Ivydene Gardens Home:
Monitoring of trees in pavements in Funchal, Madeira from September 2019 to February 2020

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READING THE TEXT IN RED ON THIS PAGE WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU TO USE EACH PAGE in my educational website.

THE 2 EUREKA EFFECT PAGES FOR UNDERSTANDING SOIL AND HOW PLANTS INTERACT WITH IT OUT OF 17,000:-

• THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE 2 QUARTZ GRAIN SIBLINGS, and
• HOW ROOTS OF PLANTS ARE IN CONTROL IN THE SOIL
• before continuing in this website.

Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines Page for those photo galleries with Photos (of either ones I have taken myself or others which have been loaned only for use on this website from external sources)

Text for Photo
 

Photo taken by Chris Garnons-Williams In Madeira.

The day after I arrived in Funchal in January 2020, I spoke to Rita in Owner Relations and she sent an email. Not knowing about the efficiency of the local or main government, I spoke to the reception staff and they told me that Funchal was a Municipality with its own local government with its offices in Funchal. So I took the bus into town and went round the Municipality Offices until I was escorted to a building where you could ask questions in the A group pay bills in the B group and do something else in the C group. Speaking to an official in the A group, I managed to convince him that I had more details about the tree problems on my website, so as to overcome his response of getting me to send an email. He presented a piece of paper with Eng Francisco Andrade, Est. Marmeiros, No 1, Jardins & Espaces Verdes on it. I handed this to a taxi driver and arrived. I spoke with an english-speaking colleague of his and then he very kindly agreed to talk to me with his english-speaking colleague:-

• He stated that the local policy was not to apply any wound sealant since diseases, etc could get under it and cause further damage. He asked me if I had any literature to back up my use of black water-based masonry paint (instead of Arbrex, which I had started to use, but I doubted whether my clients would see the point of the expense) and I could not present him with any. Nor could I present any literature to support my use of expanding foam with bottles to fill the hole, since my work on the yew tree in the graveyard of St Margarets Church in Rainham had revised their website and the article about that tree had not yet been transposed.
• He pointed out that he had employed one of the 6 tree experts from September 2019 to monitor the trees in the pavements. Each tree was tagged with a black plastic disc with a screw through its middle into the tree about 3 metres from the ground. The disc had Funchal and a 5 figure number on it. The location of the tree would then be identified on a town map and details of type of tree, which country it originated in, etc would then probably appear in a catalogue. I was not told when his report about the trees was expected and presumably what if any action to take.
• I asked about the burnt insides of damaged trees and was told the people used them as waste bins and presumbably if a lighted cigarette was thrown then it start the fire and burn the heartwood as well as the rot. Metal grids were attached to try and stop the practice of using the cavities as waste bins.
• Then we looked at the start of the raw camera images and the one of the gardener with the strimmer to cut the long grass in a public area, I pointed out the problem that grass could absorb a great deal of water each week and leave the ground underneath bone dry with the literature to support that.
  I suggested the replacement of grass/lawn with legumes like green manure would stop the tree roots from being too dry, that the legumes have symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in structures called root nodules. When a legume plant dies in the field, for example following the harvest, all of its remaining nitrogen, incorporated into amino acids inside the remaining plant parts, is released back into the soil. In the soil, the amino acids are converted to nitrate (NO−3), making the nitrogen available to other plants, thereby serving as fertilizer for future crops.
  If the legumes as green manure are used in between shrubs/bedding/perennials then the ground would not dry out so quickly, so saving water and providing future fertilizer for those other plants.
• When I touched on the subject of CEDAdrive, he did point out that it might be too expensive to implement and was not sure whether it would be suitable for pavements where vehicles would go over them (even though they will take 400 tonnes per square metre).
• With electricity cables running through the roots of trees, the electromagnetic field is high and does it affect the tree roots in a very small space, the same way as for humans? Pedestrians between these trees will be exposed to almost the same electromagnetic field for the length of their walk. Maybe putting the electricity cables under the centre of the road would be safer.
• I thanked them for their time and found a bus stop to get back into Funchal town centre.

The population of Funchal is 111,892.
The population of Madeira is estimated at 244,286 in 2017.
The population of Medway as measured in the 2001 Census was 249,488 of which 99,773 live in Gillingham area which includes Rainham where I live.

No wonder that Cedadrive is expensive for such a small population. So, what can we use that is produced in Madeira, since the transport cost of a container from Portugal is 2000 euros (that figure was given me by an employee of a large builder's merchant, and I saw 2 containers being unloaded at their yard, which were not large ones).

So I took a taxi to a builders merchant (might be Ferreirae in the upper regions of Funchal).

• They did not sell or know what pea-shingle was. This is what I would have filled the CEDAdrive with.
• The original mosaic pavements in Funchal were covered in small black basalt and white limestone cobbles. The limestone comes from Portugal. The black basalt is mined in Madeira and the email address of a local stone quarry is geral@ferreiraebrum.pt
  The english-speaking employee showed me a 25kg bag of basalt of probably 20mm rocks which could be dropped 200cms without breaking. Another bag of probably 2mm rocks, which was added to cement to make it a stronger concrete. Both came from a local mine.
• Madeira has black volcanic sand on its beaches.

So, if the local basalt mine created 10mm x 10mm rocks, these could be used as spacers:-

• If you start with the concrete pavers, then remove them and put down a depth of 2 inches (5 cms) black sand, cover that with a weed control fabric, then relay the pavers with a 10mm x 10mm spacer on each of the 2 shortest sides and 2 on the 2 longest sides, then fill the gap with the black sand.
• The excess concrete pavers could then be used in a 200cm radius round each tree using the same system as above to replace the solid concrete or tarmac in that area.
• The same system could be used on the mosaic pavements in replacing the concrete pointing with the black sand and spacers. If the system is not compact enough then replace the pointing black sand with the 2mm basalt, which would then lock together.
• Carry out the required irrigation and natural fertiliser system as I have already recommended to provide the water and the humus required by the bacterium to continue rebuilding the soil and providing for the gaseous exchange by the roots in either the whole pavement if it is lined with trees or groups of 3 -5 trees, which can help each other in later years as shown in The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben ISBN 978-0-00-821843-0.

If you use boron from colemanite (The use of ores like colemanite has declined following concerns over arsenic content) and mix it with the black sand and seawater to fill the bottom section of cavities, it will kill off the rot in the trunk and stop the cavity being filled with waste. The arsenic will also stop ants from eating it. Then mix it with wallpaper paste to fill the top half of the cavity and you have sorted the cavity problem.

Painting the cut ends with the boron prevents the end from rotting (Boric acid is more toxic to insects than to mammals, and is routinely used as an insecticide).

I had forgotten that I did have the supporting literature about wound dressings (as used in my year at Hadlow College to get a HNC in Horticulture) in this course book:-

"Pages 6-7 of The Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers by
George E. Brown. ISBN 0-571-11084-3 state that pruning requires a

Protective Dressing:-
"When a cut is made, a considerable amount of heartwood is exposed which, in the case of the larger stems and branches, has become salignified or hardened to give mechanical strength. This remains healthy and perfectly preserved, provided it is protected from air and water, pests and other harmful organisms and the tree is in a healthy condition. The cut immediately exposes this wood and it is vital, therefore, to protect it as speedily as possible before the destructive agents begin their work. It will be apparent how quickly a sealant must be applied, when it is realised that the air is full of spores of all kinds which may alight on the cut surface at any time. There is also the point that it is left until later it is quite easily forgotten or overlooked, and in going back over the work extra effort is involved. All cuts over 1 inch (25 mm) in diameter should be treated, although with young specimens even smaller wounds should be dressed.
The material used must be waterproof. It should retain its pliable nature for a long period without cracking. It should not be favourable to the development of diseases or pests - in fact the ideal dressing would have an active and lasting fungicidal property.
At present, the specially prepared bituminous products are most widely favoured for they are reasonably easy to apply and remain pliable for very long periods. Even these preparations, however, eventually dry and deteriorate to expose the wood, unless the healing has been completed (the callus has covered over the whole wound). It is therefore necessary to look over the wounds at least annually and, if necessary, make further applications, although a 6-monthly inspection of every tree is in any case advisable, and it would be natural to inspect wounds at the same time. Often, radial cracks appear in the heartwood on the surface of a large wound as it dries out. These need to be filled in as they open and the surface covered with further applications of a wound dressing."
My comments - I started by using Arbrex (this Solabiol Arbrex Seal and Heal seems to be the most up to date version), but found it too expensive and too little in its jar, so I switched to Black External Masonry Paint (this Bedec Extra Flex Masonry Paint currently seems to be a very good one) which did the job and was very much cheaper.

Pages 9-11 of The Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers by
George E. Brown. ISBN 0-571-11084-3 states this about Cavities and Development of Cavities:-

"Cavities
These often penetrate deeply into the branch or trunk. There is evidence to show that degenerative processes which are initiated on stubs or snags, often spread quickly into the parent branch or trunk by the old conducting tissue. As the breakdown continues the whole snag becomes rotten and may hold considerable moisture which encourages further spread. A lengthy snag prevents complete healing and the resultant callus forms a cup-shaped lip which collects moisture as the snag rots away completely. When this happens the moisture or standing water often remains permanently,and this encourages further decay into the centre of the trunk or branch.......

Development of Cavities
It must be recognised that however small a cavity is, once it is formed it is serious and in time, if allowed to develop, may weaken the tree and shorten its life. This may even be making light of the situation, for the wood deteriorates far in advance of the actual cavity and decay is often more extensive below the opening than above, see above figure. The decay is usually most rapid in the softer-wooded trees such as Poplar. The more extensive rotting below the cavity is of course natural, for water often collects in the hollow, either as a result of rain or because of the seepage of sap from neighbouring living tissues. Once moisture does collect, putrefaction sets in and the effect is a progressive increase in the activity of the organisms causing the breakdown. This takes place very rapidly if there are other snags nearby, for the areas of degenerated and diseased wood quickly join up with each other and eventually the inner core of an entire trunk or branch will decompose to leave a hollow shell. The danger at this stage is from any large branches which are adjacent to the area of decay; as their junctions are weakened. Eventually they are shed and the hollow trunk is left standing.
Thus the story is one of progressive decay which must, if left unattended, lead to a drastic shortening of the life of a tree. The rate of decay will speed up as the condition and the health of the tree deteriorates, large limbs are lost and the root system suffers.

Page 23 of The Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers by George E. Brown. ISBN 0-571-11084-3 states this about Terminal Bud and Dormant Branch Growth Bud:-

"The impression may be given that the formation of a branch system in a young tree is to a certain extent accidental. This is not so. The buds on a stem or twig are dominated by the terminal bud. This bud reduces the vigour of the remainder; in fact, those near the base often do not develop but remain dormant. They may remain in this condition for many years, perhaps throughout the life of the tree. However, should a break or a pruning cut be made in the upper portion, these lower buds may develop and grow out. It should be noted that dormant buds often keep pace with the developing stem over the years, ready to break out should the need arise.""

The following is copied from Ivydene Gardens Private Garden Maintenance Topic:-

This tree was tied with plastic baling twine to a fence when very young. The white section shows the width at which it was tied. This tree top snapped in the wind.

Please never use plastic twine or wire to tie a plant.

It also means that if you put metal, concrete, tarmac etc round the base of a tree, then it will grow over it and then the above will happen later in the life of the tree; because the weight above this constriction will exceeed the mechanical strength at the constriction point."

Now for a few photos that I took this year:-

I spoke to Rita in Owner Relations Office about wishing to talk to the member of local or main government
about the trees in the pavement in Funchal and she phoned the required office. Getting no reply she found
an email address and sent the following:-

From: Loja do Municipe [mailto:datendimento@cm-funchal.pt]
Sent: terça-feira, 28 de janeiro de 2020 10:27
To: Owner Relations Promenade
Subject: RE: Àrvores Funchal
Importance: High

Bom dia,

I have removed the reply which had been sent within 10 minutes of the email sent to them.

Muito obrigado.

Ao dispor,

Câmara Municipal do Funchal

Rua 5 de Outubro

9000 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Telef: +351 291 211 000 | E-mail: cmf@cm-funchal.pt | Website: www.cm-funchal.pt

De: Owner Relations Promenade [mailto:Owner.RelationsProme@pestana.com]
Enviada: terça-feira, 28 de janeiro de 2020 10:17
Para: Camara Municipal do Funchal <cmf@cm-funchal.pt>
Assunto: Àrvores Funchal

Bom dia

I have removed most of the email sent to the Municipality.

  Ele pede para consultar o site dele:

Ivydenegardens.co.uk

Com os melhores cumprimentos.

Rita Nunes

Relações Publicas Pestana Promenade (Vacation Club)

Rita, Owner Relations / Pestana Promenade – Pestana Vacation Club

P.O.Box 1, 9001-951 Funchal – Madeira - Portugal

e-mail : owner.relationsprome@pestana.com| Tel:+351 291 141427/8
Pestana Hotels & Resorts | www.pestana.com |

To view our latest online publications, please use this link – www.pestanavacationclub.com  

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WE ARE ALL PLANET GUESTS, THINK ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PRINTING THIS E-MAIL.

