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New trees in pavements in Funchal, Madeira
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Problems with trees in pavements in Funchal, Madeira in January/February 2018
PROBLEMS WITH TREES IN PAVEMENTS IN FUNCHAL, MADEIRA IN JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
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.

Camera Photo Galleries:-
Pavements of Funchal, Madeira
Damage to Trees
1, 2, 3, 4.

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 2010 1, 2 pages by his department.

PROBLEMS WITH TREES IN PAVEMENTS IN ST. PETER PORT, GUERNSEY IN SEPTEMBER 2019
Demise of trees in pavements in St. Peter Port, Guernsey caused by people to their Roots

Medway Proposed New School Comments in September 2019

The following mechanical injuries to trees and shrubs is from Page 489 of Collins Guide to the Pests, Diseases and Disorders of Garden Plants by Stefan Buczacki andKeith Harris. Published by William Collins Sons & Co Ltd was first published in 1981 this is the sixth Reprinted version was published in 1989 - ISBN 0 00 219103 2:-

"Covering of bases of established plant stems.
Compacted soil, asphalt (see Photo 4 in this page for compaction by lorries driving over road tarmac; and the next cell in this row) or worse, concrete (such as that laid for paths) will upset the water-air balance in which a plant and its root system have become established and may well give rise to asphyxiation and death of the tissues. Symptoms usually appear as a wholesale dying back of the plant and although removal of the asphixiating surface, if done sufficiently early, may result in recovery, it frequently does not.

Incorrect planting.
Constriction of roots can result in the development of a very shallow root system and consequent instability while roots badly arranged in the planting hole can subsequently encircle the stem base and cause a girdling dieback (see Photo 19 on Area of Open Ground round tree in Madeira Page for girdling of roots). Soil should be sloped away from newly planted trees to prevent rainwater from collecting and either giving rise to injury when it freezes or predisposing the stem base to attack by decay organisms.

Pruning damage.
Incorrect pruning can be very harmful, especially if branch stumps are left unprotected, these will die and provide entry points for decay organisms (see Damage to tree trunks in Madeira caused by people pages). Inadequate pruning can result in a mass of twigs (see Photo 3 in Solution to tree problems page for these twigs as well as water sprouts) which leads to general unthriftiness and provides conditions in which many pathogenic organisms can flourish. Pruning should be performed carefully, at the appropriate season for each plant and large wounds should be dressed with a sealant containing fungicide (see Photo 4 in Solution to the tree problems page to see the lack of sealant) , like Solabiol Arbrex Seal and Heal instead of the cheaper Black water-based Masonry Paint, which I have used for years.

Wounding
From any cause, ranging from penkknives (see Photo 25 on Damage to tree trunks in Madeira caused by people page) to over-tight support wires, can injure trees, and shrubs. Any agency, such as lawnmowers or gates, that physically strikes plants is likely to remove bark and/or other tissues and so enable decay organisms to enter. Support wires, stem ties or fencing nails (See Photo 62 on Damage to tree trunks in Madeia caused by people Page 2 damage caused by fixings of this metal mesh to the tree) can cause damage which results in gradual dieback. Any constricting agencies should be removed and stem wounds should be cut clean and treated with a wound sealant. Such wounds may be mistaken for cankers but unlike them do not usually display any annual extension of damage.Careless handling of fruit and vegetable produce, especially at harvest time and staff stacking supermarket shelves, will almost always lead to injuries and subsequent losses through decay if they are later stored in the farm, warehouse, supermarket or home.

The following trees and shrubs are usually resistant to salt-spray damage and may be useful in coastal gardens; Monterey cypress, escallonias, hebes, holm oak, hydrangeas, oleareias, Austrian and Monterey apines and tamarisks."

