A last-ditch attempt is being made to save one of the most unusual and best-loved trees in Keswick.
The wedding cake tree — proper name cornus controversa variegata — is a familiar sight standing alone in a circular display in Hope Park, but it is suffering from severe root rot which has left it unstable and in danger of toppling over.
“You can literally rock it,” said parks manager Christine Fawcett, who added that three of the tree’s upper branches had also died off in a further sign of distress.
In her report to parks trustees, Ms Fawcett said drastic action was required now, otherwise the tree would die. This involved the top being reduced even though she admitted that unfortunately this would “spoil its character.”
She expressed concern that people would mistakenly think the tree had been damaged or vandalised, but stressed: “We are not doing it for the hell of it. We are trying to save this well-liked tree on behalf of the residents of the town who care so much about their parks.
“The tree is now leaning heavily to one side despite being staked back. To give it a chance of survival, I believe the best thing to do would be to remove the dead branches and reduce the height of the tree to reduce the upper weight before the winter storms.
“We are never going to stop the root rot but it (the tree) is showing signs of growth in the main trunk, so if we take the top off and reduce the weight, it will prevent it from toppling over.”
Her comments came during last week’s online meeting of the parks trustees.
When asked what were the chances of the tree survival plan being successful, she said “50-50”. However, there is no cost to the trust as the parks staff will carry out the work.
The tree gets its name from its distinctive tiers of branches, which resemble the layers of a traditional wedding cake.
The trust unanimously backed the survival plan, with chairman Adam Paxon saying: “There is no reason why we wouldn’t do this.”
Ms Fawcett’s report contained some rare good news resulting from coronavirus.
She explained: “Lockdown has benefited us in the park. We have had big hedges cut in two days which usually takes three weeks because of all the traffic and cars parked along there.”
Trustees also agreed to her request to spend more than £8,000 providing a new staff toilet facility in Upper Fitz Park and to replace the potting shed roof in Hope Park.
