TCTOP – Piece Orchard

This orchard is known as Piece Orchard, for reasons as yet unknown! It sits on extremely flat, often damp, ground, next to the River Severn. It was probably the home orchard for the farm which sits above it – well clear of the flood plain.

The orchard still has a good number of old trees although many are in poor condition. Mistletoe is a problem here – as it is throughout the Three Counties – and many of the trees carry a heavy  load. Mistletoe is a killer of fruit trees –  the laden branches catch the wind and trees blow over.

Piece Orchard was the setting for a TCTOP mistletoe course in the Spring. The weather wasn’t kind but our hardy volunteers learnt all about this amazing plant and then put their knowledge to use in the orchard, clearing the trees.

This Autumn volunteers will begin gapping up the orchard, using trees provided by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. We’ll be using traditional, local varieties, providing the new trees which will take this orchard into the future.