On Sat, 19 Apr 2003 23:47:13 +0100, Richard Roocroft
wrote:

In message , bnd777



Thanks to you both, except you missed that I intend to kill the conifer
by ringing the bark, like a tree. That would do it, wouldn't it ? The
fronds would drop, and I'd just be left with upright, natural supports
that would let lots of light through. (We're in the half-hardy
north-west, incidently.)

Yep, a bare conifer will let more light through - though even then you
might find the branches are rather dense.

If you then train a climber up it ( and my vote would go to the H
honeysuckle ) you'll end up with a solid mass of greener again, and
thus shade.

Also, once the tree dies it will start to rot - and that may encourage
various fungi to take up residence.
Eventually the whole lot will have to come down, probably quite soon
given that softwoods rot pretty quickly, and you'll lose your climber
( which is another good reason for using honeysuckle ).

A compromise solution might be to lop a few feet off the top of it -
that way you get the use of the tree as a climber support until it
falls over, and it won't block so much valuable light.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk