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13 November 2014

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You are in: Black Country > Nature > Nature Features > Swine flu of the tree world?

Matt Rogers

Matt Rogers

Swine flu of the tree world?

A Stourbridge tree surgeon warns that a mysterious, incurable disease is killing off trees in Black Country gardens.

Matt with the remains of a dead tree

Matt with the remains of a dead tree

Matt Rogers, 26 from Norton, believes that the airborne fungal infection is targeting yellow leafed acacia trees, leaving them dead within seven months.

"It's fair to say it's the swine flu of the tree world," he says. "It's very prevalent and it seems that when the tree has caught it there's no going back. Like swine flu, diseases have multiplied and you have a hybrid."

Also known as robinias, the trees are a less common in the wild but a popular garden fixture owing to their attractive foliage.

Matt, of Absolute Tree Solutions, has been called in by customers to pull down a dozen contaminated specimens over the last few weeks – some of them topping 30 feet in height.

Hazardous - main road

Hazardous - main road

"The nature of the disease affects the water carrying vessels in the trunk," he explains. "Basically all the small twigs and branches are being starved of water and nutrients and are just dying.

"At the moment there is no known cure for the disease. We know it's spread by airborne particles or by birds and other animals. The problem is the trees wither, become brittle and eventually die - meaning there's a constant danger of falling branches. It makes the area and the environment very unsafe.

"The Royal Horticultural Society are doing tests and undergoing experiments on these trees and they haven't as yet come up with a specific name for the disease and if there is control."

Robinias are native to North American forests and first appeared in England in the 1600s. Their strong wood is used for masts in ship building.

Matt at work

Matt at work

"The disease is widespread across the country but very prevalent in Stourbridge because there's so many of the trees," explains Matt. "On this particular road we're in I've counted 18 just in people's front gardens. In estates you have up to 30 or 40 trees in one area."

Mr. Glanville Hill who lives on the Norton Road in Stourbridge has an infected 30 foot robinia on his front lawn which is set to be torn down imminently.

"I first noticed the signs about 12 months ago," he said. "We kept hoping it would recover but it didn't. This same thing has happened to a number of our friends in the area. It's a real shame it has to go. I've been concerned about branches falling down."

Diseased yellow leafed acacia tree

Diseased yellow leafed acacia tree

A spokesman for Dudley Council said: "We are aware of the national problem affecting a specific cultivar of the robinia genera. We have experienced some of these symptoms in the Dudley borough and we are monitoring the situation."

Matt is advising anyone who has a robinia in their garden to keep a close eye on it - and to contact a tree surgeon if they're in any doubt about its health. Sure fire signs of contamination include leaves being shed in the middle of summer - rather than winter.

"Be careful of the falling branches if you're out in your garden with children playing or having a barbeque," he says. "It's a real shame as they're such picturesque trees and are very decorative in people's gardens. But it's not worth taking the risk."

last updated: 18/08/2009 at 16:48
created: 05/08/2009

You are in: Black Country > Nature > Nature Features > Swine flu of the tree world?

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