The Dunkeld Pedestal Larch

In the heart of 'Perthshire Big Tree Country' lies the village of Dunkeld:  in the immediate vicinity of this quiet unassuming place lie some of Britain's best trees, many of which are considered champions.  One of the most unusual is the Dunkeld Pedestal larch known in Scotland (the other also in Perthshire near the village of Auchterarder) found within the grounds of the Hilton Dunkeld Hotel, to the north and rear of the main building.

The grounds are open to the public and access is freely available all year round.

The curious pedestal feature cannot satisfactorily be explained, (it is by no means unique to larch), this particular tree happens to have a striking examples of pedestal anomaly.  A common belief regarding the formation of the pedestal is that the tree became 'pot bound' before being planted out and that the roots simply continued to grow in a spiral, twisting fashion from that pint on.  The tree is remarkably ordinary above chest height; it is the huge twisted growth (of buttress roots?) forming the pedestal that sets this tree apart from others; the pedestal is some 25 feet in circumference.  The stem above this growth (some ten feet less), exhibits the signs of normal tree growth.  For many years the tree has suffered competition for light from large vigorous shrubs close by leading to the death of the lower canopy particularly on the northwest side, in addition, the trees are host to two known decay fungi; Phaeollus schweinitzii and Heterobasidion annosum.

By the time the owners realised the tree required help, it was in pretty poor shape; also at this time the tree was gaining recognition as something rare and unusual thereby attracting a greater number of visitors.  It is one thing to have people visiting trees, it is quite another to encourage visitors to trees that pose a real hazard to their well being.  As a first step towards helping this tree, the competing vegetation was cut back to increase light levels to the remaining live areas of the lower canopy.  The next step was to determine the extent of internal decay by utilising the Picus tomograph technology.  While the results cause some concern for long term stability, the decision to retain the tree, albeit with some judicious pruning, is likely to be the preferred short term management decision.  The tree is scheduled to undergo a programme of crown cleaning to remove deadwood and structurally defective branches.