London Plane Trees

[beijingaling]

I really hope the hive mind can help me with this as I'm at my wits end. I can't find any information on line one way or the other (or it is all contradictory) and I've had similar responses from tree nurseries.

We have some newly planted this winter (June) London Plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) on our property in Australia. We're having massive droughts in our part of the country and the dam we usually use for watering is low and it's only the start of summer. We'll be lucky to get 2 months out of it. We're thinking of pumping water from our other dam. The salinity level is 2700ppm. To give this context below 2500 is considered safe for human consumption but good drinking water is below 800.

Does anyone know if this level of salinity would kill our london planes?

Really it's a choice between kill them with drought or with salt...

Only just found your thread, I fear that level of knowlege is beyond me (and most mumsnetters). If its not too late you could try asking the RHS (Royal Horticultural society).

RHS is a good bet - but you have to be a member. If you're not see if any of your friends/neighbours are and they can ask for you.

I think they'd be fine, think of the shitty places plane trees grow! Certainly water them rather than not.

Plane trees survive salted roads in London pretty well and grow as street trees in UK. They survive where salt is sprayed next to roads to stop winter freezing and often this salty snow is shovelled around them. You could test on a couple of trees at first then look up for signs of salt damage - dry brittle leaves and dieback. Hope that helps - one of our trees had canker once and it was heartbreaking watching it decline.