Red Lammas growth on Oak tree, which occurs in June/July. Named after the Christian festival of Loaf-Mass which occurred on August 1st.
Red Lammas growth on Oak tree, which occurs in June/July. Named after the Christian festival of Loaf-Mass which occurred on August 1st.
Any cutting of Oaks for pollarding or coppicing should be done before 1st August, any later and the new growth may not harden before Autumn and early frosts.
I don’t think anyone should be pollarding in June. Lamas growth is from buds formed in spring. Regrowth from the trunk is a different thing entirely. Caused by light in spring on
Always interesting posts Philip. I’d not heard of Lammas growth. The Know Lammas bread as Elven bread from the Lord of the Rings
As with many Christian festivals the roots are probably pre-christian being based on the annual cycle.
Yes always interesting the derivation of words. It is a term often used when cutting Oak trees but not other species. Oak can go through a number of rest and growth phases in the season, the last one of which is called Lammas growth. When cutting pollards or coppice, advantage is taken of this vigorous growth. If the cutting is done after 1st August (Lammas) the new shoots may not harden before Autumn and can often die back or get frosted. So an important traditional warning for woodcutters. Do it now or lose it.
In contrast, Horse Chestnut only puts on growth until the flowers arrive early Summer, then growth is nil for remainder of the year.
Lammas growth is not restricted to oaks. So far, I have found it on alder, ash, aspen, beech, field maple, grey alder, hawthorn, hazel, holly, London plane, Norway maple, rowan, sycamore, white poplar, and wild cherry.