Van den Berk on Trees gives a Searching System starting on Page 868 where it gives trees suitable for coastal regions, another for street tree and another where the trees stand up to hard surfaces. This book is written by Van deb Berk Nurseries and has a different ISBN for The Neherlands - 90-807408-5-3, United Kingdom 90-807408-8-8, France - 90-807408-7-x and Germany 90-807408-6-1. The book is written by professionals for professionals and does not waste space, but provides you with just the correct information that you require in choosing the right tree out of 1101 trees and cultivars in 1032 pages with 1700 photos.

Photo 4 - tree 99 from pestana promenade to forum tree in road IMG_6057.JPG

For the following situation where a tree is partly situated within the road:-

• At least 1/3 of the trunk now sits in the road with its lateral roots under the tarmac and raising that same tarmac, even the tyres of the buses and 40 ton lorries run over them.
  The trunk is also growing over the concrete pavers in the pavement.
  Some of the lateral roots are now also growing between those same paver and under them raising those pavers as well.
  The tree has also depressed the kerb and grown over it.
• I wonder how much of the trunk is actually connected between the exposed part above ground and the tap root/lateral roots below ground level.

The following method could be used to prevent the tree from being hit by lorries and other traffic:-

• Besides carefully removing the kerb and pavers from this tree and installing the CORE TRP SYSTEM and irrigation system for this whole pavement, the following safety system could be done for the tree:-
• Remove 20 cms of tarmac from around the tree of the road tarmac.
• 2 metres from the tree from the Forum Shopping Centre end, install a heavily re-inforced concrete seat, which is 40 cms (16 inches) into the road and 2 metres long towards the Forum Shopping Centre with its back being 2 metres high. This would make this seat before the tree in terms of the traffic flow. This would be visible to cars, vans, buses and 40 ton lorries from their cabs, since it would be painted in luminous yellow and red stripes, so it could be seen at night as well. The reinforcement in the concrete seat would also extend along the road towards the forum for a further 2 metres (80 inches) with 30 cm (12 inch) vertical prongs into the road, so that if the traffic hits this seat, then the seat is unlikely to move much because of its friction force in the road, but you could say that it might damage the traffic that hit it instead of the tree. The 40 cms (16 inches) into the road may not even reach the cracks in the tarmac that one can see, but hopefully it should stop drivers from driving into the tree. The concrete seat would be visible from the driving position through the side window of cars, vans, buses and lorries, so instead of hitting the signs indicating tree in road, I do not think that even buses and lorries would appreciate the severe damage if these concrete seats are run into.
• You could of course move the road out by 60 cms (24 inches) and take away that 60 cms from the traffic island in the middle to solve the problem, and this would give a larger width for the pavement as people either wait for public buses opposite the Forum or wait on the pavement for tour buses outside their hotels.
• Replace existing kerbs and replace with either Side Offlet Kerbs to provide rainwater to the trees from the road:-
  • Side Offlet Kerbs, sometimes known as Weir Kerbs, for use with behind-kerb drainage systems. They have largely been replaced by kerb-drain units nowadays, but they were quite popular 25+ years ago. They often have a cast iron or steel grille or facing to keep the worst of the street litter out of the sewers. Only use the Side Offlet Kerb without a behind drainage system, because 1) the existing drain on the road takes care of the remaining water that falls on the road and that is not used by 2) the ground behind the kerb and a layer of geotextile to prevent the ground from coming out to the road and prevent tree roots from catching the local bus - the bus company would not mind, but the tree roots would not pay to go travelling in this fashion.
  • or High Containment Kerbs to protect the sensitive roadside equipment, mothers with prams to get through limited space when vehicles are partly or fully parked on the pavement,, and newly planted trees:-
  • High Containment Kerb, such as the Trief or Titan kerbs. These are used to prevent traffic leaving the carriageway and are often used to protect vulnerable footpaths or sensitive roadside equipment, such as fuel pumps at filling stations, pedestrian islands, dangerous curves, etc.
    These are BIG kerbs, measuring around 450mm in height and weighing almost a quarter of a tonne. These could be used instead of the reinforced concrete seating by simply adding this to the outside of the existing kerbs for trees in the road, or straight replacement when the tree roots are within the pavement - it may be necessary to leave the original kerb within 2 metres of the tree since lateral roots are strongest in that length and having a quarter ton on a lateral root would tend to kill it - like having a car tyre sitting on one of your feet with a quarter of its weight would be uncomfortable.
• When the tree is eventually replaced, try to have a tree variety whose final trunk size in its maturity; closest to the road, does not cover the kerb or go into the road.
• Cast Iron Kerbing could be laid in a double row with 3 inches (7.5 cms) between the rows round trees in pavements where the open ground round the tree is continuously stepped on by pedestrians, ridden over by bicycles; even if that area is growing a GREEN MANURE to fertilise the tree..

