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Press, 22 February 1978, Page 10

These two sickly lime trees in Cathedral Square are still not back in health in spite of a special irrigation and feeding system installed last year. However, the Christchurch City Council’s tree expert considers that they still stand a good chance of a full recovery. In a reply to questions

from Dr Helen Hervey, chairman of the Environmental Vanguard Organisation, the Town Clerk (Mr J. H. Gray) said that one tree had shown an improvement since last year, according to a special report, both trees — between the Cathedral and the Godley Statue — might have been much worse had they not been helped by the new trickle-irrigation system. The trees are fed and

watered once a week, with enough water each time to flood the riverbed gravel which forms a base for the Square’s tile surface. “The recovery rate of big trees affected in this manner is always slow,” said Mr Gray.

The remedy was a matter of experimenting in effective feeding techniques, equipment, and fertilisers, about which there was little applicable information.