Even older than me ;-)

Discussion in 'Trees, Shrubs and Roses' started by Raddang, Oct 7, 2016.

  1. Raddang

    Raddang In Flower

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    I posted a picture in 2ofus's thread, Fall Color, of a view in Sheffield Park Gardens. I found this picture in my album of a tree in the same gardens. Obviously very old, this tree intrigued me with its knarled form and like something from 'a haunted forest' :) I don't know what it is but perhaps some of you folks can shed light on my ignorance. I just thought it was lovely...
    Old tree in Sheffield Park.jpg
     
  2. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    It's a Sweet Chestnut tree, Castanea sativa
     
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  3. Philip Nulty

    Philip Nulty Strong Ash

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    A very old tree indeed,..i don't know the age of this one,..however the Pagoda Tree in Kew Gardens is reputed to be 256 years old,..i imagine yours would be up there age wise,..great picture Raddang.
     
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  4. Raddang

    Raddang In Flower

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    Thanks Toni :like: I have two enormous sweet chestnuts just beyond my backyard, 40 or 50 feet tall and should have recognised the leaves.
    Here is some of this years crop forming.
    20161007 Sweet chestnut-001.JPG
    Philip, it looks like a very wizened old man to me and the fact that it is still living amazes me.
     
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  5. Raddang

    Raddang In Flower

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    I don't like to see healthy trees felled but that is usually for safety reasons. This tree in the middle of this picture, just beyond my backyard, was felled because there was a risk to nearby houses.
    DSC_0014-1.JPG

    I counted the growth rings on the stump and found 154 so that would put the tree back to around mid 19th century, in Victorian times. That tree saw a lot of changes.....
    20120530 After 156 years end of the old tree-004.JPG
     
  6. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    My first thought when looking at it was "It reminds me of Treebeard"
     
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  7. Coppice

    Coppice In Flower

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    My thinking would be Q Robur, and not Castenea.
     
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  8. toni

    toni Mistress of Garden Junque Staff Member Moderator Plants Contributor

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    Actually the Photo from The National Trust Facebook Page of trees in that garden id's it as a sweet chestnut, Castenea sativa
     
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  9. Philip Nulty

    Philip Nulty Strong Ash

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    Raddang,..yes i am the same,..i hate to see a tree being felled for any reason,..storm included,..your tree that was felled could tell a lot of stories for the past 154 years.
     
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  10. Islandlife

    Islandlife Young Pine

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    More than a century and a half. Can hardly even imagine everything that tree might have seen.
     
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