Trees to be felled in historic Falmouth gardens

By beachcomber3 | Thursday, March 18, 2010, 15:44

The very large Monterey Pine at Fox Rosehill Gardens and a number of Turkey Oaks at Gyllyngdune Gardens in Falmouth are to be felled by Cornwall Council on safety grounds.

As part of the ongoing management programme, council forestry officers have, over the past few years, been monitoring the condition of the trees.

It has been identified that the pine tree at Fox Rosehill Gardens is infected by a root decaying fungus, commonly known as cauliflower mushroom (sparassis crispa).

This fungus affects the roots and ultimately the stability of the tree. A number of tests have been carried out which have shown that the infection is now at an advanced stage and felling is the only available option to maintain public safety.

The Turkey Oaks at Gyllyngdune Gardens have reached maturity. Some of these trees have recently died and others have been infected by bracket fungi (ganoderma).

Operations manager (Mid Cornwall) for Cornwall Council’s environment service Jon James said of the decision: “It will be a great shame to see these trees being felled, but we have received professional opinions from the authority’s forestry officers who have concluded that the trees require felling to maintain public safety.”

Mr James confirmed that the trees will be removed during April and it is anticipated that the work will take just over two weeks to complete and may require sections of gardens to be closed off to enable work to be carried out safely. The trees will be replaced with suitable species in the autumn this year.