Tree inoculations – the fight against elm disease

Work to tackle the spread of elm disease across Brighton & Hove will continue next month with the start of our annual tree inoculation programme.

Around 1400 elm trees in the city will be injected with an organic, non-toxic control agent designed to protect them against the disease for a year.

Now in its third year, we’ll be expanding the programme to include more trees within our parks.

The inoculation programme will take around 2 weeks and is scheduled to start at the beginning of May.

How treatment works

The elm trees are injected with a biological vaccine called DutchTrig. This contains a type of fungus that induces a defensive response to elm disease, which is spread by the elm bark beetle. Unfortunately, it can’t prevent the spread through root transmission.

The vaccine is non-toxic, contains no synthetic chemicals and has no effect on people or animals.

Treatment areas

Areas for inoculation are chosen based on the concentration of elms, those with mature elms or have trees with historical significance.

Areas treated annually since 2023:

  • Old Steine
  • Pavilion Gardens
  • Victoria Gardens
  • Valley Gardens
  • The Level
  • Preston Park (including the Preston Twin)
  • Rock Gardens
  • Saltdean Vale
  • Portslade Cemetery
  • Elm Grove
  • Carden Hill
  • Shirley Drive
  • Ditchling Road
  • Dyke Road

Additional treatment areas for 2025:

  • Queen’s Park
  • Hove Park
  • Hove Rec
  • St Ann’s Well Gardens
  • Saunders Park
  • Blakers Park
  • Wish Park

Tackling elm disease across the city

The inoculation programme is just part of the work we do to protect the city’s historic elm collection.

Our Arboriculture team carries out regular inspections, sometimes using drones, to look for signs of elm disease around the city.

Unfortunately, if confirmed, this can sometimes mean that we have to fell trees to prevent further spread. However, felling is only ever done as a last resort.

We ask our residents to help us in the fight against elm disease by not buying or bringing in logs for winter fuel/firewood if the supplier cannot guarantee that the wood isn't elm.

Find out more about our work to tackle elm disease in Brighton & Hove and how you could help.

An ongoing battle against elm disease

Councillor Alan Robins, Cabinet member responsible for trees, said: “We face an ongoing battle against elm disease in Brighton & Hove. Inoculating hundreds of trees will help to protect them for another year.

“We carefully select important areas of the city where we know inoculations will have the greatest effect – especially when it comes to protecting some of the older and historically significant elms we have.

“Brighton & Hove is blessed with a beautiful collection of elms – and it’s vital we do everything we can to try and safeguard their future.”

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