There is no doubt that the mild temperature and plentiful rain of Fermanagh encourages tree growth. The broadest lime award was set to go to Crom Castle estate, but Florencecourt won by a sizeable margin. It is vast.
The Florencecourt lime is not far from the main entrance to the house and grounds, in the south-east of the estate.
The lime stands in solitary splendour on high ground, a massive irregular trunk with low branches and ‘buttresses’ making it hard to measure, but it is at least 37 feet around, the largest girth of any tree featured in this book.
This is probably an example of ‘bundle planting’,where on some estates several young saplings were planted together, eventually merging into one tree. Maybe these vast limes were created this way, but then again, maybe not….
At Crom, there are several large limes, the biggest stands with one other near the gate from the field with the old castle ruins and yew trees, on to the lane down to the visitor centre and cottages.