RBGE – seedlings to tallest trees

THE TINIEST SEEDLINGS to the TALLEST TREES

Suzie Huggins from Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens, explains the preservation of Scotland’s Living Collection.

At over eight metres tall and several tonnes in weight, Trachycarpus princeps isn’t the daintiest of botanical specimens.

Nonetheless, the palm, a rarity in cultivation and, therefore, one of the most important trees at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), is about to be transplanted as part of the Garden’s Edinburgh Biomes project.

The project, perhaps the most visionary in the Garden’s 351-year history, will see the much-needed restoration of the iconic Victorian Palm Houses, 1960’s Front Range and behind-the-scenes research Glasshouses.

To enable the refurbishment to begin, earlier this year, the Garden’s team of dedicated horticulturists began the delicate process of decanting an incredible forty thousand plants from in and around the Glasshouses.

After years of careful planning and consideration of each species’ growing habits, size and temperament, thousands of plants including gingers, orchids and cacti were gently removed from the Glasshouses and transported to new homes at the Garden’s Nursery site. Although some plants were too large to move, a successful programme of propagation will ensure their legacy through their progeny.

Focus is now on the removal of large palm trees from the Victorian Temperate Palm House. Ranging from the three-metre tall clumping palm Chamaerops humilis to the towering Trachycarpus princeps, each tree will be dug out carefully by hand then raised from the ground using a system of ropes and A-frames. Laid horizontally, they will be decanted to the Temperate Lands Glasshouse where they will remain throughout the Edinburgh Biomes project.

Construction on the project will begin in Autumn 2021 with the restoration of the Glasshouses and the creation of new facilities at the Nursery site. An energy centre will help to significantly reduce the organisation’s carbon emissions, while a new plant health suite will invest research into combatting the increasing numbers of plant pathogens in the environment. The final part of the project will see the creation of a stunning new Glasshouse that will revitalise the entire Glasshouse Experience.

While the Garden has undertaken the large scale decant of plants in the past, it has never before moved so many species in such a tight time frame. It is a testament to how vitally important this project is to the preservation of Scotland’s Living Collection.

Suzie Huggins Communications Manager Edinburgh Biomes Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, www.rbge.org.uk