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AVISO DE CONFIDENCIALIDADE:

A informação desta mensagem eletrónica (e-mail) e quaisquer ficheiros anexos podem conter
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O Grupo Pestana respeita a privacidade individual e garante que os dados que lhe são
voluntariamente fornecidos são tratados com confidencialidade, exclusivamente para as
finalidades que sustentam a sua disponibilização e apenas durante o período necessário
ou estabelecido na lei. Poderá exercer os seus direitos de acesso, retificação, oposição,
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Para mais informações em matéria de privacidade e proteção de dados por favor
contacte o Encarregado de Proteção de Dados com através do e-mail dpo@pestana.com.
Se quiser saber mais sobre a forma como tratamos os seus dados pessoais, por
favor consulte a nossa Política de Privacidade em www.pestana.com. Obrigada pela confiança.

CONFIDENCIAL. Esta mensagem, incluindo eventuais anexos, é dirigida unicamente aos
respectivos destinatários e tem natureza confidencial. Caso não seja o destinatário desta
mensagem, solicitamos que contacte o remetente e que elimine integralmente a mensagem
do seu sistema informático, sem a ler, utilizar, reproduzir ou disponibilizar a terceiros.
Muito obrigado.

Pestana Group respects individual privacy and guarantees that the data that are voluntarily
shared are treated with confidentially, exclusively for the purposes that support its
availability and only for the period required or established by law. You may exercise
your rights of access, rectification, opposition, limitation to treatment, portability and /
or elimination trough the platform available at:
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For more information regarding privacy and data protection
subjects please contact the Data Protection Officer with the email dpo@pestana.com.
If you would like to know more about how we treat your personal information, please
see our Privacy Policy at www.pestana.com. Thank you for the trust.

CONFIDENTIAL. This message, including its attachments, if any, is intended solely for
the use of the persons to whom it is addressed to and it is confidential. If you are not the
intended recipient of this message, you are kindly requested to contact the sender
and to delete its contents from your computer and system without reading them,
taking any action based upon them, copying or disclosing them to anyone. Thank you.

A further email was sent by Francisco Pedro Freitas Andrade:-

From: Francisco Pedro Freitas Andrade [mailto:francisco.andrade@cm-funchal.pt]
Sent: terça-feira, 28 de janeiro de 2020 13:11
To: Owner Relations Promenade
Subject: FW: Àrvores Funchal
Importance: High

Boa tarde,

I have removed most of the contents of this email.
When I saw Rita later, she specified that the Funchal Municipality were monitoring the trees and
that there could be 70% loss before any tree could present a safety problem for the population.

Com os melhores cumprimentos,

Francisco Andrade

Chefe de Divisão

Câmara Municipal do Funchal

Departamento de Ciência e de Recursos Naturais

Divisão de Jardins e Espaços Verdes Urbanos

Estrada dos Marmeleiros nº1

9050-216 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Telef: +351 291 211 000   |   Fax: +351 291 211 009   |   Ext: 2514

E-mail: cmf@cm-funchal.pt   |   Website: www.cm-funchal.pt

De: Loja do Municipe <datendimento@cm-funchal.pt>
Enviada: 28 de janeiro de 2020 10:27
Para: Divisao de Jardins Espacos Verdes Urbanos <djevu@cm-funchal.pt>
Cc: Francisco Pedro Freitas Andrade <francisco.andrade@cm-funchal.pt>
Assunto: FW: Àrvores Funchal
Importância: Alta

Câmara Municipal do Funchal

Rua 5 de Outubro

9000 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

Telef: +351 291 211 000 | E-mail: cmf@cm-funchal.pt | Website: www.cm-funchal.pt

De: Owner Relations Promenade [mailto:Owner.RelationsProme@pestana.com]
Enviada: terça-feira, 28 de janeiro de 2020 10:17
Para: Camara Municipal do Funchal <cmf@cm-funchal.pt>
Assunto: Àrvores Funchal

Bom dia

O nosso cliente, Sr Garnons-Williams, I have removed this section of this email .  Ele pede para
consultar o site dele:

Ivydenegardens.co.uk

Com os melhores cumprimentos.

Rita Nunes

Relações Publicas Pestana Promenade (Vacation Club)

Rita, Owner Relations / Pestana Promenade – Pestana Vacation Club

P.O.Box 1, 9001-951 Funchal – Madeira - Portugal

e-mail : owner.relationsprome@pestana.com| Tel:+351 291 141427/8
Pestana Hotels & Resorts | www.pestana.com |

To view our latest online publications, please use this link – www.pestanavacationclub.com  

Pestana Hotels & Resorts | www.pestana.com | www.pestanavacationclub.com

SOMOS APENAS HÓSPEDES DO PLANETA, PENSE NO AMBIENTE ANTES DE IMPRIMIR ESTE EMAIL.

WE ARE ALL PLANET GUESTS, THINK ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PRINTING THIS E-MAIL

THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE 

www.pestanavacationclub.com <http://www.pestanavacationclub.com/

O Grupo Pestana respeita a privacidade individual e garante que os dados que lhe são
voluntariamente fornecidos são tratados com confidencialidade, exclusivamente para as
finalidades que sustentam a sua disponibilização e apenas durante o período necessário
ou estabelecido na lei. Poderá exercer os seus direitos de acesso, retificação, oposição,
limitação ao tratamento, portabilidade e/ou eliminação através do acesso à seguinte
plataforma: https://pestanahotelgroup.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5

Para mais informações em matéria de privacidade e proteção de dados por favor contacte o
Encarregado de Proteção de Dados com através do e-mail dpo@pestana.com. Se quiser
saber mais sobre a forma como tratamos os seus dados pessoais, por favor consulte a
nossa Política de Privacidade em www.pestana.com

Obrigada pela confiança. 

Pestana Group respects individual privacy and guarantees that the data that are voluntarily
shared are treated with confidentially, exclusively for the purposes that support its availability
and only for the period required or established by law. You may exercise your rights of
access, rectification, opposition, limitation to treatment, portability and / or elimination
trough the platform available at:
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For more information regarding privacy and data protection subjects please contact the
Data Protection Officer with the email dpo@pestana.com. If you would like to know more
about how we treat your personal information, please see our Privacy Policy at www.pestana.com

Thank you for the trust.

WE ARE ALL PLANET GUESTS, THINK ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PRINTING THIS E-MAIL.

SOMOS APENAS HÓSPEDES DO PLANETA, PENSE NO AMBIENTE ANTES DE IMPRIMIR ESTE EMAIL

O Grupo Pestana respeita a privacidade individual e garante que os dados que lhe são
voluntariamente fornecidos são tratados com confidencialidade, exclusivamente para as
finalidades que sustentam a sua disponibilização e apenas durante o período necessário
ou estabelecido na lei. Poderá exercer os seus direitos de acesso, retificação, oposição,
limitação ao tratamento, portabilidade e/ou eliminação através do acesso à seguinte
plataforma: https://pestanahotelgroup.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5 Para
mais informações em matéria de privacidade e proteção de dados por favor contacte o
Encarregado de Proteção de Dados com através do e-mail dpo@pestana.com. Se quiser
saber mais sobre a forma como tratamos os seus dados pessoais, por favor consulte a
nossa Política de Privacidade em www.pestana.com. Obrigada pela confiança.

CONFIDENCIAL. Esta mensagem, incluindo eventuais anexos, é dirigida unicamente aos
respectivos destinatários e tem natureza confidencial. Caso não seja o destinatário desta
mensagem, solicitamos que contacte o remetente e que elimine integralmente a mensagem
do seu sistema informático, sem a ler, utilizar, reproduzir ou disponibilizar a terceiros. Muito obrigado.

Pestana Group respects individual privacy and guarantees that the data that are voluntarily
shared are treated with confidentially, exclusively for the purposes that support its availability
and only for the period required or established by law. You may exercise your rights of access,
rectification, opposition, limitation to treatment, portability and / or elimination trough the
platform available at: https://pestanahotelgroup.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5 For
more information regarding privacy and data protection subjects please contact the
Data Protection Officer with the email dpo@pestana.com. If you would like to know more
about how we treat your personal information, please see our Privacy Policy at www.pestana.com.
Thank you for the trust.

CONFIDENTIAL. This message, including its attachments, if any, is intended solely for the
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Photo 1 - Palm tree in pavement down the road from Hotel Escola with its Professional School of Hospitality and Tourism of Madeira, where my wife and I had an excellent lunch IMG 0001.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

Note the thickness of the concrete. The roots of this palm broke this concrete where they had grown round and round the confined space. The exposed roots are now dry. Was this palm tree ever irrigated? There is herbage coming though the gaps in the pavers, so perhaps people wash their cars. Perhaps the addition of 2 inches (5cms) sand under the pavers with spacers between them and some irrigation with the ground level of the bed with its palm being the same as the pavement would help the roots to go under the pavement in both directions.

Photo 2 - Shrubs in narrow border alongside pavement down the road from Hotel Escola with its Professional School of Hospitality and Tourism of Madeira IMG 0009.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

Instead of using trees, a narrow hedge of shrubs can also provide nature.

An additional watering system, which would reduce flooding from the road water in towns:-
Since the land is being used up, then one could install my solution for mosaic pavements with Beany Block Kerb drainage solution as the concrete kerb of the road alongside. The drained water from the road and the front garden drives could be channeled into a 45 degree branch by Marley. The straight through section continues to the next Beany Block section. The 45 degree branch points at 45 degrees across the pavement and goes into a P trap gully with the outlet from that entering a French Drain to cross the pavement from the roadside to the the other side. This French Drain continues back across the pavement in a curve to another 45 degree branch to rejoin the water draining down the Beany Block drainage. If this French Drain gets blocked, then rodding can occur from the inspection chamber after the P trap gully to the 45 degree branch further down the hill. This system could be used for each tree that is in the pavement. This would considerabley reduce the volume of water going down storm drains, irrigate the trees and provide us with oxygen. Perhaps a ratio of 5 evergreen to 3 deciduous trees would provide year round interest from the foliage in new pavements and at least the evergreen trees could take up the water in the autumn and winter as well. This system could considerably reduce the rain flooding towns and villages by being absorbed in situ rather than traveling down to cause problems elsewhere.
If you are short of tree space, then use hedge beds the width of supplied evergreen hedging like privet of between 6-12 inches in beds of 2 metres (80 inches) in length and keep the hedge pruned to about 12 inches (30 cms) wide and shoulder height for ease of pruning. This hedge will also take that water. You can get a hedge panel that you simply attach to a post at each end and that means an instant hedge, see Hedging.

Photo 3 - Crossing branches within garden down the road from Hotel Escola with its Professional School of Hospitality and Tourism of Madeira IMG 0010.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

Photo 4 - Close up of Crossing branches within garden down the road from Hotel Escola with its Professional School of Hospitality and Tourism of Madeira IMG 0011.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

Note the damage being done by one branch on another. This could lead to the bigger branch getting a cavity, etc. You can see further damage to the larger branch on the right - could this have been inflicted by the main stem which seems to have broken off leaving the side branch to continue causing problems. Is this main branch with its side branch a watersprout or watershoot in which case it is a separate tree with its own central nerve system which is not joined with the main tree and is thus a parasite that does not realise that it is damaging its own mother.

Photo 5 - Cables passing through upper branches within garden down the road from Hotel Escola with its Professional School of Hospitality and Tourism of Madeira IMG 0016.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

The branches are interfering with these cables. Is this a problem if they snap during high winds?

Photo 6 - Hollow trunk of tree in the pavement of the road going out of Funchal IMG 0021.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

Photo 7 - Hollow trunk of tree in the pavement of the road going out of Funchal IMG 0028.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

I did not see a black identity disc on this tree, so is this outside Funchal Municipality and therefore somebody else is monitoring it?

There is no need to worry about the lack of unrotted heartwood as 70% of unrotted heartwood can be missing before there is a safety issue of the top growth breaking the trunk at this point.

Photo 8 - Black Identity Disc on tree in pavement walking back towards Funchal centre from the last tree IMG 0033 2020.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

This tree is identified as 00426. It has a deep cavity in the trunk close to the pavement as well as above. Many of the trees between here and the Bus Station in Funchal also had these identity discs. The trees in the adjoining streets to this main road also had identity discs. Sometimes the disc was not there.

I have seen identity disc numbers up to 3216. I do not know how many of the trees in pavements within Funchal Municipality have been identified and how much of Funchal has been done. You probably have many more trees within the pavements, but your municipality cannot afford the required maintenance cost and staff, even if the basalt was donated and the other materials not made on the island were transported free of charge by your regular cruise liners. You could tak a leap in the dark and create natural beauty within your town if perhaps schools or retired people got together under the guidance of your engineer and each group did their little best. Whatever you did would help reduce the effect of climate change by getting more vegetation creating oxygen and using up the rainwater to prevent flooding.

Photo 9 - Black Identity Disc on tree in pavement walking back towards Funchal centre
IMG 0107 2020.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

I wonder what this bracket fungus is?

