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The drought

The Chilean Wine Palm and the squirrel in the Temperate House

Tree shopping in Italy

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BBC's 'A Year at Kew'

Episode 6

The drought

The world famous collection of 14000 trees at Kew is under threat from one of the worst droughts (2003) for a number of years. Ray Townsend needs more hoses to save the worst hit trees and goes to Nigel Taylor, Kew’s Head of Horticulture, to see if he can get emergency funding. And it’s not just the trees which are suffering. Emma Fox, in the Palm House, is struggling to keep her precious plants from wilting.

The Chilean wine palm and the squirrel
in the Temperate House

The Chilean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis) in the Temperate House is the largest palm growing under glass in the world. It's almost touching the roof so its days must be numbered but it is currently under threat from a thief, rumoured to be a grey squirrel, which is eating the seeds and damaging the branches. The Tree Gang are called to the rescue.

Tree shopping in Italy

Tony Kirkham, head of the Arboricultural Unit, heads to Italy, home to some of the largest nurseries in Europe, on the lookout for matching pairs of drought resistant trees for Kew’s vistas, better suited to the changing climate.

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If you've still got questions posed by the BBC series check out the extensive online Frequently Asked Questions

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