Look.
One of Bristol's famous stumps. In Winterstoke Road, South Bristol.
It's a Lime Tree stump, and there is more than one, because Winterstoke Road was an avenue of Lime Trees. There are a couple of London Planes, too, but they're in the open space by the play area.
We've been campaigning for years to have Bristol's stumps replaced with new trees, so it's good that these stumps have been. But we forgot about the law of unintended consequences...
Yes, Ginkgo City Council have re-planted with Ginkgos. In what was an avenue of Lime Trees.
Perfect.
You can see just how well these Chinese deciduous conifers fit well with the established, remaining Lime trees. Especially in winter.
No newly planted sapling is going to look the same as an established mature tree.
ReplyDeleteIn the past the Victorians planted lots of the same species. However this makes the tree population more prone to pest and disease epidemics, so today a variety of different species which are more resistant to these problems are selected.
In time Ginkgos can reach 18 metres in height in this country, so it is not like the council are planting small, short-lived species like cherries or rowans. Ginkgos have been grown in this country for 250 years and suffer from few problems.
Ginkgo is an exotic species, adapted to survive in a range of climates. A tree planted today needs to be able to cope with the climate in 2300, Gingkos can do this, they are the oldest known tree species still living today and incredibly tough.
You don't like the Ginkgo because it is from China, but you are fine with the Norway maple, which is also a non-native in this country? I don't really follow this arguement. Do you think we should just plant the exact same species as previous generations planted even if they are prone to diseases and have been found to have brittle wood and other problems?
I have no problem with Ginkgos in the right place. The point of these posts is that a bunch of unelected 'officers' are changing the face of Bristol.
ReplyDeleteThey haven't asked if we want that, they are just doing it.
They are destroying the sense of identity of various areas, avenues and roads.
If a new building is built in, for instance, a conservation area it will need to fit in with the existing character of the place. To replace an Ash with a Lime in Ashgrove Road (clue in the name), is perverse, if not even a deliberate act of vandalism. Ditto when they planted an Ash in the avenue of Limes in Kellaway Avenue.
They are changing our urban fabric by stealth - just as they were when removing one tree here and another there (see the stump collection).
We need as much urban canopy cover as possible in the future for many reasons, to mitigate flooding and heat-island effects amongst others. Ginkgos are not an appropriate species to achieve this in the next 30-50 years. They are just too slow growing, and don't develop dense wide spreading crowns - see the one at the top of Park Street which was planted about 20 years ago and is still a pathetic specimen for the space it occupies.
It is not acceptable to be planting Ginkgos in spaces that could easily accommodate species that quickly (30 years) become large. We can't wait until 2300.