22/04/2026
We’ve got a tree in a pot. It is a witch hazel, and it is my eldest daughter’s tree because when the flowers bloom around the time of her birthday, they look like flames - just as her hair did when she was little.
Last autumn when we moved house we took the tree with us.
What we didn't know was that one of its roots had grown through a drainage hole. It was well and truly anchored into the earth below, so when we wrenched it up we snapped the root. It then sat in a sunny and windy spot so different from its last location. I felt awful and I worried it wouldn't survive.
It was only much later that I learned what this means for the tree and its life story.
Every root system feeds a particular part of the tree. So if a root dies or gets snapped off, the correlating branches won’t get the nutrients they need, so they die. We can see this happening with our witch hazel - some of the branches are dead while others have buds beginning to leaf.
Roots can die for many reasons - moving & damaging them, being damaged by chemicals, or a lack of nutrients or water, sometimes pests and disease. But what happens as the years go by?
The tree will keep on growing. New life will grow around the dead parts, surrounding, protecting and replacing the parts of the tree that no longer work. New limbs grow as new roots replace old ones.
For many trees, some damaged roots and dead branches can be a truly wonderful thing! The dead parts create habitat for new life - for plants, fungi, and animals. Losing some of the tree’s rootedness is ultimately what makes it stronger too as hollow parts give structural strength to the tree as it ages.
For some trees, the things that were unarguably traumatic will turn out to be essential chapters in its journey towards strength, resilience, and interdependence with the world and the creatures in it.
