Advice needed for planting a woodland in Somerset

[The Woodman]

A comprehensive and informative post Monkey Orchid.

[fairplay]

Just caught up with this post and notice nobody has said anything about 'provenance' and 'progeny'.
It is very important when buying English Oaks from a nursery that they are English and not Quercus robur from the EEC (usually Eastern Europe)
Better still, pinch some acorns from a nearby ancient wood (prob' best to ask the owner) and grow them on.

The same applies to other tree species, and remember, there is nothing wrong in planting Leyland Cypress around the edge of the wood to keep the unwanted out and to act as a shelter belt until the native trees are established - just don't forget to cut them down (Leyland) in 10 - 12 years time.

But do obtain advice from the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Neil.

EDIT. Having spent my first 20 years in Bristol, I should have known the Sessile Oak is probably more common than the English Oak in the West , so therefor I don't really know where your local nursery would get their stock from, but do ask.
Also I notice I am saying basically the same as Monkey Orchid.

[Paul mabbott]

Two questions seem not to have been answered (or asked): wha is the history of the site, what trees are there already? Also, what is the urgency for planting?

If this site has a history of (semi-)natural tree growth then be guided by what was there before. If there are still some tree or there are trees close by and the soil has not been heavily disturbed or impacted then allow reafforestation to occur naturally - it will take ten or twenty years to get many large trees but at least they will be fairly appropriate for the site. Use locally gathered seeds - sprinkle them around or germinate some in pots but most will be distributed to the site naturally. Don't forget that using heavy machinery for digging and transplanting larger trees will probably do more damage to soil structure than planting the 'wrong' trees!

[Adam Cheeseman]

Hi Emily,

Your best bet is to seek advice from the County Wildlife Trust or similar to see what the typical woodland type classification is for the area. Sycamore is a no-no and I would think Beech isn't right either. Unfortunately, when planting woodlands you have to think well beyond your own lifetime in terms of waiting for it to mature. If you are going to plant bluebells make sure they are Hyacinthoides non-scripta as these are the native ones.
Above all make sure that all plants are from the local area as much as possible or at least of British origin and not european versions of.

Cheers,

Adam