Conkers in Decline

Who doesn't have fond youthful memories of conkers hanging from shoe laces smashed against an opponent's until one breaks. Even though our neighbourhood has lots of trees the Horse Chestnut is quite rare in Johnstown. Originating from the Balkans 'Aesculus hippocastanum' has long been naturalised in Ireland so it will come as a shock to discover that these trees could be wiped out within a generation.

Disease

The forest service of the Department of Agriculture says that 'Bleeding Canker' is is increasingly common in Ireland killing horse chestnuts in significant numbers. Having wiped out 50,000 trees in the UK (stated in 2016) the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv aesculi is widespread and attacks the tree bark causing it to bleed a dark sticky fluid. Sweeping silently through Europe since the early 2000's Phoenix Park identified one of their first cases of the disease in 2010.

To a slightly lesser extent Leaf Blotch is also common and causes browning of the leaves, especially during years with wet springs, which stunts growth particularly in young trees.

Pests

The leaf miner moth is an invasive species whose caterpillars feed inside leaves causing brown or white blotch mines to develop between the leaf veins causing the tree to drop its leaves much earlier and conker sizes are reduced. It's environmentally undesirable and impractical to spray pesticide on a large tree and there's no suitable pesticide treatments available for home gardeners.

To a lesser extent the horse chestnut scale is an annual pest which a has been attacking horse chestnuts since the 60's.

Proactive Local Family

To retaliate against the dramatic decline of the trees a local family decided to collect and plant not just one but fifty conkers last season. One year later the Shanley-Brookes family offered these small potted saplings for free to anyone who would plant and grow them on. Although each tree is still at risk it's hoped that by increasing their numbers in our neighbourhood will result in there being more chance of survival.

Don't Eat Conkers

'Aescin' is the main active ingredient which is extremely toxic and poisonous. Reported to have a bitter taste they are definitely not the same as the sweet chestnuts which you can roast over an open fire at Christmas time. Once prepared the tree bark and fruits do offer medicinal treatments for blood flow, hemorrhoids, and to reduce swelling.

Tree Mapping

Recently Johnstown Tidy Towns began recording the trees in our neighbourhood to capture a base line of what we host. You can help here and the survey will last several months and hopefully spread across Ireland.

Early Johnstown indications suggest that the mighty Horse Chestnuts are few and far between. Their not favoured by estate developers compared to ash, lime or rowan trees and if we want to host and preserve a diversity of wildlife we need a wide variety of trees.

A baseline record will help challenge Planners and Developers on their landscaping plans.