Photo 10 - Large cavity within tree in pavement walking back towards Funchal centre
IMG 0117 2020.JPG taken on 31 January 2020.

The next page will show the burnt inside and the remains of the metal mesh used to stop people using it as a wastebin.

This website is being created by Chris Garnons-Williams of Ivydene Horticultural Services from it's start in 2005.

I am requesting free colour photographs of any plants grown in or sold in the United Kingdom to add to the plants in the Plant Photographic Galleries and Butterfly photographs for the Butterfly on Plant Photographic Galleries.

Site design and content copyright ©April 2007. Page structure amended October 2012. Page structure changed February 2019 for pages concerning Trees in pavements alongside roads in Madeira. Chris Garnons-Williams.

DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site.  

It should be remembered that nothing is sold from this educational site, it simply tries to give you the best advice on what to use and where to get it (About Chris Garnons-Williams page details that no payment or commision to or from any donor of photos or adverts I place on the site in the Useful Data or other sections is made to Chris Garnons-Williams or Ivydene Horticultural Services). This website is a hobby and not for direct commercial gain for Ivydene Horticultural Services. There is no Google Adscenes or Search Facility in this website.

The information on this site is usually Verdana 14pt text (from December 2023, this is being changed from 14pt to 10pt) and all is in tabular form. This can be downloaded and sorted using WORD or other word-processing software into the order that you personally require, especially for soil subsidence, the Companion Planting Tables and the pages in the Plants section. This would be suitable for use in education as well.

I put jokes in at various places to give you a smile.

Due to intensive farming techniques and chemical fertilisers this has occurred:-
A 2004 US study found important nutrients in some garden crops are up to 38% lower than there were at the middle of the 20th Century. On average, across the 43 vegetables analysed, calcium content declined 16%, iron by 15% and phosphorus by 9%.

The BBC has produced an article as to why modern food as lost its nutrients.
 

The following about trees in pavements show why when the roots are denied access to air, water and nutrients even the fungi cannot work to support the trees.

Pavements of Funchal, Madeira
Damage to Trees - Pages
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13
for trees 1-54,
14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
for trees 55-95,
26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 32, 33, 34, 35,
36, 37,
for trees 95-133,
38, 39, 40,
41, 42, 43, 44, 45,
for trees 133-166
 

The following addition of this mulch improved the clay soil, so that
neither the fungi nor the plants would drown.
 

A 150mm deep mulch of mixed peat, sharp washed sand and horticultural grit was applied on top of a heavy clay soil to improve its structure, and stop the plants therein from drowning, at £10 a square metre. The mix was:

• 4 cubic metres of Peat (to provide the Organic Polymers/Organic Matter and Carbon.)
• 2 cubic metres of Sharp Washed Sand (to provide the sand for the production of microaggregates)
• 2 cubic metres of Horticultural Grit (to provide larger particles for aggregation)
• 25kg of Garden Lime (to provide Calcium for the plants and allow clay minerals to bond together to form domains. Once clay minerals are stacked together to form domains, they can then bond with organic matter to form microaggregates)
• 25 kg of Sulphate of Iron (to provide Iron to act as a trace element and to create soil colloid for buffering chemical nutrients in the soil for later use by plants)
• 25Kg of Sulphate of Potash ( to provide fertilizer for the plants)

The following was then sent to me:-

and the following was sent to me in October 2004:-

An unsuccessful planting scheme had left bare areas of garden as plants failed to survive winter in the waterlogged clay soil. The loss of numerous plants and the cost of replacing them had left us disheartened. It was evident that remedial action was need in the form of a mixture of gravel, sand and peat to create an organic loam. Approximately six inches was added in April and left to settle and do its job. By July there was a noticeable difference in the quality of the soil and the plants. Shrubs with sparse, mottled leaves were looking glossy and robust, overall growth had increased (including the weeds!) and the soil was holding its moisture well. But the biggest difference came in the confidence it gave us to transform the garden. The borders used to be a no-go area between May and September as the clay baked and cracked, but the new soil was easy to handle and weeds could be successfully removed. We realised that there are no quick fixes - the key to a healthy garden is rich, nutritous soil. Once our plants began to thrive we were optimistic that, with good advice, we could create a garden to be proud of.

Cultural Needs of Plants
from Chapter 4 in Fern Grower's Manual by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki & Robbin C. Moran. Revised and Expanded Edition. Published in 2001 by Timber Press, Inc. Reprinted 2002, 2006. ISBN-13:978-0-
88192-495-4.

"Understanding Fern Needs
Ferns have the same basic growing requirements as other plants and will thrive when these are met. There is nothing mysterious about the requirements - they are not something known only to people with green thumbs - but the best gardeners are those who understand plant requirements and are careful about satisfying them.
What, then, does a fern need?

All plants need water. Water in the soil prevents roots from drying, and all mineral nutrients taken up by the roots must be dissolved in the soil water. Besides water in the soil, most plants need water in the air. Adequate humidity keeps the plant from drying out. Leaves need water for photosynthesis and to keep from wilting.
All green plants need light to manufacture food (sugars) by photosynthesis. Some plants need more light than others, and some can flourish in sun or shade. Most ferns, however, prefer some amount of shade.
For photosynthesis, plants require carbon dioxide, a gas that is exhaled by animals as waste. Carbon dioxide diffuses into plants through tiny pores, called stomata, that abound on the lower surface of the leaves. In the leaf, carbon dioxide is combined with the hydrogen from water to form carbohydrates, the plant's food. This process takes place only in the presence of light and chlorophyll, a green pigment found in plant cells. To enhance growth, some commercial growers increase the carbon dioxide level in their greenhouses to 600ppm (parts per million), or twice the amount typically found in the air.
Plants need oxygen. The green plants of a plant do not require much oxygen from the air because plants produce more oxygen by photosynthesis than they use. The excess oxygen liberated from the plants is used by all animals, including humans. What do plants do with oxygen? They use it just as we do, to release the energy stored in food. We use energy to move about, to talk, to grow, to think - in fact, for all our life processes. Although plants don't talk or move much, they do grow and metabolize and must carry on all their life processes using oxygen to release the stored energy in their food.
Roots need air all the time. They get it from the air spaces between the soil particles. Overwatering displaces the air between soil particles with water, thereby removing the oxygen needed by the roots. This reduces the root's ability to absorb mineral nutrients and can foster root-rot.
Plants need minerals to grow properly. The minerals are mined from the soil by the plant's root system. If a certain mineral is missing, such as calcium needed for developing cell walls, then the plant will be stunted, discoloured, or deformed.
Some plants tolerate a wide range of temperatures, whereas others are fussy. If the temperature is too high or low, the machinery of the plant will not operate satisfactorily or will cease entirely.

The basic needs of plants are not hard to supply, but growing success depends on attending to these needs with care and exactitude. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a discussion of these requirements, with the exception of mineral needs, which are discussed in Chapter 5."

Table X. See what happens when a growing child is treated the same way as a tree in a pavement.

You normally eat and drink at least 3 times every day to keep you growing, healthy and active;
plants also require to eat and drink every day.
Above 5 degrees Celcius plants tend to grow above ground and
below 5 degrees Celcius they tend to grow their roots underground.

2 minor points to remember with their result-

• the oxygen you breathe to keep you alive has mostly been produced by plants using the Oxygen-Carbon Dioxide Cycle . A 25 feet x 25 feet lawn can produce enough oxygen for you to keep breathing each year.
• A car driven 60 miles will consume the same amount of oxygene that a mature beech tree produces in 1 year.
• Result is that the Carbon Dioxide produced by machines and people/animals breathing is exceeding what plants can do to transform Carbon Dioxide back into air, especially since more of the ground area used for vegetation is being changed to one which is not.
  Increasing Carbon Dioxide increases the heat in the atmosphere and gives what we call Climate Change - In the early Pliocene, global temperatures were 1–2˚C warmer than the present temperature, yet sea level was 15–25 meters (50 - 75 feet) higher than today. The increase in temperature will raise sea level to drown many acres of coastal areas around the world because we as a human race are so stupid; within the next century.

Unfortunately Maderia is not the only country to totally ignore one of the basic requirements of humans - to breathe; it would appear that many including my own also do not bother that we are asphyxiating ourselves.

So lets see what would happen if we did to a growing child what we do to trees in pavements, like the Maple which is more than 24 inches (60 cms) into a main road:-

Tree

30 feet = 360 inches = 900 cms high and wide with radius of 15 feet for its roots

Adult

5.5 feet = 66 inches = 165 cms high with same width and root radius as tree. She has a 50cm radius, thick copper, band round her neck.

Roots in 63.64 square metres

May receive water on 1 square metre so only 1.57% of the roots get water

Mouth

May receive water only on 1.57% of her mouth opening and that is only when it is raining or someone provides irrigation.

May transfer carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen through the ground to only 1.57% of roots

Nose and Skin

Breathing through only 1.57% of her nose and 1.57% of her skin

May transfer nutrients to only 1.57% of roots.

Mouth

May receive nutrients through only 1.57% of her mouth

98.43% of the roots will have to rely on the 1.57% of the roots to provide nourishment to keep them searching for underground water, underground other sources of nutrients and access to the atmosphere for gaseous exchange.

She is thirsty, starving and out of breath

Some exposed roots get run over by 40 ton lorries every day and others buried within 60cms also receive the same punishment.

I doubt her toes would last long.

1 or 2 of the 7 main roots are cut off. Support of tree is compromised.

Her big toes are cut off, which makes it difficult for her to maintain her balance in strong winds.

Junction of Roots and above ground Trunk

This Maple tree has exceeded its 100 cm diameter ground space and is now sitting on top of tarmac, concrete pavers and concrete slabs. These prevent the live trunk above from meeting the main root below. This means that amount of trunk supporting the tree above is becoming less and less able to provide the strength to support the tree. A strong wind will snap the tree at this point

Neck

The neck has exceeded 50cms radius. Her body and head have continued to grow. Because of the copper band her head may well break off in a high wind. Removing the copper band will also break her neck, since the muscles in the neck will not be able to hold the extra weight.

Trunk

Due to lack of nutrients, water and gaseous exchange in the root area, it is difficult to create new branches or leaves.

Head and hair

The skin is stretched over the face in a gaunt expression and the hair is short and thin, due to same lack as for the trees.

Old branches fall off in the wind creating jagged tears in the trunks. These then rot and the rot continues down the heartwood of the tree, since no-one maintains these trees. This root weakens the tree and eventually it will fall down.

Any damage caused by wind, rain or objects hitting the face are not repaired and can lead to unfortunate results.

Conclusion

Strange that people need plants to get the oxygen they breathe every day, but do not connect that thought that these trees provide that oxygen.
They reduce their supply of oxygen by concreting over more and more of the world!

Those trees will die and fall down.

Since your daughter would have died long ago, if she had suffered the above, why do you make the trees suffer?

Other items in this table about trees in pavements below might be of interest:-

• Trees falling down from within pavements in Funchal, Madeira in the second row below and then in the second and third table;
  below the first on the right.
  Since it was 1 of 6 tree experts from Portugal that have monitored and advised Madeira about these trees, then I would be extremely worried about the trees under his control falling on me when I might visit either Portugal or Madeira.
  My reaction on this situation in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022:-
  • Reaction 1 from 2018 - 166 trees in the pavements in a short section of a road in Funchal, Madeira are being slowly, starved, dehydrated, asphyxiated, poisoned by tarmac and concrete, burnt inside their hollow trunks, roots pounded by 40 ton lorries or shoes of pedestrians, and allowed to rot until killed off during February 2019 (see information in Problems with trees in pavements in Funchal, Madeira in January/February 2018 Page, which appears to have had no effect during 2018).
  • Reaction 2 from 2019 - Photos 6 and 7 on Monitoring of Trees in Funchal Page 1 show a tree in a pavement with 70% of its heartwood rotted away from the earth to the base of the Forked Leader of the trunk as it splits to form another trunk going up. See Forked Leader in Photo 4 in Watersprouts on Trees in Pavements in Funchal, Madeira Page to see why this section of the trunk had been cut away before; but it never has had its wound dressed to prevent this rotting process.
    See Pavements of Funchal, Madeira Damage to Trees 1, 2, 3, 4. galleries to see 4000 x 3000 pixel photos of this tree in pavement damage. This may have caused Funchal to get 1 of the 6 tree experts from Portugal to come in September 2019.
  • Reaction 3 from 2020 - Further photos were taken of the trees and added to the website after contacting a member of the staff in Funchal local government.
  • Reaction 4 from 2022 - The photos in the second table on the right show that a tree with most of its heartwood rotted away was cut down, and that at least one other tree that was cut down had more than 80% of its trunk rotted before it was cut down. Both trees were cut down in February 2022. They had both been rotting for years within 2.5cms (1 inch) of traffic on a main road. The trees or parts of them like their main branches could have fallen down at any time - even when under an expert tree man from Portugal, who has been monitoring them for the last 2.5 years; and declared them safe to the taxidrivers.
     
