Back in October 2008 I wrote on the subject of ash seeds being so abundant. They could be seen in colossal quantities dripping off the twigs of every ash tree.
An abundant display of ash seeds in October 2008
Ash seeds generally take 18 months to germinate, so do the sums, – it’s now 18 months on. How exciting is that?
Look about you and I’m sure you’ll see those little ash seeds of October 2008 now sprouting up all over the place as perfect little ash seedlings. In their millions!
They're coming up in my wood-chipped garden paths;
They’re coming up in their thousands throughout the mowed grassy path down to the lake;
They’re pushing up through the long grass;
And of course they’re popping up all over the forest floor. Ash seedlings, in their countless millions across the whole country, offering a future to Irish Forestry that has never been more timely. They carry the potential of creating beautiful, uniquely Irish landscapes as well as supplying a range of timbers from superb, top of the range firewood right through to prime quality, attractive joinery timber, not to mention the lucrative hurley market that is still largely supplied to Ireland from Holland and Wales.
Ash doesn’t grow easily as a monoculture ‘crop’ but seems to lend itself to self- seeding and growing up through mixed forests in groups or patches. Many sitka spruce plantations would be ideal pioneer forests, if thinned skillfully, to bring in valuable ash trees.
Young self-sown tree heading for the light in a sitka spruce plantation.
While I was down at the Cabin woods photographing the seedlings on the woodland floor, I noticed I wasn’t the only one keeping an eye on them:
A big fat hare checking out the proliferation of ash seedlings.
Our woodlands are managed with plenty of ‘wild’ areas, so losing ash seedlings to hares is something we have learned to live with. But with so many seedlings coming up like weeds this year, there will be plenty for everyone.
Related posts:
- What Has Nature Done While I Was Away?
- Trees for Free!!
- What is ‘Close-to-Nature’ Forest Management?
- New Life on the Forest Floor
- Forest at Inishconnell – Introduction
Tags: Ash, ash seed, ash seedlings
Loved this post Jan,
Our new ash forest another year on is looking great and I was also thinking of posting an update soon – its a great time of year to see all the new growth
Cathy
Gorgeous picture of the hare Jan and I know what it is like with all the lovely ash seedlings!