Besides providing seating for pedestrians, they could be used by craftsman to sell their products as shown by Photo 6 below.

Text for Photo 1, 2, 3 and 4
 

Photo 1 taken by Chris Garnons-Williams In Madeira.
Photo 2 taken by Chris Garnons-Williams In Madeira.
 

Photo 3 taken by Chris Garnons-Williams In Madeira.

Photo 4 taken by Chris Garnons-Williams In Madeira.

Photo 1 - tree 98 from pestana promenade to forum new tree IMG_6053.JPG

Great place to plant a new tree right next door to the road with less than 60 cms (24 inches) from the main road.

Photo 2 - tree 98 from pestana promenade to forum new tree IMG_6056.JPG

It has been here for a year or two with some foliage. The next tree in this pavement is shown in the next row. I am not the world's best photographer, but you get the idea from the outline of this tree, etc.

Photo 3 - tree 98 from pestana promenade to forum new tree recently pollarded IMG_6055.JPG

Brilliant - hack off the top of the trunk and tear off the branch that was going into the road. Leave the torn area exposed to rot.

This tree will rot down from the top of the trunk. The torn branch will also rot and within 4 years this tree will be left as a tall stump.

What a complete disaster.

Photo 4 - tree 99 from pestana promenade to forum tree in road IMG_6057.JPG

At least the previous tree in the previous row will never reach the problems of this one.
At least 1/3 of the trunk now sits in the road with its lateral roots under the tarmac and raising that same tarmac, even the tyres of the buses and 40 ton lorries run over them.
The trunk is also growing over the concrete pavers in the pavement.
Some of the lateral roots are now also growing between those same paver and under them raising those pavers as well.
The tree has also depressed the kerb and grown over it.

I wonder how much of the trunk is actually connected between the exposed part above ground and the tap root/lateral roots below ground level.

Besides carefully removing the kerb and pavers from this tree and installing the CORE TRP SYSTEM and irrigation system for this whole pavement, the following safety system could be done for the tree:-

Remove 20 cms of tarmac from around the tree of the road tarmac.

2 metres from the tree from the Forum Shopping Centre end, install a heavily re-inforced concrete seat, which is 40 cms (16 inches) into the road and 2 metres long towards the Forum Shopping Centre with its back being 2 metres high. This would make this seat before the tree in terms of the traffic flow. This would be visible to cars, vans, buses and 40 ton lorries from their cabs, since it would be painted in luminous yellow and red stripes, so it could be seen at night as well. The reinforcement in the concrete seat would also extend along the road towards the forum for a further 2 metres (80 inches) with 30 cm (12 inch) vertical prongs into the road, so that if the traffic hits this seat, then the seat is unlikely to move much because of its friction force in the road, but you could say that it might damage the traffic that hit it instead of the tree. The 40 cms (16 inches) into the road may not even reach the cracks in the tarmac that one can see, but hopefully it should stop drivers from driving into the tree. The visible part of the steel reinforcement would on each side and the horizontal rail at 100 cms and the top at 200 cms of H frame structural steel made to support buildings. Drivers of any low car/van or high lorry, bus, coach vehicle could then see this strength of material and not run into it, even though they are quite happy to run into the tree trunks within the road. Just think of the world market niche that these steel firms could now enter in making reinforced seating to protect trees within roads throughout all the countries in this planet - how's that for free marketing!!!