• Tree roots being denied rainwater, nutrients, air exchange and death of the soil surrounding their roots within tarmaced pavements in Guernsey. Nor do they provide an organic mulch or green manure to feed their trees or redcurrant bushes.
   

Will visitors to Madeira worry about having branches or trees in public places fall on them? No; according to Engineer Francisco Pedro Freitas Andrade of Est. Marmeleiros, No 1, Jardins & Espaces Verdes who is Chef de Diviso Câmara Municipal do Funchal; Departamento de Ciência e de Recursos Naturais; Divisão de Jardins e Espaços Verdes Urbanos in charge of the trees within the pavements within the area controlled by Funchal Municipality -
See Monitoring of Trees in pavements in Funchal, Madeira from September 2019 to February 2020 1, 2 pages by his department.
See Pavements of Funchal, Madeira Damage to Trees 1, 2, 3, 4. galleries to see 4000 x 3000 pixel photos of this damage.
The following 12 sections provide more detail; with section 12 providing a cheap start to improving the life for the roots:-

• 1. This tree trunk in Madeira will fall because of the heartwood being rotted away.
• 2. Electrical cabling tied to trees in Madeira is killing the tree.
• 3. Constriction of trees by metal, tarmac, stone, concrete etc will cause the tree to grow over the constriction. At some point that tree will break at this fulcrum and fall over; due to the weight above that fulcrum being in excess of what the heartwood at that fulcrum can support.
• 4. Growing trees within 2 metres of a vertical drop in the soil and thus automatically restricting it's circle of roots means that the tree will have complete lack of support from a large section of root and is vulnerable to falling down from wind. Also the Eucalyptus roots extract a lot of water from the soil causing that soil to lose its cohesion and fall away.
• 5. The weight of a growing unbraced shrub/tree in a small volume of soil, surrounded by impervious material, is going to exceed the weight of that soil. That means that that plant will fall down at the fulcrum of that trunk with the ground.
• 6. Constriction of trees by plastic twine, baling twine, metal wire will cause the same problem as in Sections 2 and 3.
• 7. Photograhic evidence of damage to 166 trees in Funchal, Madeira with explanations and possible solutions.
• 8. In Medway, England the council has sprayed herbicide round the base of trees in public spaces to kill off the grass. The grass dehydrates the roots of the tree below.
• 9. This explains why grass is detrimental to other plants growing in it.
• 10. The cultural needs of plants for water, gas exchange and nutrients is explained. If these are not met then that plant will die.
• 11. Earthworms provide the transport system in the soil for the rainwater, gas exchange and nutrients dissolved in that water to reach the tree roots via tunnels. No access for earthworms, no earthworms, cultural needs of plants not met.
• 12. Although some solutions have been given in the previous sections, this provides a start for improving the cultivation conditions for the roots of those plants in Madeira and in other countries.

1. Could Madeira use this tree in its current state as Cheap Staff Accomodation for

• staff at the Forum Shopping Centre
• or
• for me as accomodation, while I sort out their tree problems
  (at least when I would fall asleep, it would be sitting up as required below? Madeirans care for their staff in knowing that I would not have far to travel to go to work)?

Photo 10 - tree 101 from pestana promenade to forum tree hollow trunk IMG_6063.JPG in
Damage to Tree Roots in Madeira caused by People Page in Section 7.
The hole in the trunk could be sold by the Tourist Office or rented out, who would install a thin front door (you would need to go inside your bijou residence sideways) with a toilet behind it ( you could also sleep on this toilet saving hotel bed costs), a small sink to the side and hanging space for one's clothes for a very reasonable selling or renting price. A camping stove could be set up outside to cook your meals - or you could eat in the establishments within a 150 metres in the Forum Shopping Centre; and then you could use a small fold-up stool for seating outside. Rubbish could be installed in a bag behind you, which could be lent against as a cushion/pillow at nightime.
Household insurance to cover the flat from being blown down could be expensive. You would need to scrub off the charcoal from the burnt inside of the trunk, before you could paint it magnolia. You might not be able to extend the living space within the trunk without structural collapse.

Try not to be on the zebra crossing when it does fall if there is no repair. This tree probably has the same width of live trunk left
next to the ground as you can see of a cut down tree in the pavement less than 300 metres away as shown in
Work Details of my Ivydene Horticultural Services page.
 

2. The following 2 photos illustrate how easy it is for an electrician to kill a tree by tying a metal/plastic tie so tight that it cuts through the Outer Bark, the Inner Bark or Phloem and the Cambium layers depriving the trunk above and kills it, without him/her knowing that is what will happen. Combine that with no maintenance of these trees in pavements and so the population and the paying visitors prepare to endure the failure of branches/trunks of these trees and hope that they are not underneath or that those trees will not interfere with gas tanks which are below them:

note the splits in the exposed heartwood, where the heartwood is starting to fail.

Below is a diagram showing how thin are the 3 top layers of a tree/shrub which provide protection and power to live for that tree and how easy it is to be damaged without the tree being able to repair that damage:-

3. The following photo comes from Madeira Island News.com with the accompanying text dated 30 July 2018:-

"A set of iron foundations placed around some trees of regional road 104, in the stretch between the PSP and the Ponte Vermelha, in Ribeira Brava, are conditioning the growth of the trees and generating controversy.
According to one reader to JM, the fact is that the same bases, which are completely rusty as the image demonstrates, are clearly affecting the growth of the species in question, which in their opinion may lead to the destruction of the species.
In addition, it indicates that many of these bases are even reaching the interior of the trees and there are cases of some species that are already higher in relation to the pavement.
Several popular have already expressed concern about what happened. They understand that the solution is to remove the iron bases."
If these iron bases are reaching the interior of the trees, that means that as that tree grows it will at some point be too heavy to be supported by the trunk at the base level and it will fall down - WHY DOES NOBOBDY IN MADEIRA GET EDUCATED ABOUT HOW TREES GROW AND SHOULD BE MAINTAINED, OR DO THEY PREFER TO HAVE ANOTHER 13 PEOPLE KILLED BY FALLING TREES AS HAPPENED IN 2017? AND WILL THEY MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WHEN PLANTING 288,000 TREES AND SHRUBS IN THE ECOLOGICAL PARK? Since nobody in Portugal or Madeira is reading this during April 2019, perhaps somebody might tell them or will you also be wasting your time?

4. Another report from Madeira about trees:-
PPM WARNS TREES AT RISK OF FALLING ON THE ROAD BETWEEN CANHAS AND PAUL DA SERRA
TOBI HUGHES 22ND FEBRUARY 2019
The PPM Madeira was today on the road connecting the parish of the Canhas to Paul da Serra, according to the request of the people who contacted the party, to see the danger of some large trees that are in danger of falling.

“What we saw there is very worrying,” says Paulo Brito, who photographed some of the trees with their roots in sight without the necessary support to stand. In his opinion, “a stronger wind is enough that they come down”, others that have been severely burned by the last fires and are dead, “just waiting to fall”.

We saw large branches and trees already with a level of inclination for the road, almost at a stage of a possible tragedy.

The road also needs a lot of attention as it is in a very bad state  and is a road used by locals and many tourists, as one of the main routes to Paul da Serra.

Taken from Funchal News.
This tree does not have any root support for over 50% of its circular root area. There are at least 3 trees in this photo that are within 1 metre of the cliff face to the road. I wonder if these trees are Eucalyptus (one of the reasons for the introduction of Eucalytus to the Island was for the production of paper) which has one of the highest demands for water and therefore if grown on a slope with many others, the ground underneath this tree may have reached the Permanent Wilting Point. Then, the soil between the tree roots falls off the side of a cliff as shown here; and the ground becomes too dry to support the other trees in this wood. In this photo there are at least 2 trees which are no longer vertical and if the ground moisture below them has reached beyond the Permanent Wilting Point for those trees, then they likely to continue the descent to ground.
Surface soil moisture is the water that is in the upper 10 cm (4 inches) of soil, whereas root zone soil moisture is the water that is available to plants, which is generally considered to be in the upper 200 cm (80 inches) of soil:-

• Wet Soil has Saturated water content of 20-50% water/soil and is Fully saturated soil
• Moist Soil has Field capacity of 10-35% water/soil and is Soil moisture 2–3 days after a rain or irrigation
• Dry Soil has Permanent Wilting Point of 1-25% water/soil and is Minimum soil moisture at which a plant wilts
• Residual water content of 0.1-10% water/soil and is Remaining water at high tension
• Available Water Capacity for plants is the difference between water content at field capacity and permanent wilting point

5. If you put a shrub/tree in a very small volume of ground and allow it to grow, there will come a point where the weight of the tree/shrub above ground exceeds the weight of the earth/roots below the ground and so it becomes unstable and falls over as you can see in an evening for falling trees in October 2017 article. The earth in the hole where the shrub is surrounded by impervious material is not enough area or depth for its roots to continue to provide itself with a stable platform as it matures.

Tree Root Systems - 130/95/ARB - by Martin Dobson of Arboricultural Advisory and Information Service:-
Tree root systems are wide spreading, extending radially in any direction for distance in excess of the tree's height; frequently no deeper than 200 cms (80 inches, which as noted above; soil moisture is generally considered to be in the upper 80 inches) - see What to do about subsidence caused by clay page to see the effect of the length of different tree roots. Roots grow predominantly near the soil surface (see photo below with tree roots on the soil surface) - over 90% of all roots, and virtually all the large structural supporting roots, are in the upper 60 cm (24 inches) of soil. Soil disturbance within the rooting are should be avoided, as this can significantly affect tree stability and moisture uptake. Lateral roots taper rapidly until at 200-300 cms distance they are usually only 2-5cms (1-2 inches) in diameter, by which stage they have lost much of their rigidity and physical strength. It is here they tend to break when root plate failure occurs, e.g in a storm.
Roots branching from the upper side of laterals grow upwards and divide profusely in the surface soil, which is usually well-aerated, to form fans or mats of thousands of fine non-woody 'absorbing' or 'feeder' roots. In woodland, they grow horizontally between the 2 to 3 year old fallen leaves to absorb moisture and nutrient uptake. In order for roots to survive, oxygen must be available in the soil immediately surrounding them. Depositing toxic or impermeable materials on the roots will damage the roots" by stopping access to oxygen and soil moisture from above. Having grass over the tree roots is also detrimental as shown in section 9 below.
Our local church has a very large yew tree, where the local authority have removed the leaves, dead church flowers, prunings from the rest of the churchyard and grass cuttings to make sure that it has no nutrients and the grave-diggers continue to dump 60cm (24 inches) depth of the subsoil from new graves onto the yew tree roots robbing them of both moisture and oxygen - noted on 6 January 2022.
Why is it that nobody in Great Britain in parks or gardens open to the public, or gardens of homeowners understand the cultural needs of plants, as shown onsection 10 of this row? and why do they want to kill these plants as shown in the sections of this row in Madeira? Every country in the world puts tarmac on top of tree roots in pavements of roads, right up to the trunk. Why not put a 300 cm (120 inch) radius from each tree trunk in the pavement of peashingle locked in a Gravel Stabilisation System, so that at least oxygen and moisture can get to the roots? Then, collect the green waste from the homeowners and dead leaves from the trees on public land, mix it with 5% seaweed for the trace elements, compost it, shred the result, create a slurry of it and feed that slurry on top of the Gravel Stabilisation System, followed by a spray of clean water to clean the top-most pea-shingle, once a month throughout the year.

6. "This tree was tied with plastic baling twine to a fence when very young. The white section shows the width at which it was tied. This tree top snapped in the wind.
Please never use plastic twine or wire to tie a plant.

Please also do not use tarred cord as it will last too long and cause the same problem as above, use garden twine which will rot within a few years and then allows the plant' stem to expand. For trees or shrubs remember that the stake is only a support for the first 3 years at most, in order to stop the plant from being uprooted and to allow the stem above the 18 inches (45 cms) where it is tied to being able to sway in the breeze and strengthen rather than being tied at 60 inches (150 cms) and then when the support is removed the tree trunk is not strong enough and breaks in a strong wind. If you going to support climbers then also use garden twine, since when you cut it to move or remove that branch every 2 or 3 years, it can then lie on the ground and be recycled by your friendly earth organisms!" from Growing Edibles in Containers in Plants Extra.
If the tree is constricted by a metal ring as shown above; then it will grow over that ring and when the weight of growth above is too much for the area of heartwood within that metal ring, it will also snap off at that point.

7. 166 trees in the pavements in a short section of a road in Funchal, Madeira are being slowly, starved, dehydrated, asphyxiated, poisoned by tarmac and concrete, burnt inside their hollow trunks, roots pounded by 40 ton lorries or shoes of pedestrians, and allowed to rot until killed off during February 2019 (see information in Problems with trees in pavements in Funchal, Madeira in January/February 2018 Page, which appears to have had no effect) as shown by my 433 photos in the following pages (and further detailed in the following Camera Photo Galleries Pavements of Funchal, Madeira Damage to Trees 1, 2, 3, 4):-

• Death of tree roots and
• Death of tree trunks/branches caused by people.
• Solution to problems for trees caused by people using irrigation -
  Growth of Pollarded Tree in Hotel Garden in 1 year provides a water solution to this destruction.
• Damage to Tree Trunks 1, 2, 3, 4 caused by people,
• Damage to Tree Roots caused by people,
• Area of Open Ground round trees,
• New Trees in pavements 1, 2,
• Irrigation of current trees,
• Watersprouts on trees,
• Crossing Branches in trees,
• Utility Equipment with tree Foliage,
• Lights on trees,
• Bycycle Lane in Pavement,
• Public Gardens alongside pavements,
• Hotel/Private Gardens alongside pavements,
• Current Permeable Pavement Surface round trees and
• Irrigation and Fertilising of trees.

