Hoping the rain stays away
I was going to post about this yesterday, with photos.
I discovered that we have officially had enough rain when I returned home on Wednesday evening and had a quick look round the garden. On Tuesday I had been annoyed that the buddleia round the back had broken with the force of the weather and was looking into splinting options.
8pm Wednesday, the garden looked rather different...
"Oh dear, that apple tree branch has broken horribly. (Huge branch.)"
"Goodness, it's blocked off both paths to the compost heap... how does one branch do that?"
Realize I'm looking across at the crown of the tree.
Thankfully it had just tipped over so two limbs are resting on the ground and the trunk is now at about 30°, so can be sat on (unlike the seat which has really had it now). Much sawing later, I don't think it's at any risk of more breakages from its own weight now or as the apples grow (or if further rainfall softens the ground) so it should stay stable for a good while. And the apples will be a lot easier to pick.
It took some of the other apple tree out, and an elder on the way.
A lot of leaves and twigs and branches and fallen young apples were strewn all over the lawn underneath and by the rosemary. (Apple smoked gammon anyone?)
The apple tree the following day after much work.
By 11pm I had showered and curled up to blog it when _yakumo_ rushed in.
(Y)"Have you seen there's all that tree down."
"I know, what do you think I just spent all this time clearing up?"
(Y)"But I could barely get my car round it!"
"Err?"
-Troop out and look at the car-sized pile of ivy and elder blocking the private road. (Thanks _yakumo_ for clearing the road.)-
The ripped elder and ivy branches at the gap the following day.
I really don't want the agency to chop down the rest of the apple tree.
This weekend looks like - raking and sawing and hefting and raking and...
Later edit:
Well all that work did get done over the weekend, and I had the advantage on Monday of talking to the Assistant Curator who cares for the Harcourt Arboretum (part of the OU Botanic Garden). Piers told me that it sounded as if I had done the tree a favour; I should not put wound sealant on the cuts, June or July would have been the right time to prune anyway and overgrown fruit trees need extensive thinning.
I discovered that we have officially had enough rain when I returned home on Wednesday evening and had a quick look round the garden. On Tuesday I had been annoyed that the buddleia round the back had broken with the force of the weather and was looking into splinting options.
8pm Wednesday, the garden looked rather different...
"Oh dear, that apple tree branch has broken horribly. (Huge branch.)"
"Goodness, it's blocked off both paths to the compost heap... how does one branch do that?"
Realize I'm looking across at the crown of the tree.
Thankfully it had just tipped over so two limbs are resting on the ground and the trunk is now at about 30°, so can be sat on (unlike the seat which has really had it now). Much sawing later, I don't think it's at any risk of more breakages from its own weight now or as the apples grow (or if further rainfall softens the ground) so it should stay stable for a good while. And the apples will be a lot easier to pick.
It took some of the other apple tree out, and an elder on the way.
A lot of leaves and twigs and branches and fallen young apples were strewn all over the lawn underneath and by the rosemary. (Apple smoked gammon anyone?)
The apple tree the following day after much work.
By 11pm I had showered and curled up to blog it when _yakumo_ rushed in.
(Y)"Have you seen there's all that tree down."
"I know, what do you think I just spent all this time clearing up?"
(Y)"But I could barely get my car round it!"
"Err?"
-Troop out and look at the car-sized pile of ivy and elder blocking the private road. (Thanks _yakumo_ for clearing the road.)-
The ripped elder and ivy branches at the gap the following day.
I really don't want the agency to chop down the rest of the apple tree.
This weekend looks like - raking and sawing and hefting and raking and...
Later edit:
Well all that work did get done over the weekend, and I had the advantage on Monday of talking to the Assistant Curator who cares for the Harcourt Arboretum (part of the OU Botanic Garden). Piers told me that it sounded as if I had done the tree a favour; I should not put wound sealant on the cuts, June or July would have been the right time to prune anyway and overgrown fruit trees need extensive thinning.