‘Sad moments ahead’: Kew Gardens to fell rare trees in race to save Victorian greenhouse

Horticulturalists begin moving and propagating plants before the rusty and warped Palm House begins renovation – but some are too tall to save

It will be a gut-wrenching moment for the horticulturalists at Kew Gardens when some of the magnificent trees in the Palm House have to be felled.

“There are some sad moments ahead,” said Palm House manager, Will Spoelstra, who knows all the plants inside the cathedral-like greenhouse.

But moving some of the 1,000 plants – and sacrificing others – is crucial as the botanists and horticulturalists at the world’s biggest plant collection, based in south-west London , race against time to renovate the Victorian-era glasshouse.

The ornate ironwork is rusted and the 16,000 panes of glass it is comprised of are warped and damaged, making it difficult to maintain the hot, humid conditions its rare plants need. Some plants grown within are critically endangered, and in some cases, Kew holds the only specimens.

“It is an exciting project,” Spoelstra says, “but we are going to lose some really nice specimens.” The giant palm trees whose fronds grow right to the roof of the building are not exactly portable, so will have to be felled.

His team have already begun emptying out the beds around the Palm House, which will remain open throughout the renovation project, scheduled to start in 2027 subject to funds being raised in time. “It’s a shame to see the empty beds. Sometimes, I go to where one of my favourite plants was and realise it’s gone!,” Spoelstra says.

The plants have been moved to a behind-the-scenes greenhouse, the tropical nursery, where they can get used to the conditions there before moving back into a renovated greenhouse. “Most plants will sulk for a bit when they’re moved,” he said.

Kew’s scientists are working to collect seeds and cuttings to propagate new plants to fill the greenhouse. The tropical nursery currently looks like the Palm House in miniature, filled with saplings of the majestic trees they descend from.

The project has also given Kew’s workers an opportunity to do some groundbreaking conservation work. One of the trees that cannot be moved and needs to be cut down due to its size is the Ravenea Moorei , native to the Comoros islands near Madagascar. Scientists were concerned as it was thought to be the only one of its kind. Kew’s specimen is male and cannot produce seed without a female.

The researchers went on an expedition to the Comoros in the hope of finding a wild population – and succeeded. Due to its success, the specimen in the greenhouse could be propagated, and there are now 10 young plants in the tropical nursery. Kew will also be helping the scientists in the Comoros protect and enhance the wild population.

Some plants will be very perilous to move. The Aiphanes eggersii is covered in large spikes. Spoelstra says: “We are concerned about cutting ourselves on those spikes when we move it, we will have to wrap it well.” But staff at Kew are also excited that they have sown seeds from it for the first time successfully.

Kew has enlisted specialist movers who work with rare and fragile works of art to help relocate specimens including the Eastern Cape giant cycad, which is the oldest pot plant in the world and has been growing at Kew since 1775. Though it is propped up by supports, it is still going strong and sprouting new shoots.

The chance to propagate so many of the plants has exciting implications for conservation. Tom Pickering, the head of glasshouses at Kew, said: “We can play a major part in conserving plants in the wild. We are thrilled by that, and we think translocation to the wild of our plants will play an even bigger role in the future.”

These plants include the constantly flowering Ramosmania rodriguesii , which Kew successfully cultivated from cuttings taken from its single surviving tree in Rodrigues, Mauritius. Pickering proudly points out young specimens in the tropical nursery which have been successfully propagated. Trees grown at Kew have now been translocated back into the wild. “That was amazingly satisfying,” he says. “We can’t just be a repository of exotic plants, I hope that this can work as a blueprint in horticulture, bringing plants back, and working with partners all over the world.”

Kew will be starting a fundraising drive this October to “save London’s rainforest”, but if it all goes to plan the renovation will last for about 50 years. This means the seeds and young plants Pickering is tending in the nursery will be in the Palm House for decades. “It’s nice to think that these plants will be thriving for decades to come, maybe when I am not here any more,” he said.

The project has already helped save some plants from extinction in the wild. Pickering said: “Thinking that these plants can become abundant again, there is such a big feeling of hope.”