Plant apocalypse: how new diseases are destroying EU trees and crops
From ancient olive groves to root vegetables, foreign pests introduced via the bloc’s open import system are causing damage worth billions – and outbreaks are on the rise
December 2022
You grow girl: how Aretha, Nina and Dolly can help save the ash tree
Seeds harvested from disease resistant trees – and named after vintage music divas – could beat dieback
October 2022
‘A tragedy for trees’: ash dieback ravages UK’s fragile woodlands
Only 5% of species now expected to survive as disease hits harder than first thought and prevention costs mount
December 2021
The Guardian view on ash dieback: a tiny chink of hope
National Trust to fell at least 30,000 trees hit by ash dieback
October 2020
40,000 trees face felling by National Trust after surge in ash dieback
Woods that inspired Beatrix Potter and John Constable in danger after hot, dry spring speeds up disease
June 2020
Country diary
Country diary: it’s still spring in the green underworld of the ash trees
Bastow Wood, Upper Wharfedale: Bathed in lemon-and-lime light, this wild place has the feel of an artful garden
May 2020
Country diary
Country diary: ash dieback has begun to bite in this wood too
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: I have been dreading it – how many ash trees will survive? What trees will replace them?
October 2019
'Citizen army' needed to tackle invasive species, MPs suggest
Environmental committee says government funding ‘fails to match scale of threat’
August 2019
UK standards on biosecurity are second to none
Ash dieback is just the start of killer plagues threatening Britain’s trees
George Monbiot
May 2019
Ash dieback expected to cost British economy nearly £15bn
Biggest cost of tree disease will be loss of benefits such as clean air and water, study finds
September 2018
Country diary
Country diary: a shadow of ash dieback over Derbyshire's dales
Millers Dale, Derbyshire: Restoration work is under way on the north viaduct here; it may prove more difficult to repair the intricate web of life of which the area’s ash trees are part
March 2018
Epitaph for the Ash by Lisa Samson – review
Lisa Samson’s reflections on Britain’s dying ash trees at a time of her own illness is a remarkable labour of love
January 2017
Gin lovers relax as declining juniper saved in national seed project
Juniper threatened by fungus-like disease is first species to be fully collected in Kew’s Royal Botanic Gardens tree seed project
December 2016
British ash trees may resist dieback disease, research reveals
Ground-breaking genetic analysis shows native trees may be more resistant than Danish ones to the deadly fungus that has spread across Europe
November 2016
Country diary
Beetles stem elms' lofty wartime canopy
Country Diary: Riseley, Bedfordshire Nissen huts stored ammunition here, hidden by tall elms whose offspring are just bushes, cursed with perpetual youth
October 2016
Foreign invaders infiltrate Britain’s ancient woodlands
Trees are coming under attack from beetles and moths that are infesting imported timber
September 2016
Gardening blog
Ash dieback is unstoppable, but you can help by planting new trees
Julian Rollins
Ash dieback will leave millions of gaps in woods and hedges across Britain. It’s time to collect tree seed and get planting, writes Julian Rollins
August 2016
Plantwatch
Plagues and pests beset our trees
Plantwatch Burrowing larvae and pathogens causing blight are a growing hazard for many of the best-loved trees in the landscape