Roath Park has enjoyed the arrival of six new elm trees as part of a national scheme known as The Great British Elm Experiment.
The Friends of Roath Park have donated the trees and Council park staff will assist in planting them, part of a national experiment carried out by The Conservation Foundation.
Cabinet Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, Cllr Ramesh Patel said: “This is a fascinating initiative which I hope will be beneficial at both a local and national level. Here in Cardiff we are fortunate to home a large number of different species of trees and although the Council has planted several hybrid resistant elms over the years we are still missing a great deal of native elms which we lost through disease.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the Friends of Roath Park for their enthusiasm and hard work in taking part in scheme’s such as this which benefit the park, making it a beautiful and much-loved place for so many of us to enjoy.”
Three field elms, also known as Ulmus Minor, have been planted as a group in the Ty Draw Road border at Roath Pleasure Gardens and three trees have been planted as a collection along Lake Road West. These species are an English Elm known as Ulmus procera, a Wych Elm known as Ulmus Glabra and a Field Elm. The English Elm has been nominated by the Friends as the tree which will be monitored and an annual report made to the Conservation Foundation concerning its growth and disease resistance.
The Chair of The Friends of Roath Park Group, David Hughes said: “We hope that the trees planted in Roath Park will be a significant gift to future generations and we are happy to be assisting The Conservation Foundation in this exciting experiment.
“The Friends of Roath Park are always looking for new members to help with their work. Please check the web-site for details.” http://friendsofroathpark.weebly.com
The Great British Elm Experiment will attempt to unlock the mystery of why some trees survived Dutch Elm disease which wiped out over 25 millions elms in the UK during the 1960s and 70s
Cuttings taken from mature trees that appear to have resisted Dutch Elm disease for over 60 years have been skilfully micro propagated. The resulting saplings are being distributed to hundreds of schools, community groups, local authorities and private landowners who have signed up to take part in scheme.
Data will be recorded such as height, girth, wildlife and signs of disease as part of this long-term experiment and it is hoped that in time a new generation of elms will become established throughout the UK.
