Three Shires Ltd in the Community

Three Shires Ltd (TSL) are assisting HS2 with clearance of a site at Coleshill Manor which includes some trees with veteran characteristics. One in particular (tag number 0103) is an English Oak (Quercus robur) of significant size (1.57m diameter and 16m height) and is estimated to be 300 years old (see map and photos attached). Andy Poynter (Principal Arboricultural Consultant) of Lockhart Garratt Ltd inspected the tree in April 2020 and produced a report on the trees condition and options for legacy. Contacts from the local community are keen see the acorns retained and grown on in the local area, to provide a traceable provenance for future plantings.

Three Shires Ltd will dismantle / fell the tree using a chainsaw grab on a 14 tonne excavator, to lower limbs to the ground slowly where acorns will then be manually picked from the branches. There are no livestock in the surrounding field. The aim will be to collect 4-6 kg of acorns. On average, there are 250 acorns per kg. Depending on the yield from this tree there could be 1000 to 1500 acorns. Acorns will be collected manually in hessian sacks or buckets with a lid. 

TSL will transport the acorns to a sub-contracted nursery grower near their base in Leicestershire who has worked with them closely on planting projects for over 20 years. The acorns will be kept in a cool but frost free and dry environment during transport and taken to the grower within 48 hours of collection.

The grower will lay out the acorns on shelves in their covered storage sheds. They will water them and aim to create a moist / warm environment to allow them to germinate. Those which don’t ‘chit’ (germinate) within 4-6 weeks will be discarded. Those which do germinate will be placed into cardboard cells (i.e. small pots 5cm x 15cm within a crate) with peat free tree planting compost. 

The cells will be watered as required to achieve good growth in the following Spring and Summer. The plants will be grown in poly tunnels which provide protection from frost but can be ventilated as required in warm weather. They will be monitored for any pests and diseases and failed trees removed accordingly. 

In a good growing year a cell grown oak would be expected to achieve 20-40cm in height and at that size would be sufficiently hardy to be planted in the field / in the wood. If plants only achieve e.g. 10-20cm height, then they would be retained at the nursery for the 2022 growing season. 

TSL will liaise directly with LM’s community engagement team in Autumn 2021 to confirm the number of trees available. LM’s team will then arrange hand over of plants to the community. Crates of 50 cells will be placed in co-extruded nursery bags tied at the neck to prevent desiccation during transport. Assuming 1500 acorns are collected of which normally two-thirds chit and with a further e.g. 10% of failure during the growing season, there should be 800-900 trees available. 

The following guidance should be followed by the community contacts: 

• Storage – Remove cell crates from bags and store in a covered, coll and frost free environment away from browsing animals

• Planting – Scrape away any surface vegetation or brash from the planting location with a spade. Manually excavate a 20cm x 20cm x 20cm deep hole and cultivate the soil arisings. Hold the plant upright and in place whilst backfilling the hole. Keep the base of the stem at ground level i.e. avoid planting too deep / too high. Firm the ground back gently with a boot heel to ensure good soil to root contact but without causing compaction

• Protection – Protect with a tree shelter of suitable height to avoid browsing damage as below: - Rabbits / Hares – 75cm shelter with 90cm x 25mm stake - Muntjac Deer / Roe Deer – 1.2m shelter with 1.2m x 32mm stake - Fallow Deer – 1.5m shelter with 1.8m x 50mm stake - Red Deer – 1.8m shelter with 2.1m x 50mm stake

• Maintenance – Good weed control over a 1m diameter spot centred on the tree will allow the roots access to plenty of water for growth. On this scale, this could be achieved by placing compost or wood chip mulch on the surface 25-50mm deep after planting. Equally, the plants can be watered monthly during the Summer to aid survival.

• Collection & Transport to Grower – late September 2020
• Germination & Forming Cells – October / November 2020
• Growth – May to August 2021
• Hand Over to Community / Planting – early December 2021 

Robin Truslove MSc(For) MICFor MISoilSci - Principal Environmental Consultant (Forestry, Soils, Land Restoration) 07879 437255 – robin.truslove@lgluk.com