Sunday 7 September 2008

Early Fall


I notice on my perambulations that the Horse Chestnut Trees are all losing their leaves, about a month early. Is this our changing climate or some disease that is afflicting our beloved 'conker trees' ?

2 comments:

Rear view mirror said...

I have not got the exact details to hand, but I have read about a disease that is sweeping the country.

I have noticed however that not all trees are affected, some still have plenty of fruit and look healthy.

Anonymous said...

Horse Chestnuts in Thanet tend to be the first trees to brown off and lose leaves at the end of August/ early September. There seems to be 2 problems in the UK at the moment affecting Horse Chestnuts; one is a leaf miner (grub from a moth) and the other is a bacterium leading to weeping sores on the trunk. Conker size is a clue to unhealthy trees; small fruits are a clue. A crop of big conkers, despite leaf browning, would indicate all is well with a tree. People forget that the horse-chestnut normally leads the way in going into leaf in spring first and its not surprising that they lead the way in closing down in Autumn. Despite the miserable summer, useful rain to mature trees like established horse-chestnuts has actually been in short supply.