On Sat, 5 Jul 2003 20:46:31 +0000 (UTC), "Cal Mac"
wrote:

Could anyone please recommend species of trees which could reach a
height of about 7 meters and which would grow fairly rapidly, in the
Islands of the west of Scotland.The main problem is obviously the wind
which can be strong for days on end in the winter.
Can anything survive this,(I mean trees grow in Siberia).

Oleria traversii is a very wind and salt tolerant shrubby tree, fast
growing and eventually gets to 20 - 30 ft. On the tender side, but you
might manage it in the Islands if the gulf stream does its stuff.
Excellent for screening and hedging, although not really tree-like.
Also try Eleagnus ebbingei, slightly slower growing and won't get as
big as OT but has a scented flower (not the variegated versions,
they're too slow), comments ditto. Both grow in Cornwall in very
exposed coastal situations and get pounded by winter gales and sea
spray with no ill effects.

Some of the Eucalyptus species are also very wind-tolerant and they're
certainly fast growing and much more tree-like than the above. They're
also not unknown on the west coast of Scotland and in the Islands. Try
E.coccifera, E.gunnii, E.urnigera and even E.globulus. But they make
huge trees and may all get bigger than you want.

The problem with fast-growing plants in windy locations is that they
tend to outgrow their roots as far as support is concerned, and blow
over. The solution is to cut them back every few years to limit the
top growth, while the roots continue to increase.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net