After the Big Thin - the big plant

Plumpton students after a day's tree planting and their tutor, Sarah George (far left)

It's now almost a year since we (or rather, David Abbott and his Sparrowhatch Forestry team) thinned the Scots Pine Plantation by around 30%. This  thinning process created  gaps which we planned  to plant with native broadleaves. Gradually, the Scots Pine plantation will be almost completely replaced by native broadleaf woodland. The next pine thinning operation will be carried out in about 4 years time.While we encourage  and protect any natural re-generation  that we find, this is a very slow process and much hampered by the deer population. Besides, there is something very satisfying in planting lots of trees for future generations.

We wanted to ensure the local provenance of anything we planted at Old Copse, and found two excellent suppliers: Special Branch Tree Nursery, based at Stanmer Park on the outskirts of Brighton, and run by volunteers.  Their seed stock is all sourced from Sussex, and grown carefully to provide quality plants. What Special Branch was unable to supply, we bought from English Woodlands near Heathfield, a commercial business which also guarantees good quality trees, mostly locally sourced.

As this was our first go at  major planting, we were advised and helped by David Abbott, one of our deerstalkers, who kindly took a day off from his own  business to show us how it's done. We also had help from a group of Countryside Management students from Plumpton College, and their tutor, Sarah George. Before coming to Old Copse they had studied our management plan, to understand what we are trying to do. Management Plans aren't obligatory for woodland owners but writing them really helps to focus on the work needed to restore long -neglected woodlands, and, also importantly, enables applications for grant aid. For instance, we were given a grant for writing the management plan, and also grants towards the work. So this, and some future tree planting projects are partly paid for by the Forestry Commission. Thank you F.C.

 All 30 acres of Old Copse will need varying degrees of  re-stocking  eventually, but we decided to begin with the thinned Scots Pine plantation  to see how we got on.  Some of the planting material, plus tubes, stakes and temporary deer-fencing was delivered by English Woodlands the day before, and we collected our plants from Special Branch a week before that. These had to be 'heeled in' to keep the roots in good condition, in the vegetable plot at home, then lifted and taken to the wood.  On Thursday morning David loaded up his quad bike and ferried all the heavy stuff down to the pines, ready to start planting our collection  of 400 bare-rooted whips, saplings, and potted young trees. We chose a mix of species, based on what grows naturally at Old Copse and would have been there before it was felled in the late 1950's to make way for the Scots Pine plantation  - primarily oak and beech. To these we added hornbeam, sweet chestnut, wild cherry, hazel, lime, and also guelder rose, spindle, dogwood, and a few of the rare native Plymouth Pear, thought to survive in just two wild hedgerows in Plymouth and Truro. Apparently it has an inbuilt control mechanism called self-incompatibility which prevents in-breeding  - it produces very little viable seed. (note to self: ask Special Branch where they got their seed from......)

David demonstrates

The first thing we did was to go round banging  in  loosely, 450 wooden stakes (an extra 50 in case of breakages). These were placed in small groups in the many gaps and clearings. Then the trees were planted next to each stake, more or less at random - which gives a natural looking result. The students were extremely careful when planting these tiny trees, making sure that the planting holes were the right size and the roots were carefully spread out before laying them carefully in the soil - all  essential techniques for maximising the success of their survival. Lastly the tubes, mesh for the beech, and closed for everything else, were placed over the top, the stakes banged in hard, and ties tightened. The pot grown, and larger rooted stock, had to be given larger planting holes than the specially prepared whips, which have much smaller roots. We're not exactly looking forward  to having a forest of green tree tubes to look at for the foreseeable future, albeit, thankfully not planted in regimented lines, but there doesn't appear to be any alternative. The tubes are supposed to be bio-degradable but I think they will take a very long time to completely break down. I can envisage us getting fed up with them and removing them before we should. Anyway, we'll have to forget the aesthetics for now, and hope that the trees will grow so fast, they'll burst right out of their tubes very quickly.

We managed to get nearly everything planted out before dusk around 4pm, leaving about 30 more in pots, plus some barerooted hedge and edging plants to finish up the next day. All in all, it was hard work but a very enjoyable, fun day, and so nice to work in a team with such great people. We reckon that we need roughly another 100 trees to finish this particular piece of work, but now we know the ropes, we'll get those in much faster, and expect to get the job finished during January.  We didn't need to use our 100 metres of heavy duty deer fencing this time, but it is sure to come in useful at some point. The next planting project will be in the birchwood after we've done some more felling there.

Sarah the tutor supervises

Herbie works hard, i..e races about like a maniac with all the excitement

While Wren guards the quad bike for David

And to end, a lovely email from Sarah, -  Countryside Management tutor at Plumpton College. I somehow think we'll manage to find a few more things for her students to do at Old Copse! Many thanks to Sarah and her students, and to David, for sharing his expertise, and who is, incidentally, an ex -student at Plumpton.

Hello Sue and Sarah

I just wanted to email and thank you for such a brilliant day yesterday.  The students absolutely fell in love with your woodland and were completely enchanted with what you are doing there and how you are doing it.  From my point of view, they learnt so much simply from working alongside you and David – far more than listening to me or reading from a book.  Your delicious soup at lunchtime just sealed the day – thank you so much.

As you  heard, many of the students are very keen to come back and see you again so if you have any further work  then please do let us know!

With warmest wishes

Sarah

And the result...