Kendal - Greenside (Cumbria)

Bill sent the above photograph of a Giant Redwood in Kendal and he says, "I just discovered your website. We have a redwood at the bottom or garden that is over 100 ft tall. I have recently cut back some ivy growing on it. I doubt that it would have harmed it but as you can see it was 1/4 the way up the trunk ! Our house was built in 1929 on land that was sold off from the big house that you can see in the picture. I suppose that the tree was planted when the house was built in the mid 1900s. Incidentally, my next door neighbour also has a redwood in his garden. They certainly are magnificent trees and I have been lucky enough to see them in California." Thanks Bill, I am glad to hear you have been cutting back the ivy. It is a shame when it takes a hold. I am not so sure that it does no harm because apart from obscuring the wonderful bark it also seems to eventually overwhelm the tree. It is highly unlikely to kill the tree but if it smothers the lower branches it will cause the tree to drop them, much as it would if it were closely crowded by other trees. Bill replied, "I also recently felled a large sycamore that was crowding the Redwood. As you say, the lower branches on the side nearest to the sycamore were dead. Hopefully it will continue to thrive for many years to come."