Nurseryman identifies variety of lim
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Nurseryman Graham Grimmett reckons the trees in Lime Tree Avenue are of the Common Lime variety.
Before coming to that conclusion Graham, pictured right, took cuttings at different points along the avenue, looked at the bark and inspected the bases of trees to see where epicormic growth from root stock differed from growth higher up because there had been a graft.
His first impression was that the majority of limes were of the Tilia Cordata variety but he didn’t want to rule out Tilia Euchlora.
Finally he went for the common lime because of the colour of the stems and tufts of hair visible on the veins of the leaves, the size and texture of the leaves and the type of serrated edging.
The common lime, which technically is called Tilia Cross Europea, became so because it was easy to propagate. It is a cross between the small leafed cordata and the large leafed platyphyllos.
Graham, who is specimen tree centre manager for English Woodlands, Burrow Nursery, at Cross in Hand, looked at more recently planted limes, two in the bottom section of the avenue and two at the top. He identified two, with hairy leaves, as Tilia Euchlora, one as a small leaf Cordata and the other as being closer to the type of tree dominating the avenue.
Graham said the avenue was lovely and it must have looked very impressive in its day, providing a shady carriageway.
He said the more recently pollarded trees would look like green totem poles for quite a while but there would be a ‘tremendous difference’ in about five years. He pointed out that new growth this year was about a foot long.
Concern about ivy
He was concerned about ivy having taken a strong hold on some of the trees and said his preference was to see a clear trunk. It was okay to have ivy in woodland where it didn’t matter if trees decayed but he didn’t think it appropriate in an avenue where the object was to see trees flourish.
He was concerned about the weight of the ivy affecting the stability of the trees and about it competing on newly pollarded trees with side growth. It didn’t matter as much, he said, on a tree with a large canopy of leaves.
He pointed out that one or two of the trees heavily covered with ivy looked as if they had dead branches high up.
He said it was difficult to get ivy down once it had grown up a tree and it was unsightly initially when cut back but once the brown leaves had gone leaving just the stems it didn’t look too bad and growth from the trees often covered it.
He recognised that some people liked to keep ivy because of the wildlife it sheltered but, he said, it could also mask decay and he said one of the main decisions to be made in the near future about the avenue was whether the ivy should be removed. The individual owners should give that some thought.
Warning about Russian vine
Graham warned of the presence of Russian vine towards the top of the avenue growing over the fence between the avenue and Uckfield Community Technology College and said that mustn’t be allowed to get into the trees.
‘It is very invasive, it has a reputation for growing a mile a minute. People say when you plant it you should never turn your back on it.’
He said the Latin name for lime was tilia and added that an old name for it was linden – hence it was not surprising to find Linden Chase nearby.
The nurseryman visited Lime Tree Avenue at the request of Lime Aid to help identify the variety of tree so that when saplings are planted in the future they match those already there.
He is also preparing a quote to give an idea of how much it will cost to replant the top end of the avenue with lime trees, and plug some gaps lower down, once rogue poplars have been felled.
Earlier this year a poplar crashed down on to the entrance to Uckfield Community Technology College. It was only thanks to the quick thinking of principal Mr Craig Pamphilon that the driver of a car and his passenger were not crushed beneath the tree. Mr Pamphilon had stopped the car just in time. (Added to site May 29, 2008)