Marianne's Response

perry4110-question

I was just visiting a friend in St Ives, Cambridgehsire, UK, and he posed a question to me: He showed me a row of trees, perhaps 20 or more planted as a border for a park. At each end, the trees wer taller than those which were planted in the middle. As a matter of fact, it appeared that they followed a pattern where the trees on the ends were tallest, and they progressively shorter with the shortest in the middle. What could be an explanation for this, assuming that they were all more similar in height when they were firt planted? All trees were more than 20 feet tall, but the difference in height was very noticeable

Posted by on September 13, 2010

Marianne's Response

This happens often with a row of any plant. The trees that were the shorter ones most likely got less water because the ground slopes. It could also be the middle trees were planted early in the day, then the outer trees planted later and allowed to dry out more than the middle trees. Letting young trees dry out even a little before planting can dwarf them for years. Often arborist will make a well\" with soil around the base of young trees to help hold rain water on a slight slope. A third reason for the slower growth could be wind or sun exposure. The trees on the end of the row are less protected so dry out more from exposure. Nice of you to notice. and thanks for the interesting question. \"

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