They were planted about 120 years ago, but a beetle had more recently threatened their existence.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That was until arborist, Guy O'Donnell stepped in to restore two English Elms to their former glory.
The trees, located in the grounds of St Stephen's Anglican Church, Mittagong, had fallen victim to the elm leaf beetle which causes shot holes in the leaf of a variety of elm trees, upwards from on millimetre in diameter.
ELB treatment specialist Mr O'Donnell said the destructive beetle had the capacity to cause 'skeletonising' under the leaf surface.
His latest work is part of a long association with the two superb 120-year-old English Elms growing in front of the church.
RELATED:
READ MORE:
In 1989 the church council of St Stephen's Church, Mittagong, hired Guy's expertise in engineering solutions to install high tech steel cables and bolts up to four meters in length into the two trees.
This was to prevent the trunks from splitting and the large scaffold branches from breaking.
More recently Mr O'Donnell returned to protect the stunning trees from the elm leaf beetle, which was threatening to defoliate them.
He said this would have caused a serious loss of vigour in the trees after being regularly defoliated during the past four years of drought.
"Now that the drought is over and the trees are fully foliaged," he said.
"They will be able to fully photosynthesize and store the carbohydrates produced, ensuring the leaf size will increase over the next four years.
"It's a credit to the church council for doing whatever they can to protect their heritage."
The great result is the latest in a series of successes across the Southern Highlands since Mr O'Donnell B.Sc., principal of Elm Consultants.Com.Au, began sharing his expertise.
In fact, he established his business in 1981 and is now approaching 40 years of service to the trees of the region.
After gaining experience in providing all aspects of Arboriculture, for nearly 10 years Guy has specialised in Elm Leaf Beetle protection using stem injection treatments lasting four years and longer using the only legally registered chemical in Australia.
Details: Guy on 0412288626 or at https://tinyurl.com/ELB-0412288626
