anneke vrieling asked 14 years ago
Is it possible to create a natural woodland floor – e.g. wood anemone, bluebells, wild garlic, primrose etc etc – in an (acidic?) site that was pure bracken and understorey of mature larches? If so, how? I guess the thick layer of larch needles + dead bracken leaves makes it very hard for anything else to grow. yet I’d love to make this area more attractive to people and insects/birds.
1 Answers
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
Trees overhead will tend to dominate the ground layer plants. If you want these to develop, there needs to be enough light getting in. This might mean the pruning up of some of the trees to admit light for a few hours each day, and/or the removal of some trees to thin out the canopy.
Larch likes dry ground and it can be difficult for ground layer plants to get going. Keep the bracken under control and adjust the canopy as suggested. This will happen naturally as the trees get older in any case.
