| Survey data | |
|---|---|
| Surveyed by: Brian Sandall | Surveyed on: 21st November 2014 |
| Number of trees: 1 | |
| Girth: 1.96m (measured at 0.8m) | |
| Tree form: Maiden | |
| Dead or alive: Alive | |
| Standing/fallen: Other | |
| Access: Public - open access (e.g. public park, churchyard, etc) | |
This tree's story
No Man’s Orchard is a traditional Kentish apple orchard originally planted in 1947. It eventually fell into neglect but was purchased in 1995 by Chartham and Harbledown parish councils acting together. (The name of the orchard is said to be because the boundary line between the two parishes runs through the middle of the orchard). Restoration of the orchard by pruning began in 1996. The orchard is managed in a traditional manner and unless they are diseased in a way that puts other trees at risk, trees are allowed to grow to maturity and beyond, even being left in place when they die, as a wildlife habitat, new trees are planted occasionally to infill gaps.
As a typical example, I measured the tree in the extreme western corner of the orchard bearing the number 130 which appears to be one of the original planting. It was not possible to find the apple variety borne by this tree but this information will be held by the management team of the orchard.
The tree was pruned in its early days by taking out the main trunk and four main branches have been encouraged from a height of 1m. The tree now has a span of 10.85m. There are several old branch stumps, one of which has worm holes in the wood, what appears to be a small rose is growing from a cavity in the fork and a slender ash tree is growing from the base of the tree to a height of about 4m and a young oak with a height of 1.2m is closely adjacent. The girth of the tree at 1.2m is 2.28m but at this height the branches are diverging
Growing on the tree
- Lichen
- Fungi
- Moss
Signs of animal life
- Insect boring