The people of Madeira and/or VAN DEN BERK NURSERIES could SOLVE THESE TREE PROBLEMS
or

they could continue to kill these trees and others in the same situation elsewhere on the island
and then continue to be killed by those trees falling on them or on a 1000 gallon cooking gas tank for each of 2 hotels, causing leaks, followed by explosions

or
invite me to do the work unpaid, with Madeira providing food/drink, work clothes, materials and equipment for these tree problems (Madeira would donate the use of the following sleeping facility with my ankles and head above my stomach to drain my ankles and prevent drowning from phlegm created in my throat during my sleep together with 11 medications for heart failure, head tumour, diuretics, blood thinners, reduction of heart rate by 60 beats a minute, glaucoma, and 3 of those medications for diabetes, etc).
It might take me a little time

• to gather over 50 tons of seaweed/ cow manure and mix it before delivering it 3 times a year to each tree and pavement flower bed in this section within Funchal; more would be needed to cover the others in the island,
• removal of pavers and white/black marble pavements and replace with reduced size pavers with 2 inch depth of sharp sand under them,
• deal with unsealed tree branch cuts and rotting holes,
• deal with rotting tree roots,
• deal with root/lorry problems,
• retighten tree braces,
• erect steel structures over gas tanks to prevent damage by falling trees,
• provide irrigation to the trees in those pavements on a weekly basis
• create database of all trees/flower beds in pavements in Madeira, with repair schedule and paver replacement/ irrigation/ fertiliser creation; and irrigation and fertilising time schedules.
• following my use of 6 FAIL (Fortran Assisted Instruction Lecture) written notes, so that the students from Years 1 and 2 of the Architecture Dept of Portsmouth Polytechnic would receive the next 1 hour lecture notes at the end of the previous, I taught the Fortran language, hardware, software, flowcharting and documentation to them within 6 hours followed by 2 afternoons of practical in creating stats from an experiment in the laboratory. Those students passed with 75% following my exam of a waffle, flowchart and program questions supervised by the Computer Science Dept. I graduated with a 2.2 in Psychology from Brunel University the previous year to this teaching, having spent 18 months under Section 22 from falling on my head at 60mph in Wales from a motorbike and then recovering the use of the spoken and written English language by myself. I was passed mentally fit in the January of the year that I took my finals. Due to 1/3 of my brain being detached from my skull, I am discouraged from engaging in contact sports. Following close contact between a female dentist and my teeth, which resulted in a 2 month hiatus in my blood-thining medication, I am also allergic to close contact with the female species, unless my eyes are closed until they move 2 feet (60 cms) away. I have a temperature range between 18-20 degrees Celcius, so it can be a problem where air-conditioning only brings the temperature down to 24 degrees Celcius as in cinemas, theatres and banqueting halls.
  Then perhaps I could teach the following students:-
  • Tree-surgeons to get trees thinned, crowned, etc to aid the purpose for which those trees were planted, not pollard the whole tree and produce a very dangerous result when used for trees in pavements, or for hanging electricity lighting schemes on them - the ties slowly cutting through the bark and the cambium killing the trunk/branch above.
  • Bed maintenance staff in how to prune, which does not mean chopping a rose to ground level each year and nor does it mean using a flail to chop shrubs into rectangles or turn shrub borders into oblong hedges.
  • Bed and tree maintenance staff with use of green manures, seaweed/cow-, pig-, sheep-, chicken-manure, recycled food waste from restaurants and food markets mixed with shredded shrub/tree prunings and used as a mulch to feed the plants under their care.
  • hotel and restaurant staff in checking the state of their toilets to stop the leakage of thousands of gallons of water from the overflow in the cistern or the washer seals into the latrine bowl.
    Having had to reveal 2 leaks in the 2 toilets in the Pestana Promenade Hotel suite in 2018 followed by a leak in 1 of the toilets in the Pestana Mirimar Hotel Suite in 2018 followed a year later in the Pestana Promenade Hotel Suite with one of the same toilets still leaking and it taking an hour for the Maintenance Manager to cure it this time, I am hopefull that next year there will not be a repeat performance.
    Your toilet cisterns remind me of the self-cleaning tumble dryer that used the water removed from the drying clothes to wash the condenser into the same match-box tank with foam pressure valve which activated a pump to transfer that water into a large tank at the top. Unfortunately when the system washed the fine dust into that matchbox, it clogged the foam and activated the pump. When no more water could be pumped, it refused to allow the machine to start drying. That tank was inaccessable to the machine owner and so cost £180 a time to get emptied. Brilliant - a machine designed to fail if it carried out its function, rather like the toilets in Madeira in wasting water.
  • educate the public about their relationship with plants that come into their environment to realise that without them they would be dead from lack of oxygen. In public spaces, it is advisable to be careful since many people suffer from hay-fever, so plants from All Bee-Pollinated Flowers per Month could be used, which would not affect them and those planted areas could be identified for them.

I could use Companion Planting, but I am sure that the above is enough for me to start with in taking 400 hours per day leaving my time schedule for sleep and nourishment not executed,
if
the people of Madeira do not wish to sort out these tree/shrub plant problems themselves as can be seen from the lack of response to what I wrote last year in the Problems with trees in pavements in Funchal, Madeira in January/February 2018 Page.
 

Although the above is about the trees in the pavements in Madeira, other towns in other countries may find the information within it useful. There are also Problems with Trees in Pavements in Guernsey, in September 2019 Page.

8. I have noticed in my home town that herbicide has been spread

• round the trees on lawn-grass between the kerb and the tarmac pavement and
• under the hoop barriers
  (hoop-barriers would probably be easier than the more effective Brett Trief Vehicle Containment Kerb system) stopping cars from parking on that verge in March 2019.
• Also, where trees are in lawn-grass on steep slopes so that their roots are exposed up the bank, that that lawn-grass has been removed - instead of herbicide being used - between those visible roots.

Perhaps Green Manure seeds will be sown in these areas.
If the Green Manure (Mustard is bee-pollinated) is bee-pollinated rather wind-pollinated, then hay-fever sufferers would not be affected when it flowers and sets seed.
Then,

• if the contractors using their ride-on mowers or rotary mowers cut into the green manure as well, it will not matter as the seed generated from that green manure will grow and replace the damaged legumes.
• These legumes under the hoop barriers and besides the trees will then feed nitrogen to the roots of those trees and
• what rain water that these legumes do not use will be available for those same tree-roots. This will help the trees
• as well as reduce the possible damage to the bark of those trees by strimmers from those same contractors and
• reduce the amount of grass mowings being put into the storm drains, when it rains after those mowings have strayed onto the tarmac road. Green manure instead of grass in and around hoop barriers within a very thin strip of grass between the road and the tarmac pavement will not require strimming as the grass it replaces does.
• if the grass next to private household fences/walls/ telegraph poles/ other items within public grassed areas or next to public buildings is also killed off with herbicides and replaced with green manure like mustard, then the strimming of that public grassed area next to those boundaries could be stopped.

The legumes like mustard between spring to autumn will replace the bare earth, which would otherwise grow weeds and look unsightly - it does not matter if some mustard grows into the grassed areas, since it would be cut down.
Use Lawn Aerating Shoes to spike the bare earth, spread the green manure seed thinly and spread using a soft brush into the holes created by the spikes. Spray the seeded ground with water to dampen the ground, before spreading a thin layer of sharp sand over the seeded area and leave the seeds to grow.
Repeat this next spring, since the first frost during the previous autumn will have killed the top growth of the mustard and the worms will then clear the ground. It becomes too cold for the weeds and just replanting in the spring with mustard will superseed any new growth of weeds.

Overall maintenance cost would thus be greatly reduced and the trees would benefit.

9. The section below explains why grass has such a detrimental effect on trees/shrubs/ or other plants planted within it:-

This shows the roots of 1 ryegrass plant, which had been removed from the foundation bed of Type I MOT Roadstone in a client's garden. You can see that this plant has tens of yards or metres of root to absorb water.

"Most turf grass roots are concentrated in the first 6-8 inches (15-20 cms) of soil. Try to irrigate only one or two inches of water per week during the turf growing season. You could irrigate the whole amount of water at one time, however most folks have better results splitting the amount into two separate applications.  Please note however in sandy soils where the water percolates more rapidly it may benefit you to split the applications into three separate irrigation cycles.  You do not want to irrigate more than three times a week because you would be applying so little water the outcome would be shallow roots."

"Native Grass Meadow
MARSHALL SILTY CLAY LOAM (HEAVY SUBSOIL PHASE) These plots (18-20) were located in an area that is in native grasses and has never been plowed, but being within a cemetery area has had frequent mowing. It adjoins the Agronomy Farm at Lincoln, Nebraska. T ests on these native grass plots (Table 1) showed that they absorbed over 2 inches of water during the first 1.5 hours with an absorption rate of about 1.4 inches per hour at the end of this time. Following a delay of 10 days during which there was no rain-fall, water was again applied to the test areas with practically the same results as for the previous test. It will be shown later that if the second test is made only 1 day after the first, the rate of intake will be materially reduced. This seems to be due to the settling of soil immediately after wetting. Upon longer standing the soil seems to resume its original condition."

Have you ever wondered how much grass is at a Major League Baseball stadium?
We did and found the answer. The average professional baseball field in America will use around 100,000 square feet of turf (~2.25 acres), which will need approximately 62,500* gallons of water per week (under normal watering schedule of 1″/week). This is equivalent to the amount of water 89 homes will use in the same amount of time. 62,500 gallons = 284130.63 litres. This is used by 89 homes in 7 days = 456 litres per day per home. This water is being used by the grass every week and if you do not irrigate, then it gets it from the soil and when it rains. Ever wondered why the ground under turf in public areas is so dry to the detriment of trees/shrubs growing within it or in beds alongside.
In Bevan's speech, he warned that because of climate change, by 2040, more than half of UK summers were likely to exceed 2003 temperatures – meaning more water shortages. By 2050, the amount of water available could be reduced by 10%-15%, with some rivers seeing 50%-80% less water during the summer months. This would result in a higher risk of drought, caused by the hotter, drier summers and less predictable rainfall. Water shortages are not uniform across the UK, with the North-west, Wales and Scotland generally having an adequate supply and the South-east experiencing the greatest pressure. According to the Greater London Authority, London is pushing close to capacity, is likely to have water supply problems by 2025 and “serious shortages” by 2040.
Building Regulations 
There have been changes over the years to the Building Regulations in order to try to reduce water consumption. Main changes in the 2015 edition of the Building Regulations include the introduction of an optional requirement for tighter water efficiency in Regulation 36 (section G2). 
The amendments are separated into two levels:
(a) 125 litres per person per day; 
(b) or the optional requirement of 110 litres per person per day (which may be a requirement of the water companies within that region). Planning Authorities in the South-East have decided on the 110 litre per person per day; produced by the builder fitting different taps, etc that will reduce current usage of 131 litres per person per day to 110, without the buyer in the South-East of England being aware.

ALTHOUGH THE VOLUME OF DRINKING WATER IS REDUCING IN THE SOUTH-EAST, MANY NEW HOMES ARE BEING BUILT AND SO FAR DESALINATION PLANTS OR MORE RESERVOIRS HAVE NOT BEEN BUILT TO KEEP UP WITH THE EXTRA DEMAND. AS EACH HOME IS BEING BUILT IT REDUCES THE LAND AREA FOR RAIN TO SOAK INTO THE LAND TO BE COLLECTED IN CHALK AQUIFERS OR WATER RESERVOIRS - THE NUMBER OF CHAMBERS FILLED WITH BULLETS IN THE REVOLVER FOR RUSSIAN ROULETTE IS INCREASING FROM 3 TOWARDS ALL 6 AND THIS IS BEING CARRIED AS GOVERNMENT POLICY.
 

Photo 5 - tree 23 from end of 2 road junction tree in garden IMG_6222.JPG

The roots of this tree are at ground level where they compete with the grass and other plants. Replace the grass with GREEN MANURE such as everlasting spinach to provide nitrogen to the tree roots as a legume rather than the grass which takes away the water and any application of fertiliser or nutrients in an organic mulch. The roots of the tree can then migrate below ground.

