Oak Before Ash…
…in for a splash. Ash before oak, in for a soak. So the old rhyme goes. After the wettest winter anyone can remember perhaps we are due a dry summer. We can only hope that we will continue to enjoy ash trees here but we are already seeing signs of ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, formerly called Chalara fraxineus) in some of our younger trees. Diseases such as these are very good reasons to make sure any stock you purchase comes from a reputable home-grown source. Even better, try growing your trees from local seed.
Come what may, at least we will have ash for fire wood for the foreseeable future. In this case, the old saying holds true ‘ash be it wet or ash be it dry is fit for a king to warm his slippers by’.
Drew