Trees

[Bluebs4]

Having a city break and trees were the last thing I thought I’d be looking at lol

 

[Greenbeard]

Nice London plane trees there mate!

 

[Bluebs4]

What a great pattern true dpm lol

 

[Greenbeard]

Haha Yeah they are a hybrid species cultivated in the Victorian era in a bid to combat pollution. Also are more tolerant to cramped soil conditions and harsh pruning which they are subjected to in London.

 

[Nice65]

Perfectly suited to cities, they can take brutal pruning and pollarding, essential in smaller spaces. They have a large presence in Southern France, but many have been felled. The only remaining roadside stands I know of are in Provence.

 

[Tengu]

Thats a shame; they are very attractive trees.

 

[Nice65]

Thats a shame; they are very attractive trees.

All of these are now gone. The roadside trees in Provence survive purely because the trees and Lavender fields are classic tourist icons. The fact is, the trees have reached mature/over-maturity and are expensive to maintain on roadsides. The canal side trees are different in this respect, they were disease threatened.

Having said that, a friend of mine who lives in Provence says she’s heard every excuse going for the felling, including the flashing effect of sunlight on drivers causing epilepsy and fatal crashes!

They still thrive in cities and towns, despite the pollen causing almost everyone to cough and sneeze at flowering time.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15305048

This old one here has only about 15’ of trunk. The pollard cuts to the multiple stems are a large diameter, yet the tree shows no signs of suffering the ordeal. It’s at a house where we stayed near Biarritz, I was impressed with how well it’s doing. The decision not to fell was a good one, this thing was towering over the house in a very windy region of France.