You could of course move the road out by 60 cms (24 inches) and take away that 60 cms from the traffic island in the middle to solve the problem, and this would give a larger width for the pavement as people either wait for public buses opposite the Forum or wait on the pavement for tour buses outside their hotels.

When the tree is eventually replaced, try to have a tree variety whose final trunk size in its maturity; closest to the road, does not cover the kerb or go into the road.

Photo 5 - tree 99 from pestana promenade to forum tree in road IMG_6059.JPG

The other side of the same tree. This is the side that would come into contact with the tyres or bodywork of the impacting vehicle.

It looks like it is earth between the kerb and the concrete pavers, which leads me to think that these pavers are simply laid on the bare earth and not on a valid sub-base.
Still the grass enjoys it.

Photo 6 - homemade crafts IMG_6239.JPG

The new concrete seats detailed with Photo 4 above could also be used by craftsman to sell their products.

These concrete seats could be used to safeguard the trees in the road between the Forum and the Pestana Promenade Hotel and between the Lido and the Pestana Mirimar Hotel.

Photo 7 - tree 7 forum end of 2 road junction IMG_6146.JPG

New tree with upper foliage and a reasonable size of trunk. No irrigation system visible.

Photo 8 - tree 7 forum end of 2 road junction IMG_6145.JPG

Are these watersprouts or valid branches - I suspect that the majority are watersprouts. Has no one in Madeira attended a tree maintenance course? or is everybody intent on pollarding trees in pavements in Funchal? including old olive trees costing 2000 euros each half way up the new Savoy Hotel. See Photo 33 below.

Photo 9 - tree 23 from end of 2 road junction next section of road IMG_6224.JPG

A juvenile tree has been pollarded after it was planted here. Watershoots are now providing the upper foliage

Photo 10 - tree 23 from end of 2 road junction next section of road IMG_6224.JPG

Detail of where these watershoots are growing from the stumps of a branch and the main trunk with further watersprouts from the main trunk. One the trunks in the tree fork has been cut off.

Photo 11 - tree 23 from end of 2 road junction tree in garden IMG_6219.JPG

This is mature tree in the public/hotel garden next to the bicycle pavement and close to the tree in the pavement in the row above.

Strange but I do not notice that this tree exhibits having been pollarded. Is this pollarding practice a recent procedure carried out mostly on trees in the pavement in Funchal, followed by starting as you mean to go on by pollarding juvenile trees only recently planted in those same pavements?

Photo 12 - tree 24 from end of 2 road junction pollarded juvenile tree IMG_6225.JPG

Pollarded juvenile tree with watersprouts.

Photo 13 - tree 26 from end of 2 road junction IMG_6234.JPG

Detail of result of first pollarding.

Photo 14 - tree 26 from end of 2 road junction IMG_6234.JPG

Photo 13 shows that this tree was pollarded just before being originally planted. The watersprouts that grew from the stump created a tree fork. Branches further up on the left hand branch have been snapped off and the first main branch from that new watersprout trunk on the left has also been pollarded.

One can see that this new tree is outside a restaurant, but if the restaurant wanted a different view of a tree on their section of road pavement, surely a different unhacked tree could have been planted from the trees native or naturalised on the island.

Photo 15 - tree 28 from end of 2 road junction next road section IMG_6247.JPG

Do you get the impression that these more mature trees have not been pollarded and yet they have still grown to provide a good wide spread of foliage - to shade and prevent the sun when low in the sky from blinding pedestrians or drivers of vehicles?

Since I was illegally standing in the cycle lane taking this photo, the cyclist has illegally cycled in the pedestrian lane. It is appaling the level of crime inflicted by tourists on you unsuspecting native population - I can understand your horror and why this man has had to sit down to recover from the shock. The pain suffered by his posterior on such a poor small seat can only be understood when one considers that a normal stuffed reclining armchair to provide a gentle support for that posterior and legs may be too wide to fit within either section of that constructed bicycle lane. We all have our cross to bear.

