I recently had the great pleasure to be invited as a guest speaker and guide for a special day exploring noble hardwoods, hosted by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) at Alnarp.Continue Reading
Today, 15th July, is St Swithin’s Day, the best time of the year to prune walnut trees. The saint’s day is a handy way to remember when to brush the cobwebs of your pruning saw and get out to your trees.Continue Reading
Now is the best time of year to prune walnut trees. Enjoy a short video of me at work, high-pruning some young black walnut.Continue Reading
Recently I returned to a stand of walnut hybrid trees that I planted some years ago. I was impressed with the quality of the trees. This tree in particular exhibits all the features you want if you’re interested in growing walnut trees for their timber.Continue Reading
Silvology: redefining the biological science for the study of forests With co-author Jens Peter Skovsgaard I propose a formal definition for a term that describes the scientific study of forests and woods: silvology. In contrast to other disciplines no terminology has developed to distinguish the practice of silviculture fromContinue Reading
Basal area data for common walnut (Juglans regia), plus number of stems per area, crown size and stem diameter.Continue Reading
It is Saint Swithin’s Day today, 15th July: the day on which people traditionally watch the weather. Tradition says that whatever the weather is like on St. Swithin’s Day, it will continue the same for the next forty days. There is a well-known weather-rhyme in Britain: St. Swithin’s day ifContinue Reading
I returned to the ancient ash coppice stool last week, to search for the new growth that I had predicted so confidently in my defense of woodland mangement …Continue Reading
There is a very good relationship between a tree’s stem diameter and its crown diameter. This can be used in many different ways by foresters, arboriculturists and landscape planners to plan and model tree growth and …Continue Reading
Foresters use a clinometer to calculate the height of a tree. These can be quite expensive to buy but it is quite possible to achieve good results with a smartphone. Here’s a method that I’ve developed …Continue Reading
On my homepage I write that I aim to celebrate the ” silvan” world: here’s an etymology. Silva or sylva is a Latin word meaning ‘wood or forest’, with silvan or sylvan meaning ‘of the wood or forest’. In forestry we use the word silviculture, meaning literally culture of forests.Continue Reading
I’m a forester. That’s a simple description of my profession without much room for misunderstanding – or so you’d think. Therein lies an etymological dilemma for me and my fellow tree professionals. As a forester I practice forestry, which is the management of forests. In the public mind the termContinue Reading
It was an ancient Ash coppice stool; carpeted in green moss, fantastically gnarled and partly hollow. ” This was one our best loved trees. We are sad that you have cut it down?” Bad management or poor communication?Continue Reading
Young forest trees often require some form of ‘formative’ shaping or pruning during the first 5-10 years after planting. I co-wrote a practical guide on this subject for Woodland Heritage, and created the artwork that I’ve reproduced here. Young trees may require pruning for a variety of reasons,Continue Reading
Could combining broiler chickens with trees be a perfect marriage?Continue Reading