Which species of trees have we planted?
As a young charity we have been growing fast, planting 4,000 trees in our first planting season, then 35,000 trees in the second season. Planting season runs October to March, and we were looking forward to some calm time to focus on writing about what had been done. Nope! We had to protect against wildfire at High Wood by clearing forestry waste that people were setting fires in… then there were thousands of saplings to water, and now we’re out planting again. Ahhh!
Let’s take a quick break to look at what has been planted already, as a common question we get is “What species do you plant? Is it a fast growing type, or something slower but better for long term sequestration?”
Which one species? Oh no no! All projects have at least 8 species, and some projects have as many as 16 species. Overall Protect Earth has planted 46 different species, making up the 38,580 saplings total we’ve planted between 2020-2022.
Top 10 Species
Our ecologists have several reasons for picking different species depending on the soil, water, exposure, history, climate projections, and you can read about that over in Right Tree in the Right Place... Right Now, but some species are a staple that will show up at most sites.
1.) Hawthorn
Planted: 3,706 (12.6%)
This spiky medium-sized shrub creates a “soft edge” for the woodland, to improve temperature regulation and provides cover for other saplings and critters. It’s one of the first and most noticeable blossoms in May, a pale-pink letting you know spring is here.
Hawthorn is incredibly helpful to wildlife, supporting 300 insects, small mammals, and migrating birds like redwings, fieldfares and thrushes.
2.) Alder
Planted: 2,122 (7.2%)
Alder are planted mainly near rivers, streams, and in boggy areas. Alder doesn’t mind being underwater, and won’t rot when waterlogged.
The catkins provide an early source of nectar and pollen for bees, the seeds are food for birds, and the wet conditions the Alder enjoys mean it can provide structure for fungi, lichen, and mosses. Otters sometimes use the root systems as ‘holts’ - places to rest and sleep.
3.) Field Maple
Planted: 2,049 (6.9%)
Field Maple can be found in a field near you. These small trees also provide a good soft edge for the woodland, and will improve structure inside the woodland.
The bark is light brown and flaky, and twigs are slender and brown and develop a corky bark with age. Small, grey leaf buds grow on long stems. Field maples can grow to 20m and live for up to 350 years. Source: Woodland Trust
4.) Silver Birch
Planted: 1,978 (6.7%)
Silver Birch grows quickly, getting to 30 meters in height. They’re some of the first to poke out the top of their tree guards, and are proving resilient in these harsh summer heatwaves.
Over 300 insects benefit from the silver birch, and various birds will eat their seeds. You might even find a woodpecker nesting in the trunk.
5.) Hazel
Planted: 1,923 (6.5%)
Hazel grows quickly to about 12 meters, and is another popular one for hedgerows, shelterbelts, and in woodlands. It goes anywhere, and can be found all over the UK. Hazel used to be managed in plantations to harvest the nuts, but we’ll be leaving ~all~ most of them for the wildlife. 👼
6.) Hornbeam
Planted: 1,755 (6%)
Hornbeam is majestic, can live to 300 years, and holds onto its dead leaves in winter providing a habitat for all sorts of wildlife. Hornbeam is being recommended as a replacement for Ash trees lost to dieback, and it is another tough tree that is far more drought tolerant than many other native British trees.
7.) Downy Birch
Planted: 1,536 (5.2%)
Downy birch is a fast growing smaller tree, growing to about 30 meters. It’s seeds are loved by Siskins and Lesser Redpolls, and the leaves attract aphids which are eaten by other insects such as a variety of caterpillar moths and ladybirds.
8.) English Oak
Planted: 1,328 (4.5%)
The might English Oak! Slow growing, this majestic tree takes its time to get up to height, but can reach up to 40 meters. Oak trees shorten with age as they move from mature to veteran, they can survive for centuries. Their sturdy trunks will continue to host 2,000 wildlife species despite being so hollow you could stand inside them.
9.) Rowan
Planted: 1,263 (4.3%)
A mature Rowan can reach 15 meters, and live for 200 years. In autumn you can spot it by its red berries, which can be used to make jams and pies (but don’t attempt to eat them raw).
In the olden days it was planted to protect against witches and fend off evil, but now we’re planting it to fend off the climate crisis.
10.) Crab Apple
Planted: 1,059 (3.6%)
Crab apples are shorter trees, growing between 4 and 12 meters tall. Their dense crown will be hard at work turning carbon dioxide into tasty apples, which is something I can get on board with. They’re not great for humans, but provide good eating for all sorts of wildlife.
What else have we planted?
Although most sites will have those common species, there are lots of other species spread across our sites, even if its just a handful for diversity.
Here’s everything we have tracked in our database.
Aspen: 1,018 (3.5%)
Wild Cherry: 995 (3.4%
Scots Pine: 951 (3.2%)
Black Poplar: 895 (3%)
Alder Buckthorn: 779 (2.6%)
Bird Cherry: 721 (2.4%)
Guelder Rose: 686 (2.3%)
Blackthorn: 640 (2.2%)
Sessile Oak: 579 (2.0%)
Holly: 488 (1.7%)
Dogwood: 425 (1.4%)
Small-leaved Lime: 324 (1%)
Goat Willow: 301 (1%)
Swedish Whitebeam: 300 (1%)
Privet: 296 (1.0%)
Dog Rose: 214 (0.7%)
Spindle: 200 (0.6%)
Grey Alder: 153 (0.5%)
Then there’s handfuls of Sweet chestnut, Grey Willow, Whitebeam, Elder, Beech, Spindleberry, Wayfaring Tree, Box, Wild Service Tree, Osier Willow, Cherry Plum, Crack Willow, Wych Elm, and one single Horse Chestnut.
Why the one Horse Chestnut? We didn’t intend to plant that, but at one site the farmers daughter brought one along. She had grown it from seed, and she really wanted to plant it in the woodland. We protected it with a stake and a guard and put it in amongst the rest, with a bit more space around it so it could grow to its full potential.
Other notable mentions: Swedish Whitebeam? That doesn’t sound native, and it certainly isn’t common enough to be considered naturalised. This was an experiment at the Ickleford/Hitchin Miniforest, to see how it does in this changing climate. Non-native does not mean invasive, we would never plant anything invasive (we remove invasive species with prejudice), but experimentation is important, and we’ll talk more about that in the future.
Seed Provenance
All over the world there are different variations of these species, and even within the United Kingdom there are genetic adaptions within a single species, that mean an English Oak from Surrey and an English Oak from Cumbria are different enough that a system exists to categories them.
This is called “Seed Provenance”. We make sure we are planting the right seed provenance as often as possible, and this season that is the vast majority of the ~30,000 new trees we intend to plant.
For example, at our ancient woodland High Wood, we have managed to find the only supplier growing 305 provenance saplings, which are specific to Cornwall and Devon. They have even offered us Plymouth Pear and Cornish Elm, which are hyper local and rare. In a few years you’ll be able to visit High Wood to see one of those Plymouth Pears and enjoy the majestic Cornish Elm, which is far more resistant to Dutch Elm Disease that other Elms.