The area where the above tree is planted is not usually trafficked by the public,

• since it is witin an enclosed public space.
• The same is true when there is a tree within a high raised bed also surrounded by grass as outside a shopping centre in Funchal, or
• where trees/shrubs are planted within a grassed area like on a bank or in a central reservation of a dual carriageway near the Forum in Funchal,
• or in between old graves with less than a mower's cutting width between them in cemeteries, or
• You are unable to do any more gardening like mowing in your home garden, but you then employ a gardener to just cut your lawn on a regular basis,
• Why not kill off the grass and replace with Clover Green Manure. The tree/shrub roots will get fed and maintenance will only be required once or twice a year to strim/cut the foliage down before flowering and leave on the ground for the worms to take into the soil?

10. Since I was adding to the 97 out 706 ferns to the Fern Gallery, I thought you might be interested in the following to explain why the current treatment of growing plants in pavements in Madeira is lacking in care:-
This row gives a very clear overall description of the
Cultural Needs of Plants
from Chapter 4 in Fern Grower's Manual by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki & Robbin C. Moran. Revised and Expanded Edition. Published in 2001 by Timber Press, Inc. Reprinted 2002, 2006. ISBN-13:978-0-88192-495-4.

"Understanding Fern Needs
Ferns have the same basic growing requirements as other plants and will thrive when these are met. There is nothing mysterious about the requirements - they are not something known only to people with green thumbs - but the best gardeners are those who understand plant requirements and are careful about satisfying them.
What, then, does a fern need?

All plants need water. Water in the soil prevents roots from drying, and all mineral nutrients taken up by the roots must be dissolved in the soil water. Besides water in the soil, most plants need water in the air. Adequate humidity keeps the plant from drying out. Leaves need water for photosynthesis and to keep from wilting.
All green plants need light to manufacture food (sugars) by photosynthesis. Some plants need more light than others, and some can flourish in sun or shade. Most ferns, however, prefer some amount of shade.
For photosynthesis, plants require carbon dioxide, a gas that is exhaled by animals as waste. Carbon dioxide diffuses into plants through tiny pores, called stomata, that abound on the lower surface of the leaves. In the leaf, carbon dioxide is combined with the hydrogen from water to form carbohydrates, the plant's food. This process takes place only in the presence of light and chlorophyll, a green pigment found in plant cells. To enhance growth, some commercial growers increase the carbon dioxide level in their greenhouses to 600ppm (parts per million), or twice the amount typically found in the air.
Plants need oxygen. The green plants of a plant do not require much oxygen from the air because plants produce more oxygen by photosynthesis than they use. The excess oxygen liberated from the plants is used by all animals, including humans. What do plants do with oxygen? They use it just as we do, to release the energy stored in food. We use energy to move about, to talk, to grow, to think - in fact, for all our life processes. Although plants don't talk or move much, they do grow and metabolize and must carry on all their life processes using oxygen to release the stored energy in their food.
Roots need air all the time. They get it from the air spaces between the soil particles. Overwatering displaces the air between soil particles with water, thereby removing the oxygen needed by the roots. This reduces the root's ability to absorb mineral nutrients and can foster root-rot. These gases need free access to the roots:-
Nitrogen Cycle -
Nitrogen is the most commonly limiting nutrient in plants. Legumes use nitrogen fixing bacteria, specifically symbiotic rhizobia bacteria, within their root nodules to counter the limitation. Rhizobia bacteria fix nitrogen which is then converted to ammonia. Ammonia is then assimilated into nucleotides, Amino Acids, vitamins and flavones which are essential to the growth of the plant. The plant root cells convert sugar into organic acids which then supply to the rhizobia in exchange, hence a symbiotic relationship between rhizobia and the legumes.
Oxygen Cycle -
No nutrient absorption occurs at the root zone unless oxygen is present.
Carbon Dioxide -
Plant roots uptake carbon dioxide to provide carbon for parts of the foliage.
Plants need minerals to grow properly. The minerals are mined from the soil by the plant's root system. If a certain mineral is missing, such as calcium needed for developing cell walls, then the plant will be stunted, discoloured, or deformed.
Some plants tolerate a wide range of temperatures, whereas others are fussy. If the temperature is too high or low, the machinery of the plant will not operate satisfactorily or will cease entirely.

The basic needs of plants are not hard to supply, but growing success depends on attending to these needs with care and exactitude. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a discussion of these requirements, with the exception of mineral needs, which are discussed in Chapter 5."

11. Only Earthworms provide the tunnels which transport water, gas and nutrients to and from tree roots

When the roots of the plant requires the mineral nutrients dissolved in soil water, oxygen and nitrogen intake and waste gases output, it gets it through the action of the earthworm continously making tunnels to provide the transport system.
6000 species of Earthworm have no special respiratory organs. Gases are exchanged through the moist skin and capillaries, where the oxygen is picked up by the hemoglobin dissolved in the blood plasma and carbon dioxide is released. Water, as well as salts, can also be moved through the skin by active transport.
When the earthworms are denied access to the air above ground as in the case of pavements, then they die and the system round them dies as well. Since the roots are not getting the requirements then they also die off, and you are left with insufficient live root to support the tree.
You can see the thinness of the tree roots in IMG 004 of Table 4 within Work Details of my Ivydene Horticultural Services page, where the roots are exposed of the tree that they cut down. Madeira had also ignored the great deal of rot that had occured in the tree trunk; and only cut the tree down because they said it was pushing the wall beside the pavement over!!! irrespective of the rot that eventually would have made that tree fall down maybe onto the traffic 6 inches (15 cms) from its trunk or onto the hotel below it on the other side of the wall. This is despite a tree expert from Portugal having been employed previously, who must have stated that this tree was safe!!!! despite it rotting for quite a few years. How many more trees in pavements of Funchal are like this one besides the one that is less than 300 metres up the road with a new bus stop near it and a zerbra crossing in front of it for it to fall on as shown above for more than 10 years.
Because a builder could not be bothered to prevent the weight of steelwork vehicles from depressing the tarmac pavement by a bus stop in 2022, the damage broke the roots of a tall mature tree, which then got honey fungus and killed that tree. 6 months later that tree in a public verge is still standing in City Way, Medway and eventually that will also fall down onto traffic or nearby houses. That honey fungus has travelled 30 metrees up the grass verge to a tree stump where a vehicle ran into that tree pushing that tree over to 45 degrees and the council then had pollarded it to about 2 metres, some months previously. So if the honey fungus has travelled there; then it can also go into the gardens in City Way, Medway and kill off their shrubs and trees.
What a waste of my time in writing the above is, when nothing will get done about it, unless someone can make some money out of it!!!
The roots of each tree covered by tarmac, concrete or stone (in any country in the world) will create a Russian Roulette situation, where the asphixiated, dehydrated and starved tree may fall down. In this situation, there is only one place where the tree may get the water and nutrients requiired and that is by taking them from a branch, normally the ones nearest the ground to be able to compete for new branches and leaves at the top in competition with either other trees or buildings shading their tops. This can be seen in dense forests.
Human beings must be the only animal that is determined to kill itself by denying itself oxygen to breath.
Nitrogenous fertilizers tend to create acidic conditions, which are fatal to the worms, and dead specimens are often found on the surface following the application of substances such as DDT, lime sulphur, and lead arsenate. In Australia, changes in farming practices such as the application of superphosphates on pastures and a switch from pastoral farming to arable farming had a devastating effect on populations of the giant Gippsland earthworm, leading to their classification as a protected species. Globally, certain earthworms populations have been devastated by deviation from organic production and the spraying of synthetic fertilizers and biocides with at least three species now listed as extinct but many more endangered.
Vermicomposting of all organic "wastes" and addition of this organic matter, preferably as a surface mulch , on a regular basis will provide earthworms with their food and nutrient requirements, and will create the optimum conditions of temperature and moisture that will naturally stimulate their activity.

This earthworm activity aerates and mixes the soil, and is conducive to mineralization of nutrients and their uptake by vegetation. Certain species of earthworm come to the surface and graze on the higher concentrations of organic matter present there, mixing it with the mineral soil. Because a high level of organic matter mixing is associated with soil fertility, an abundance of earthworms is generally considered beneficial by farmers and gardeners.

12. The easiest and quickest solution for existing pavement areas using pavers or paving slabs is the SuDSFLOW System using paving spacers for permeable paving. Simply take up the paver/paving slab and re-install with the spacer and laying coarse sand if you cannot afford to also install the correct subgrade. You would then end up with redundant pavers/paving slabs and the same system could be used elsewhere.
The same SuDSFLOW System could be used on Domestic Driveways, Patios and Terraces, Car Parks and Footpaths including the laying coarse sand and subgrade to absorb the rainfall even if the soil is clay underneath. This would prevent the rainwater falling on your land from leaving it - which is illegal in the UK.
Instead of wasting your time using the existing compost bins in private gardens; use the vermicomposting system to create a better product for your home garden.
Use the same vermicomposting system on organic waste from restaurants, hotels and supermarkets, before mashing it into small compost particles and put into a water solution to give a monthly supply to the trees in your pavements in your village/ town/ council area.

TABLE 4

Ivydene Gardens Photo Damage to Trees in Madeira:
Photos of Damage to Trees in the Pavement of Funchal in Madeira
taken in February 2022.

Parts of Table 4 has been transferred to Work Details of my Ivydene Horticultural Services page as Other Table 4, where lack of education has led to very dangerous situations for the public and holiday visitors walking under these trees on pavements in Madeira. Unfortunately this dangerous situation is in every country in the world, since public care of trees is sublimated to greed.
After this section in the table about Damage to trees in the pavement of funchal in madeira comes
"A '£134,000 disaster of 95% of 12,800 saplings planted to help tackle the climate crisis have died because they were not watered in the summer drought' created by a Gloucester Council that did not have a clue that planting whips in grass would absolutely guarantee to kill them, even if someone sprayed a gallon of water over a square yard of that grass with the whip in its middle every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during this last summer."

"Any tree planted within 3 feet (90 cms) of a wall will damage the foundations of that wall.
If the eventual height of the tree that you wish to plant will exceed the distance from a wall, then dig a hole 8 feet (240 cms) wide and 3 feet (90 cms) deep, line it with geotextile like Plantex from Travis Perkins - or overlapping concrete slabs on the sides and bottom- to prevent the roots from exceeding that space but it does allow water and air through its spaces. Then, mix

• 3 portions of the Top Soil part of excavated soil with
• 1 portion of Spent Mushroom Compost to provide the humus,
• 0.5 portion of Cow Manure to provide the fertiliser and
• 25Kg of Calcified Seaweed to provide the Trace Elements

using a cement mixer and refill that hole, firming the ground with your heels after each foot (30 cms) of height has been added." from Deciduous and Evergreen Trees Suitable for Small Gardens List Page that I originally created in December 2006.
 

From Page 29 of Medway Matters Spring 2023 states
We'll be using the £115,000 we were awarded from the Local Authority Tree Fund last year to plant these new trees throughout Medway. We have also received £125,000 from the Forestry Commissions Urban Tree Challenge Fund, which we will match, to plant more trees in green spaces and schools.
The tree pictured, commonly known as a Rowan or Mountain Ash, was planted on Friday, 24 February along Deanwood Drive in Parkwood.

Comments:-

• The plastic rabbit guard looks very similar to the rabbit guards, which are sold second hand having been used on Barcham's Nursery to prevent rabbits from eating the tree bark. As the tree grows then this plastic guard will prevent the trunk from expanding at that point and years later the tree will snap at that point.
• A 5 feet high wooden stake has been inserted at least a foot into the ground about 12 inches away from opposing sides of the tree trunk. No Rainbow Buckle Tree Tie has been used to tie the tree to either stake.
• Only 1 stake should have been used at 45 degrees and meeting the trunk at about 50 cms (20 inches) with that stake inserted intio the ground on the side where the wind usually comes from. It's purpose is to stop the tree from being blown out of the ground and for the tree finding out about the weather, so that it then decides whether to strengthen its trunk before going on to extend its trunk and its branches. When stakes support the tree at 6 feet from the ground and stop it moving, then when that support is removed after 2 or 3 years, the first gale may well snap the tree at that point.
• The tree is surrounded by grass which will rapidly grow back next to the trunk. Grass will absorb all the rain and any nutrients supplied. Thus like the disaster at Gloucester Council, this planting would have been a total waste of time.
• The spades in the picture are clean and there is no mud on anybodies boots or shoes. This means the ground was dry and also it does not look as if this newly planted tree has received any water. How much to water newly planted trees is answered by Barcham. If you applied the recommended 20 litres of water every other day to when the tree roots are covered in grass, then the tree roots would receive none of it - see section 9 in the table on the left as to why (A football pitch uses on average 100,000 litres of water every day). Barcham also sell Tree Hydration Bags, which I have seen round the trunk of some of the newly planted trees in Medway pavements.
• Barcham also recommend an organic mulch should be applied over the area inside this wooden tree guarded area to help retain water and feed the tree, before I would recommend that the green manure is sown on top of it.
• I see no evidence of a wooden tree guard, which hopefully will stop children from climbing the tree in the early years and animals from urinating near the tree. It would be advantageous to the tree for the wooden tree guard to be at least 2 metres by 2 metres by 2 metres high with the ground within it having all its grass roots removed. Then, once the tree is planted, a green manure sown. Outside the wooden tree guard a box 4 inches high (10 cms) and 1 inch (2.5cm) wide of softwood to be installed to leave 1 inch above ground to try and stop the grass from getting into the inside area and allowing the green manure to fully take over. This wooden box will rot away within 2-3 years.
   
• If the tree is going into a pavement, then the width of the pavement and 2 metres in length of it should have its tarmac or concrete removed with the rubble underneath to a depth of 6 inches (150mm). Then, a 2 inch (5 cms) layer of SHARP SAND (shaped like pyramids it packs together) NOT BUILDERS SAND (shaped like ball bearings and rolls away), plant your tree and extend its side roots into this depth of sand, water it and attach the Barcham Tree Hydration Bag. Finally, lay 4 inch thick permeable concrete block paving - Permeable Type A Infiltration Sustainable Drainage System, which has spacing nibs to allow rainwater or irrigation water to flow down between the pavers, over the remainder of the 2 metres by pavement width area. Instead of no access, then the tree roots would have at least have 4 square metres for air exchange and water.
  If the kerbs were changed to Combined Drainage Kerbs, then this sand could also be irrigated from the rain falling on the road, instead of that rainwater adding to the flood potential.
  The Tree Hydration Bag should prevent prams and shopping bags from hitting the tree. After the bag is removed it would be useful to have a spiral rabbit guard fitted to prevent shoes, handbags and prams from damaging the trunk in the future.
   
• LONDON'S LARGEST EVER PLANTING EVENT from Trees for Cities
  On 1st and 2nd December 2018, the Mayor of London and Trees for Cities brought hundreds of Londoners together to plant thousands of trees, making the capital greener, healthier and wilder.
  Following a number of tree planting workshops throughout National Tree Week, four mass tree planting events took place across parks and green spaces in London. A total of 878 volunteers got stuck in to plant the majority of the 25,000 trees across four sites over the weekend, with the rest planted by community groups, school children and corporate volunteers. 
  
  
  IT IS A PITY THAT THIS WORKFORCE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THAT NONE OF THE TREES THAT THEY HAVE JUST PLANTED WILL BE ALIVE BY THE NEXT AUGUST.
  THEY WERE PLANTING THESE IN WELL-ESTABLISHED GRASS WHICH WOULD GROW AND COVER THE AREA TO EACH TRUNK AND WOULD TAKE EVERY DROP OF RAINFALL AND NUTRIENT - see lower part of table 3.
  IF THEY HAD ROTOVATED THIS GRASS FROM SIDE TO SIDE, BACK TO FRONT, AND DIAGONALLY EACH WAY, THE GRASS WOULD STILL HAVE GROWN BACK AS I DEMONSTRATED IN A CLIENT'S GARDEN - IT WAS A FINE NEW LAWN LESS THAN 6 WEEKS LATER.
  THERE IS NO IRRIGATION SYSTEM HERE AND
  NO PROTECTION FROM RABBITS EATING THE BARK IN THE LATE WINTER AND KILLING THE TREES.
  WHY DOES NOBODY IN THIS COUNTRY GET EDUCATED? THIS WAS A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY, TIME AND EFFORT IN 2018, WHICH EVERYBODY KEEPS ON MAKING EVEN IN 2023.
  
  
  Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is getting stuck in at Forest Road. Photography by Nathalie Weatherald.
  NOBODY HAS NOTICED
  • THAT THE GROUND UNDER THE TURF IS BONE DRY INTO WHICH THE MAYOR IS PLANTING A TREE,
  • EVEN ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF STAFF WORKING FOR TREES FOR CITIES HAS DRY BOOTS WITH NO MUD ON THEM,
  • THE TREES HAVE NOT BEEN WATERED IN
  • NO PLANTING COMPOST OR FERTILISER HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE RETURNING SOIL ,
  • THERE IS NO TREE WATERING IRRIGATION BAG INSTALLED,
  • NO TREE GUARDS SUPPLIED TO PREVENT CATTLE, HORSES OR DONKEYS EATING THE TREE AND
  • THEY ARE PLANTED TOO CLOSE TOGETHER, UNLESS HE WANTS AN IMPENETRABLE CONTINUOUS HEDGE
    • "How Much Room Should I Allow?
      With all these considerations, when you are looking for trees to plant, look at the final sizes listed for them and then get out into the garden with a measure, to see how much room you really have, considering all the things we have talked about here. Look at the places you were thinking of planting and consider the following distances.
      To protect foundations, sewers and drains, allow the following spacings:
      • Small trees, such as flowering dogwoods, magnolia, or smaller conifers – allow 10 feet.
        • Medium-sized trees, such as fruit trees, birch trees, or larger Japanese maple – allow 20 feet
        • Large-trees, like sugar maple, oaks, Gingko, or flowering pear – allow 30 to 50 feet
        • Large, aggressive trees like poplars, silver maple or willows – allow 100 feet
    • Distance From Buildings and Other Trees
      There are other factors worth considering when planting near your home, besides protecting foundations. First there is visual scale. A typical two-story home, with a pitched roof is 20 to 25 feet tall. Many trees, evergreen or deciduous, will grow 60 to 80 feet tall, and right alongside your home that is going to look pretty silly. Besides that, overhanging branches can break, causing roof damage, or if the whole tree comes down in a storm it will demolish most of your home. Far better to plant trees that grow no more than 40 feet tall within a 20 feet radius around your home. Keep those larger trees further away, where you can see and admire their beauty, without any risk.
      Consider too the width of the tree. As a rule of thumb, if you half the width listed for a mature tree, that should be the minimum distance away from the house – even then the branches will in time touch the windows. So a better rule would be two-thirds of the listed width. That is also a good rule for spacing trees apart, if you want them to retain their individual identity. Trees planted close together make a nice forest, but that may not be the garden style you had in mind!"
      
       
• Outside the shop of Gillingham Street Angels in Chatham, Medway Council has installed a new tree in a 2 x 2 metre area with stakes. Photo taken on 30 june 2023 by C. Garnons-Williams.
  
  Some material was placed in that 2 x 2 metre area after the tree was planted and then a wacker plate was used to vibrate that material down at 3.2 metres per second with 520 Kg per square metre pressure right up to the trunk of the new tree. Any tree roots under that would have been crushed by that vibrating 1146 pound pressure, which is more than half a ton.
  
  
  When planting these trees in the next 2 years, try not to kill every one.
  Soil for plants must have air in it for the roots to use to go places; so do not use waker plates to kill them off. I hope that this process of hammering down the earth for each of the new tree roots in Medway will not be repeated to waste the £125,000 funded by the Forestry Commission's Urban Tree Challenge Fund with its matched funding of £125,000 from Medway Council and the £115,000 from the Local Authority Tree Fund over the next 2 years from 2 December 2022.
  
  WHY IS THERE NO MEMBER OF THE MEDWAY STAFF OR ITS HIRED CONTRACTORS WHO KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT PLANTS AND WHO ALLOWS THIS, AND
  THE NEGLECT OF THE OTHER TREES IN THE CHATHAM HIGH STREET THAT ARE NOW BEING CUT DOWN DUE TO NEGLECT IN ALLOWING THE PROTECTIVE METAL STRUCTURES ROUND THEM TO BE GROWN INTO BY THOSE TREES WHICH THEN KILLS THE TREES?
  
  Unfortunately the material that was pressured down was not soil, because on Thursday 25 May 2023, I saw that tarmac had been laid on top of that material in the 2 x 2 metre area right up to the trunk of the new tree.
  Did you know that is also what Guernsey did in September 2019?
  This stops water etc as detailed in point 10 below from interacting with the crushed roots of that tree, so that the
  • Forestry Commission,
  • Medway population who are funding this £125,000 matched funding and
  • the Local Authority Tree Fund
    will be very grateful to Medway Council in wasting their funds by planting trees and then proceeding to kill them.
    
    Let us repeat point 10 from the table on the left:-
    10. Since I was adding to the 97 out 706 ferns to the Fern Gallery, I thought you might be interested in the following to explain why the current treatment of growing plants in pavements in Madeira is lacking in care:-
    
    This row gives a very clear overall description of the
    Cultural Needs of Plants
    from Chapter 4 in Fern Grower's Manual by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki & Robbin C. Moran. Revised and Expanded Edition. Published in 2001 by Timber Press, Inc. Reprinted 2002, 2006. ISBN-13:978-0-88192-495-4.
    "Understanding Fern Needs
    Ferns have the same basic growing requirements as other plants and will thrive when these are met. There is nothing mysterious about the requirements - they are not something known only to people with green thumbs - but the best gardeners are those who understand plant requirements and are careful about satisfying them.
    What, then, does a fern need?
    
    All plants need water. Water in the soil prevents roots from drying, and all mineral nutrients taken up by the roots must be dissolved in the soil water. Besides water in the soil, most plants need water in the air. Adequate humidity keeps the plant from drying out. Leaves need water for photosynthesis and to keep from wilting.
    
    All green plants need light to manufacture food (sugars) by photosynthesis. Some plants need more light than others, and some can flourish in sun or shade. Most ferns, however, prefer some amount of shade.
    
    For photosynthesis, plants require carbon dioxide, a gas that is exhaled by animals as waste. Carbon dioxide diffuses into plants through tiny pores, called stomata, that abound on the lower surface of the leaves. In the leaf, carbon dioxide is combined with the hydrogen from water to form carbohydrates, the plant's food. This process takes place only in the presence of light and chlorophyll, a green pigment found in plant cells. To enhance growth, some commercial growers increase the carbon dioxide level in their greenhouses to 600ppm (parts per million), or twice the amount typically found in the air.
    
    Plants need oxygen. The green plants of a plant do not require much oxygen from the air because plants produce more oxygen by photosynthesis than they use. The excess oxygen liberated from the plants is used by all animals, including humans. What do plants do with oxygen? They use it just as we do, to release the energy stored in food. We use energy to move about, to talk, to grow, to think - in fact, for all our life processes. Although plants don't talk or move much, they do grow and metabolize and must carry on all their life processes using oxygen to release the stored energy in their food.
    
    Roots need air all the time. They get it from the air spaces between the soil particles. Overwatering displaces the air between soil particles with water, thereby removing the oxygen needed by the roots. This reduces the root's ability to absorb mineral nutrients and can foster root-rot. These gases need free access to the roots:-
    Nitrogen Cycle -
    Nitrogen is the most commonly limiting nutrient in plants. Legumes use nitrogen fixing bacteria, specifically symbiotic rhizobia bacteria, within their root nodules to counter the limitation. Rhizobia bacteria fix nitrogen which is then converted to ammonia. Ammonia is then assimilated into nucleotides, Amino Acids, vitamins and flavones which are essential to the growth of the plant. The plant root cells convert sugar into organic acids which then supply to the rhizobia in exchange, hence a symbiotic relationship between rhizobia and the legumes.
    Oxygen Cycle -
    No nutrient absorption occurs at the root zone unless oxygen is present.
    Carbon Dioxide -
    Plant roots uptake carbon dioxide to provide carbon for parts of the foliage.
    
    Plants need minerals to grow properly. The minerals are mined from the soil by the plant's root system. If a certain mineral is missing, such as calcium needed for developing cell walls, then the plant will be stunted, discoloured, or deformed.
    
    Some plants tolerate a wide range of temperatures, whereas others are fussy. If the temperature is too high or low, the machinery of the plant will not operate satisfactorily or will cease entirely.
    
    The basic needs of plants are not hard to supply, but growing success depends on attending to these needs with care and exactitude. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to a discussion of these requirements, with the exception of mineral needs, which are discussed in Chapter 5."
• By the bus stop for the 145 after the George Pub on City Way, Rochester, there is a mature tree killed by honey fungus. A few yards away, there is a new building being built with a great deal of heavy steelwork. The lorries bringing that steel do not put down supporting trackways and so the pavement had 2 deep indentations in it. The roots of this mature tree were in that area and would have been broken by this and that is where the honey fungus got in. Having infected that tree and killed it off, the fungus went up about 20 yards to a pollarded tree that had been knocked to a 45 degree angle by a heavy duty motor vehicle and infected that as well. When Medway Council sent repairers to relay the pavement tarmac, I informed them about the trees. The dead trees have not been removed and so that honey fungus will continue up and down City Way on the grass and tree verge between the road and the tarmac pavement, and into the gardens along that side.
  
  Like the new trees that had died of disease in a car park of a new Aldi store in Gillingham, nothing was done about them by Medway Council for about a year, while Aldi continued to sell garden trees from the same car park area.
  
  Perhaps it might make sense if all the trees under the protection of Medway Council were identified, put onto a map and their details held in a database and what happens to each in each year. Then have a department to look after them on a continuing basis. Unfortunately Medway trees are only dealt with when they have died or in the case of trees in Chatham High Street where the trunk has exceeded the space within the metal fence surrounding it and the metal has entered the trunk - once a circle of metal has gone into the trunk then the 1 cell thick cambium layer has been breached and everything above it dies. Because nobody has stopped this from happenning, good mature trees have been killed off by neglect due to no maintenance staff.
   

