Elm tree planted on King’s birthday for his coronation

AN elm tree has been planted in Gardiner Recreation Field in Goring to mark King Charles III’s coronation.

A small group of residents attended the planting, which took place on Friday last week, the King’s 77th birthday.

The location was chosen because celebrations were held there for his coronation on May 7, 2023, and an oak tree was planted there to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation on June 2, 1953.

The two-year-old fast-growing specimen is 3m high and is expected to be 7m high and 4m wide after 10 years of growth, possibly growing up to 30m.

The event was opened by Sonia Lofthouse, who chairs Goring Parish Council, before she introduced Lynda Atkins, the Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire.

Ms Atkins addressed the gathering before helping to plant the tree and throwing the first spade full of dirt in the hole. She said: “It was such a pleasure to be invited to join Goring Parish Council in planting such a special tree.

“I particularly enjoyed seeing children from the primary school help to plant it. I hope that in decades to come they will tell their grandchildren about the day while they enjoy the shade given by the elm and perhaps even get them to help plant another.

“Planting commemorative trees is a very special thing for the community to do and the parish council team got this one just right in so many ways.”

About eight children from Streatley Primary School each took it in turns to fill the hole with soil.

The tree is suitable for the exposed site, is chalk-tolerant and likes full sun and well-drained soil. It is highly resistant to Dutch elm disease and has been shown to have the highest resistance of all new elm cultivars.

The disease first spread to Britain last century when it killed up to 40 per cent of the trees. In the Sixties, a fungus was accidentally imported and introduced, spreading the disease, killing more than 90 per cent of its population.

The elm has been planted to help the recovery of the elm population, as it is estimated that around 100 fully mature elms survived in the UK’s 25 million trees.

The rare UK-native White-letter Hairstreak butterfly relies entirely on the Elm tree as its host. The larvae of the monophagic butterfly hatch in mid-March, weeks before the leaves emerge and feed on the elm flowers before progressing to the seeds. The elm was chosen instead of the English oak, due to its location in the recreation field, which has a children’s play area, as there were concerns about the caterpillars of the Oak Processionary Moth.

This is an invasive species from Europe, which is now established in London and is a dangerous pest in spring and early summer.

Ron Bridle, who organised the planting event and sourced the tree, said: “This cultivar, Ulmus x wingham, was chosen because it has two important features.

“It’s probably the most successful cultivar developed for resistance to Dutch elm disease. Secondly, elms are a unique host of our rare UK-native White-letter Hairstreak butterfly, whose larvae feed exclusively on this particular species, so we hope it will also have a role in butterfly conservation, a fitting tribute for King Charles III’s Coronation.”