Photo 16 - tree 163 from golden gate to harbour permeable base new tree IMG_0161.JPG

This tree has been planted in a hole with maybe more than 40 inches (100 cms) enclosure, which has been further reduced to about 12 inch (30 cm) in diameter of open ground. The area between the 2 enclosures is trodden on by pedestrians which damage the roots under it. The thin layer of gunge between the roots and the earth can easily be squeezed away by the people's weight on the ball of 1 foot.

Photo 17 - tree 163 from golden gate to harbour permeable base new tree IMG_0161.JPG

This shows the 2 stakes that have been used to keep this tree trunk upright. The top rubber tie has bound the tree directly to the post - this leaves no room for the tree to expand and the 2 ties also stop the trunk from moving up as it grows. Before a new tree is planted it should be able to support itself without any help from external sources.
If only the bottom support had been there with the stakes reduced to 4 inches (10 cms) above the tree tie, then if the tree had been self-supporting the following 2 occurrences would have happened:-

• the trunk being prevented from exiting the ground would have been under bending pressure from side winds and decided that instead of new branch growth, that it would need to concentrate on grwing the trunk first to provide the strength to stop the trunk from being snapped off.
• due to the same reason, the swaying trunk above the tie would have vibrated the roots under the ground and this would have persuaded the laterals to get a move on and get there work done in providing the stability of this tree in the ground, so that when the tie was removed and possibly the stake, that this juvenile tree was better able to withstand the conditions in which it was to grow.

Photo 18 - tree support for new tree at Aldi, Gillingham IMG_0210.JPG

This tree support system allows the trunk above it to bend in the wind without the tree being pulled out of the ground.

Photo 19 - rubber support at Aldi, Gillingham IMG_0211.JPG

There is a rubber spacer between the tree and wooden support. You can see that the tree has slightly grown up and a new section of brown bark is on show.

Photo 20 - tree trunk at aldi, gillingham IMG_0213.JPG

Maybe this tree was put with a different rootstock to it's own. The visible laterals have grown well.

Photo 21 - tree label at Aldi, Gillingham IMG_0212.JPG

This tree was grown at Barcham nursery. Their larger trees are grown in their patented white Light Pots:- "Think of a bare rooted tree or root balled tree in terms of a running pump with no access to water. A tree’s system is pressurized to carry water from the roots to the shoots and if the roots are exposed the tree cannot then move water around its system and so quickly dies of dehydration.  Our large trees are all grown in our patented Light Pots which provide an un-wounded and vibrant root system at planting so it doesn’t matter whether you plant a small tree or a large specimen tree from Barcham, they are all geared up for rapid establishment.  Our roots are in fully functional order when you take delivery for your trees!"

Photo 22 - New tree at Aldi, Gillingham IMG_0209.JPG

This very tall juvenile tree was grown in a nursery and transplanted here less than 2 years ago. Even though this tree is surrounded by grass, planted with steep slopes in the front and back, and in competition with the tree roots of mature trees behind it has grown high and appears healthy. Since this tree is shaded by others the outside of the trunk has gone green, which could be algae, lichen or moss.

Interesting to note that at least 3 of the mature trees behind this juvenile tree have tree forks.

Photo 23 - tree with blistering at aldi, gillingham IMG_0222.JPG

This tree had red spots on its trunk. What they indicated, I do not know, nor do I know why most of the trees between the rows of parked cars for this supermarket had their bark damaged and who had probably died.

Photo 24 - tree with blistering at aldi, gillingham IMG_0222.JPG

Closeup of trunk. The bark is splitting.

Photo 25 - bark on fourth tree at aldi, gillingham IMG_0219.JPG

Could this be Beech bark disease?

Photo 26 - bark on fourth tree at aldi, gillingham IMG_0219.JPG

A pest has attacked this tree and removed the bark up and round this trunk. If this tree has had all its bark removed from a small height all the way round the trunk, then all growth above that will die.

