10/02/2026
Conducting a survey in an old orchard in Tirley, north Gloucestershire, almost in Worcestershire but not quite, we were struck by the sculptural qualities of some of the trees.
The first picture is the graft union of an old perry pear tree, where the grafted variety (on top) isn't quite as vigorous as the rootstock below. That's often the case, but the differences in rates of growth, fractions of a millimetre each year, only begin to show after many, many years - by which we mean 100+ years. It's a feature often found in.perry trees, precisely because they can live for so long, 300 years or more, whereas apple trees with a shorter lifespan - 100 years is truly ancient - often die before the difference becomes noticeable.
The second picture shows the hardy resilience of fruit trees, this one an ancient apple tree. The trunk is entirely hollow and yet the tree continues to grow and produce fruit - its xylem and phloem cells are intact, the former transporting water and minerals from roots to leaves, the latter distributing sugars and amino acids throughout the tree. Trees like these, alive but containing a lot of deadwood, are biodiversity gold and are a particular feature of fruit trees; they are early senescent, meaning they age quickly (like cider-makers) and produce wonderful habitat, the nooks and crannies of old wood, much more quickly than other deciduous trees, and all manner of birds and bugs are delighted to make them their home.
