Kew is warmer by about 3 degrees Celsius than it was in the 1980s, putting much-loved British natives such as the English oak (Quercus robur) at risk, said Kevin Martin, head of tree collections at the gardens and a former tree surgeon.
A drought in 2022, when temperatures around the British capital reached a record 40 degrees Celsius, killed 400 of Kew’s trees, spurring the need to think about introducing more resilient species, said Martin, who will travel to Georgia in September to collect seeds to plant at Kew.
“It’s going to be vitally important, not only for our generation but for the next generation,” he said, standing beside a 124-year-old weeping beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Pendula’) in decline.