Note how thin the bark is and with it no longer functioning nor does the tree.

I wish people would not use penknifes to cut into tree trunks to leave their names or heart shapes, since they could kill that tree.

Photo 27 - tree 63 from pestana mirimar juvenile tree IMG_6370.JPG

This rubber tie stops the tree from falling over, but it then rubs against the tree when the tree bends in the wind and damages the bark. The bark could end up damaged and removed. Depending on how much round the tree the damage could occur, especially when the area where the rubber does not touch the tree has a branch stub and therefore no bark.

Photo 28 - tree 63 from pestana mirimar juvenile tree IMG_6369.JPG

The bottom rubber tie suffers the same problem. See Photos 18 and 19 on this page for valid tree tieying.

Photo 29 - tree 63 from pestana mirimar juvenile tree IMG_6370.JPG

Apparently when in the nursery or after it had been planted, at least 4 branches round the same section of trunk were removed at the same time. Perhaps this was because they wanted this to be planted in the street pavement instead of in a garden, but they should have done this in the nursery after 1 year's of growth to remove branches below 6 feet, then the tree can repair itself before being sold a year later to go into confined area of ground where people would walk round it. This tree is more than 2 years old and the removal of these branches was done too late in its growth. No sealing of the cuts was made to stop the cut areas from rotting. This hole will continue to rot and the tree fall over once the rubber ties are removed and a storm hits it.
Reminds me of Mission Impossible - "this tape will self-destruct in 30 seconds".

Photo 30 - tree 63 from pestana mirimar juvenile tree IMG_6370.JPG

Is this red colour on this bark a problem for the tree?

Photo 31 - tree 63 from pestana mirimar juvenile tree IMG_6369.JPG

This is a new tree installed fairly recently into the ground area normally reserved for street trees in Funchal. Is this tree irrigated?

If this concrete enclosure was extended 100 cms each side parallel to the road with a flat seat supported at its 4 corners with a metal leg on each section of the 2 extended ground enclosure areas and green manure in the open ground, this would feed the tree and prevent pedestrians from walking on the open ground in this new enclosure. The legs closest to the tree would be at least 4 inches (10 cms) from the tree trunk. As the tree grows by 3 inches (7.5 cms) radius, the concrete edged enclosure could be extended by another 4 inches and the seat moved another 4 inches and still keep the open ground either side of this tree protected.

Photo 32 - tree 63 from pestana mirimar juvenile tree IMG_6369.JPG

The earth is exposed so will dry out from the sun and wind. Why not plant a Green manure in there to stop that evaporation and also feed the tree?

Photo 33 - tree 117 from mirimar to funchal pollarded tree by new savoy IMG_0035.JPG

Interesting about the supports - does this mean that the root ball is insuffcient in size to support this tree and it was pollarded because the roots supplied were insufficient for what was the the foliage? or is it the case that we only want foliage between the bottom windows and the top of the railings on the floor above?

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.

More Details

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."

It is worth remembering that especially with roses that the colour of the petals of the flower may change - The following photos are of Rosa 'Lincolnshire Poacher' which I took on the same day in R.V. Roger's Nursery Field:-

Closed Bud

Opening Bud

Juvenile Flower

Older Juvenile Flower

Middle-aged Flower - Flower Colour in Season in its
Rose Description Page is
"Buff Yellow, with a very slight pink tint at the edges in May-October."

Mature Flower

Juvenile Flower and Dying Flower

Form of Rose Bush

There are 720 roses in the Rose Galleries; many of which have the above series of pictures in their respective Rose Description Page.

So one might avoid the disappointment that the 2 elephants had when their trunks were entwined instead of them each carrying their trunk using their own trunk, and your disappointment of buying a rose to discover that the colour you bought it for is only the case when it has its juvenile flowers; if you look at all the photos of the roses in the respective Rose Description Page!!!!