Worried about the disease that’s killing ash trees? Things could be even worse in Ireland, says Thomas Pakenham, chairman of the Irish Tree Society, author of many books on trees and the owner of Tullynally Castle in Co Westmeath.
According to Pakenham, central Ireland is a limestone plain ideal for growing ash. There are bigger government grants for growing ash than for any other tree, with thousands of acres paid for by the Irish taxpayer.
“The disease has already arrived in Ireland with imported trees from Holland and some spores have been carried by the wind,” says Pakenham, son of the late Lord Longford and brother of Lady Antonia Fraser. “There is not much hope of prevention or cure. There is nothing much we can do.”
The only chance, says Pakenham, is that some varieties, such as American and Chinese ash, are immune. “I’m off to Sikkim in India in the next few days and I hope to collect some seeds.”