From Climate adaptation and resilience of Medway Council
(Part of) Our progress so far
"We have sustained a healthy tree stock and have planted bulbs at over 50 locations on main roads into Medway to support resilience to climate change and disease. Additionally, 450 whips were supplied and planted by a community group on council land with support from the Capstone Park Rangers and 15 whips planted by The Howard School at Riverside Country Park. 60 standards were planted on council land during 2020 to 2021."

Medway Tree Fund
Whatever you choose to donate will make a difference
Donations will contribute to:

• a site and suitability check before we plant a tree 
• delivery from an approved provider
• planting a tree, which may include additional topsoil, soil conditioners, clearing concrete or paving slabs
• securing a tree with a stake and ties, and protecting it with a wooden tree guard
• maintaining a tree by watering it for the first 2 years, carrying out young tree maintenance and inspections.
• We plant trees in winter, usually  from October to March  (dependent on weather conditions) to give trees the best chance of establishing. But you can donate at any time.
• Next to this list is a picture of an old tree with its load bearing roots exposed and out of the ground. These roots should be covered in soil with green manure instead of grass on top to provide a continuing source of nitrogen to this tree

The following is copied from the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery website:-

Maidens, Whips and Barefoot Trees

Becky, the Nursery gardener provides informative advice on bare-rooted trees, the different types available and how to plant a tree successfully.

At the nursery we sell a good range of ornamental and fruit trees. They are sold in two basic forms. They may be in a pot (pot-grown or containerised) where they have an established rootball. Alternatively, they may be bare-rooted (sometimes called barefoot). In this case they will have been dug out of the ground and will come with roots exposed and no soil attached. There are pros and cons for both forms.

Pot-grown trees can be supplied and planted at any time of year. They are however very vulnerable to drying out if planted in late spring or summer, and will need regular generous watering. The roots may take longer to grow out into the surrounding soil and become established. They have a relatively small root system for the canopy they are required to support. Bare-rooted trees are dug out of the ground as the tree loses its leaves and becomes dormant, usually in November. They only become available in the autumn, and must be planted before spring – March at the very latest. Once they are out of the ground the naked roots must be kept damp and dark at all times until they are committed to the earth in their final planting place. Bare-rooted trees tend to come in smaller sizes because larger trees are much harder to dig up. Larger pot-grown trees are useful for making an instant impact, but a bare-rooted tree will often catch up and overtake a larger pot-grown specimen of the same variety within a few years. Bare-rooted trees are usually cheaper, and represent better value, though fewer varieties are available.

There is a third way of buying trees which is somewhere in between the other two. It is called root-balled. In this case the tree is dug out of the ground and the root ball is instantly wrapped, usually in hessian, to hold some soil around the roots. This is a temporary measure; the rootball can dry out easily and the hessian can break down so these need to be treated the same way as bare-rooted trees. They are best planted with the hessian in place. It will soon rot down and will not prevent good root growth.

Autumn is the ideal time to plant all trees because the ground is still warm enough for root growth, and there is maximum time for the roots to become established in the soil before the tree wakes up in spring and requires water. Whichever type you plant, you must make sure they never dry out in their first summer. A really good soak once a week is better than a watering can full splashed over the surface every day.

We also sell whips. This term is used to describe young (usually one or two year old) seed grown trees which have had no pruning or training. It is an economical way to plant a large number of trees, hedging plants, or a hedgerow. They are easy to transport, and quick to plant and establish.

Maiden is another term you will hear, particularly in relation to fruit trees. A maiden is a young fruit tree with a single leader and some side shoots, but importantly has had no pruning or training. Fruit trees are almost always grafted, and a maiden will have been grafted one or two years before and is usually 1-2m tall (depending on the rootstock). A maiden is the starting point for all pruning shapes. Espaliers, fans and cordons all start off as maidens.

When you come to select your tree, whatever form you are looking at, there are some simple steps to success. Firstly, make sure the label you are reading is attached to the tree you are considering, and not a branch of the adjacent tree. Secondly, look at the tree as a whole. Inspect the trunk, it should be straight and undamaged. Examine the graft (if there is one). This should be neat and have no cracks, damaged patches, or growth coming out of it. Imagine looking at the tree from above and note how the branches are spaced around the trunk. The branches should be spread evenly to give a balanced shape in maturity. If you were planning to plant your tree against a wall or hedge it would be less important if it was a bit lopsided.

To plant a tree successfully, first dig a hole one and a half times bigger and deeper than the pot or roots of the tree. A square hole is considered better than a round one as it prevents the roots from circling around the hole, and encourages them to penetrate the surrounding soil. Break up the soil in the bottom of the hole. If the soil is poor or stony some organic matter, or compost, can be mixed in. We recommend the use of Rootgrow, which introduces beneficial mycorrhizal fungi into the rooting zone. It has been shown to promote healthy root growth. It looks like grey instant coffee granules, and can be sprinkled on the roots, or rootball, just before it is placed in the hole. Potted trees should be given a good soak prior to planting. Place the tree in the hole so the point where the roots meet the trunk is level with the surrounding ground. Refill the hole with soil making sure there are no air pockets, and the tree remains upright. Firm the soil around the tree and water well. You may need to top up the soil if it settles after watering.

Staking is recommended. The purpose of a stake is to hold the roots motionless in the soil. A low stake is best as it allows the top of the trunk to flex, which in turns sends hormones to the roots to promote root growth. If the rootball is allowed to move in the hole the newly developing roots get broken and the tree will fail to anchor itself. This is known as windrock. Filling the planting hole entirely with compost is not a good idea as it can become waterlogged and sloppy. Aim to keep the area around the tree free from grass and weeds which would rob the tree of nutrients. And finally, if there is any chance of a rabbit visiting, apply a tree guard. Rabbits can reach approximately 50cm up the trunk and can nibble the bark off a tree in minutes. A very expensive snack."

The effect of all the new buildings being erected in the town centre of Chatham is to create wind tunnels, which will become even worse once the scaffolding has been removed. The proposed park area is to include a weekly market beside the bus station. The market holders will require restraints to stop their wares from being blown off their tables and all bus passengers must be warned to wear arctic clothing to ward off being wind chilled. So, the above reason for that method of staking is very important, otherwise when the stake support is removed, then the trunk of each new tree will snap. The more trees that are planted in that centre, the more likely it is that the wind speed will be reduced by having to go through the branches with their leaves. I did not notice any irrigation system for those trees, perhaps the local authority is relying on rain during a dry summer draining off the pavement into the soil covering their roots.

Ground-Cover Plants for Large Areas - with particular reference to factory sites, schools, hospitals and areas under municipal control - may help in that park area as detailed in Groundcover Plant Q Page. But Due to the brilliance of the following in this table in killing off trees

• Gloucester Council wasting £134,000 on planting whips in grass,
• Medway Council has planted trees in grass as reported on Page 29 of Medway Matters Spring 2023,
• London has planted whips in grass and
• Medway Council has planted a tree in a pavement and covered its roots with tarmac.
• Guernsey has also planted trees in a pavement and covered their roots with tarmac.

I cannot see the point of providing further information about Ground-Cover for large areas for use by local authorities in the UK. Perhaps other countries can read and understand English.
When you read the following, then GOD HELP THE UK!!!

• I googled "Is arboriculture taught in Medway?" and Tree Surgeon Training Course in Kent was the first reply.
• Do you know that Down to Earth Trees can plant trees in an urban environment within Essex, London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex?
  I clicked view a case study and I got the following:-
  "The brief from our client was to install 4 x Cercis siliquastrum within glass reinforced concrete planters for the exquisite Economist Plaza redevelopment in St. James, London.
  Our aim was to design and build a sustainable rooting environment within the confines of a planter.
  Located within a plaza between two tall buildings, the purpose of the trees is to pacify the setting which would ordinarily be a reasonably hostile environment for trees and other vegetation.
  Working alongside GreenBlue Urban, we were able to modify their popular anchor systems to suit the application within a planter.
  Each planter was prepared with a RootRain irrigation system to ensure water penetration to the vital parts of the root balls, and 1280 Litres of well-draining non-compacting sandy loam was added as a suitable rooting medium."
  My Comments:-
  1. "GIRDLING ROOTS
  Tree roots that wrap around the base of the trunk can restrict the flow of water and nutrients up and down the trunk, leading to decline and dieback of the crown. Norway maples are most susceptible to damage from girdling roots, but they can occur in most trees. When roots circling inside of a pot in the nursery cause the problem, the tree seldom survives more than a decade in the landscape. On “balled & burlapped” plants, girdling roots develop for different reasons and the decline may take 20 to 30 years to develop. To prevent girdling roots in nursery stock, make sure that all circling roots on the outside of the root ball are eliminated at time of planting. Research shows that moderate disruption of the container root system does not increase stress. For large girdling roots on established trees, correcting the problem can be difficult. Removal of the girdling roots may cause enough damage to the root system to hasten the decline. Several roots may be intertwined, making it even more difficult. It is difficult to predict if removing the roots will be more damaging than leaving them alone." from Tree Problems in Pavements in Funchal, Madeira in February 2018.
  I planted a juniper tree in my front garden. 10 years later it died. When I took it out, I discovered that the roots in the original pot had kept on growing width ways rather than lengthening until there was no space between them and only 2 wisps of root going away which was insufficient to provide the water.
  2. The roots of each of these trees has no where else to go except in the pot and so the same problem is going to occur.
  3. If these trees grow, then the weight above the pot will overbalance the pot when there is wind between these buildings. There may be a wooden stake or more holding the pot into the ground, but that will probably rot and is not large enough to take the strain of the fulcrum effect of the heavy weight above thrashing from side to side as the years roll on.
  4. These roots are going to break the pot. See photo 1 on Monitoring of Trees in Funchal Page 1 of 2.
  5. Cercis siliquastrum "forms a small tree up to 12 m (39 ft) in height and 10 m (32 ft) in width." These trees are between 36 and 60 inches (90-150cms) apart and so the branches will both cross-over each other and in windy situations beat the living daylights out of each other.
  6. If these trees were allowed to exit the pots at the bottom and enter the ground beneath, then the building with its colonnades would likely be damaged by their roots, since it foundations are probably 0.6metres or less - please look at What to do about Subsidence caused by Clay.
  7. Perhaps trained fruit trees like espalier fruit trees instead Cercis siliquastrum would have with their dwarf rooting stock not have broken the pots. Perhaps they should have pointed out to the clients that what they wanted would provide great problems - if the ground level had been replaced with 24 inch (60cms) depth of good soil inside water storage crates with water storage crates below separated from the crates above by 2 layers of geotextile to stop the roots going into the water reservoir and the trees in these pots were planted through the pots into the ground below. Then, the top of the pots can be sealed with only the trunk in each so that the effect would be the same but the tree roots could then have the complete area of that urban environment to grow into minus 1 metre round the edge with the edge of the geotextile below the soil being brought to ground level to stop the roots from going towards the buildings. The top crates would also have 2 layers of geotextile to prevent the fine gravel above from mixing with the earth in the crates below. The rain falling on the buildings could be stored by a system and put into the water storage crates below with the excess going to the storm drain. There are professional systems for rainfall collection and to provide a pea-shingle firm surface to walk on which would provide access to the air and nutrients for the trees. Some rainfall collection crates may only take about 62 tonnes per cubic metre, so it would be requested not to park your destroyer in the courtyard.
• Down to Earth Trees also provide Tree Planting Services:-
  "SAFETY: There are myriad safety considerations that come into play where trees are involved. First, will the roots of the tree cause structural damage to your foundation? Will a high wind event bring branches down on your house? Also, some trees attract pests such as bark beetles, wasps, caterpillars along with various types of blight. Make sure you know the risks before choosing a particular type of tree." At the bottom of that page they show a picture of a new building with a car park/drive being built and a 33 inch (90cm) deep hedge area with 120 inch (300cm) high Leylandii trees planted about 36-48 (90-120) apart within 12 (30) of a fence right up to the new building."
  My Comments:-
  1. When those Leylandii grow to their 960 inch (2400) mature height, they will have pushed that fence over.
  2. Being that close to the drive, the roots of those Leylandii will break up that drive surface.
  3. Those Leylandii are planted too close to the new building - please look at What to do about Subsidence caused by Clay.
  4. Minor detail, when Leylandii branches are cut back beyond the green leaves and stem to the brown, it does not regrow from that point. That means within a couple of years that on pruning it back from the drive, that the owner will be looking at brown branches.
  5. You could plant pleached trees, which would shade the vehicles under them, but no closer than 8 metres from the new building or any building next door, instead of Leylandii. You could plant bamboo, or espalier fruit trees instead of Leylandii.
• Down to Earth Trees also provide Tree Surgeon Training Course in Kent.:-
  "Down To Earth Trees Ltd offers first class arboricultural and tree surgeon training in Kent through the DTE Academy. Courses are delivered by commercially experienced professionals and are available to anyone who wishes to attain new qualifications or seeks refresher courses in a highly professional and commercial setting.
  The DTE Academy was initially established to serve the internal training criteria of Down To Earth Trees Ltd, one of the first and largest multi-disciplinary arboricultural contracting firms in the UK."