Abundance of Sycamore saplings have you noticed?

[RICKY RASPER]

The Ash die back news is concerning for all who enjoy the woodlands and byways of Britain and Ireland. But last year I began to notice naturally seeded Sycamore saplings in very seizable numbers turning up all over County Antrim in all sorts of places! Has anyone else noticed this in the UK and Ireland or even further afield during the last year or so?

 

[Toddy]

I always find loads of Sycamore and Ash, and Silver birch seedlings, around here. If I don't weed them out, I wouldn't get out of the door in a year or two.
That said, Sycamore seems to have a heavy mast year, like the Beech and Oak do. Those wee pea like seeds are quite tasty, but if it's not been a hard Winter, the squirrels leave them alone and they sprout quite happily come Spring.
Maybe that's what you've noticed ?

I'm hoping that this Ash dieback misses us, tbh Normally Ash is a weed tree and is heavily thinned on sites in the Clyde Valley.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[RICKY RASPER]

I always find loads of Sycamore and Ash, and Silver birch seedlings, around here. If I don't weed them out, I wouldn't get out of the door in a year or two.
That said, Sycamore seems to have a heavy mast year, like the Beech and Oak do. Those wee pea like seeds are quite tasty, but if it's not been a hard Winter, the squirrels leave them alone and they sprout quite happily come Spring.
Maybe that's what you've noticed ?

I'm hoping that this Ash dieback misses us, tbh Normally Ash is a weed tree and is heavily thinned on sites in the Clyde Valley.

cheers,
Toddy

There are fair numbers of Sycamore were I live but I would hazard a guess that Ash outnumber it 100 to 1. But if last years sapling count is anything to go by those figures will reverse! I have never seen saplings grow so rapidly. One of the three saplings which have appeared on my property after twenty years of wild flowers and grasses only; (?or weeds as my wife and neighbours call them?) grew four feet during the spring and summer and now stands at about six feet. Is this "normal" growth for a Sycamore?
I'm glad your free of the die back disease. But I do wonder at the wisdom of rooting out infected trees for surely the resistant ones will survive and pass on their resistance to future saplings. A botanical form of survival of the fittest.
regards Ricky.

 

[Toddy]

That sounds like Sycamore. If I miss a seedling one year (usually do among the dye bushes) it'll be taller than I am by the next year. Straight up they go, big leaves too.

I wondered about that too. The Elms died back, but they did sprout from young seedlings, and though many of them have died back too, they've lived long enough to seed as well. Doesn't grow the giants of the past but the trees are still there, iimmc.
Dunno how it'll all work out. Apparantly the archaelogical record shows (pollen layers, varves and such like) that Elms have suffered this way before.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[RICKY RASPER]

That sounds like Sycamore. If I miss a seedling one year (usually do among the dye bushes) it'll be taller than I am by the next year. Straight up they go, big leaves too.

I wondered about that too. The Elms died back, but they did sprout from young seedlings, and though many of them have died back too, they've lived long enough to seed as well. Doesn't grow the giants of the past but the trees are still there, iimmc.
Dunno how it'll all work out. Apparantly the archaelogical record shows (pollen layers, varves and such like) that Elms have suffered this way before.

cheers,
Toddy

You mention the archaeological record and that,s one of the things that concern me, is nature preparing for something we cant see coming?

 

[Toddy]

The archaeological record (and the geological one come to that) only shows what has happened; well, as we interpret it, that is.
All we know is that the pollen counts for Elm have plummeted in the past. That they slowly increased after the last time though, is hopeful
Dendrochronology isn't my thing; bound to know someone who does specialise in it though. Dave Budd, or maybe Robin Wood might know
I don't know about the Ash.

There's an old phrase about Mother Nature hating a monoculture and hitting it with every pest and disease that's available. Maybe the Ash was just too prevalent and too rich a food source.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[dwardo]

Sycamore are like birch and ash, bend over long enough and you will find one growing out of your back pocket. Great starter species.
Often find them growing out of another tree.