Melfort - Melfort House (Argyllshire)

Giant Redwood - August 2016

Giant Redwood - August 2016

Judith wrote in August 2016 to tell us about "a redwood pine which is said to be about 200 years old in a place called Melfort on the west coast of Scotland. It was said to have been planted after the Battle of Waterloo to commemorate Wellington's victory. When we first began to come to Melfort there was a plaque on the tree and it was situated in a corner of a field belonging to Melfort House. The plaque has long gone and the fence has been re-sited to stop the cattle damaging the bark. " Thanks Judith, the tree is probably around 160 years old because they were first introduced in the U.K. in the early 1850's, when many were planted to commemorate Wellington (who had not long since died at that time). Judith sent the above photographs in December 2016 saying that she had "heard from the owner of Melfort House where the trees are situated. He states that he has two Giant Sequoia (Sequioadendron giganteum) on his property which he seems to think could have been planted around 1860 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo. He knows that seeds were grown in London and Errol near Perth in the early 1850s and that these probably came from Errol. As far as the plaque is concerned, he knows nothing about it and cannot find anyone to back up our story. He did have two gentlemen come up from Kew Gardens to measure and catalogue his Monkey Puzzle trees and they were very interested in them as the female was a record breaker. The were very dismissive of the Sequoia as the bark had been damaged and there was wind damage to them." Thanks for all the information Judith, as suspected the trees are from the earliest plantings in the U.K. It's a shame that Kew didn't measure the Giant Sequoia but it is good to hear there is a record breaking Monkey Puzzle in the grounds.