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Stewart Robert Hinsley · 12-04-2007, 07:09 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

In message , Sacha
writes
On 12/4/07 17:24, in article lid, "Stewart Robert
Hinsley" wrote:

In message .com,
"Cat(h)" writes
I am looking for recommendations as to a suitable (memorial) tree to
be planted in a sea-side location in the NW of Ireland, exposed to
salty winds (well, all kinds of winds, really). The ground conditions
are ericaceous (can't remember whether that's acid of alkaline, so
apologies to the experts) and can be soggy for much of the year. The
tree should be attractive, and obviously tough as old boots... Other
things that grow naturally on the site in question include fuschia
(magellanica, I think, naturalised) and salix.
I would be very, very grateful for your expert advice.
Thanking you all in advance!

Cat(h)

I was expecting someone with more experience of coastal locations to
have chimed in, but since no-one has, I suggest Griselinia littoralis,
which grows right up against the Atlantic coast in places (e.g. Arduaine
in Argyll).

I don't know about its soil tolerances, so you'd want to check this out.

Whether it (or the variegated cultivar 'Bantry Bay') is attractive is a
matter of taste - I'm not a great fan. Whether it's a tree is perhaps
also debatable; you could describe it more as a giant bush.

Griselinia is certainly very salt tolerant, as is tamarisk but I don't think
I'd think of them as trees, myself. Eucalypts might fit the bill and don't
mind soggy. I've seen Cupressus macrocarpa grown quite close to the sea but
as we've just seen one blown down and one cut down today from the
churchyard, I don't know that they'd be considered safe for very windy
locations, too.

Eucalypts are fairly notorious for blowing over - I seem to recall a
saying on the lines of the bigger the stake the bigger the eucalyptus
when it's blown over. But there many different types of eucalyptus.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley