Gardeners reporting false autumn after dry weather

1 hour ago

Ian Palmer,at Great Comp Gardenand

Craig Buchan,South East

News image — Kristyna Kay-Clough said plants were starting to lose their leaves earlier than expected

BBC Kristyna Kay-Clough, smiling for the camera. A garden with several plants and a large tree with yellowing leaves are visible behind her. — Kristyna Kay-Clough said plants were starting to lose their leaves earlier than expected

Gardeners in south-east England are reporting "signs of early onset of autumn" as trees lose their leaves and branches in August.

After record-breaking dry spells and multiple heatwaves, some trees have begun shedding their leaves earlier than expected in a so-called false autumn.

Kristyna Kay-Clough, head gardener at Great Comp Garden in Kent, said plants were "losing their leaves just so they don't have to suffer any longer".

"We're hoping that if we get good moisture throughout the winter months the plants can actually recover and start fresh next year," she told the BBC.

According to Kay-Clough, trees in the garden that she would expect to lose foliage in mid-September had already dropped most of their leaves.

The gardener warned that if hot and dry conditions continued year after year "we may see a decline and gradual dieback on plants and trees, which will certainly make us reconsider what we grow in the future".

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is advising gardeners to plant trees in autumn rather than the spring so they are better rooted and have more access to water before the following summer.

Leigh Hunt, RHS principal horticultural adviser, said newly planted trees needed regular watering for their first two years but autumn planting could "reduce the pressure during those critical first weeks".

BBC Weather Watchers / John G A path through a copse of trees, The trees appear green but hundreds of brown leaves have dropped to the floor. — Some trees are beginning to drop foliage much earlier than expected

Miles Hayward - of Miles Japanese Maples in Storrington, West Sussex - said canopies of his Japanese varieties were "coping reasonably well in the dry conditions".

But trees go into a "self-preservation" mode and would abort branches if they "don't have enough moisture at the roots after a long period of time".

"They can't support 100% of the canopy, they sort of die back a little bit," he told the BBC.

Hayward, a regular exhibitor at the Chelsea Flower Show, said arboriculturists were "almost at a critical point" where more weeks without rain would be "very problematic" for trees.

He added: "If conditions are better, if we get a decent autumn and winter with rain, then next year they should be OK."

Why we're in 'false autumn' - and what that means

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