Britain’s beautiful countryside is made all the more magical by the few ancient trees that have witnessed the country evolve over time. When those ancient trees begin to decline, expert intervention is needed to ensure their continued survival. Bartlett Tree Experts is regularly called out to nurse ancient trees back to health and recently it’s added Carbon Gold’s enriched biochar to its suite of treatments.
Biochar is a type of charcoal made from woody waste, cooked at a low temperature over a long period of time with minimal oxygen. Bartlett added biochar to its process because, when applied to the soil it improves water holding capacity, increases nutrient delivery to plant roots, and provides a permanent infrastructure for the colonisation of beneficial soil micro-organisms.
Back in 2013 a 2,000 year old yew tree, officially recognised as the oldest living thing in London known as The Totteridge Yew, began showing signs of poor health, with lots of branches dying from their outer extremities back towards the main stem.
Similarly an ancient oak in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, had stood for centuries when it recently started showing signs of deterioration and dieback.
Bartlett’s expert team were called upon to save the trees and carried out sympathetic pruning of the larger dead branches to prevent the dieback destabilising the trees’ crowns. They then used precision air spading to carefully loosen the soil and help the trees’ ancient roots re-grow and begin taking up nutrients. To the freshly de-compacted soil, the team applied Bartlett’s Boost – a bespoke fertilizer of Bartlett’s own creation – to replenish the nutrients in the soil, a sugar and water solution to improve the roots’ vascular system and increases the uptake of nutrients, and woodchip mulch to keep the soil surface hydrated, while maintaining its open structure. Finally Bartlett added Carbon Gold Biochar Tree Fertiliser, and worked it into the soil within the trees’ root zones.
Since the treatment, both trees are doing well. The old oak continues to stand in Easingwold; with ever improving health, and the ancient yew in London is making much new growth.
