Sept 2012. The implementation of translocation work for Twinflower in the Park continues with planting at a new trial site in Dell Woods near Nethy Bridge on Strathspey.

This trial follows a pilot at the Crannach Reserve on Deeside [ read more here ] and is soon to be joined by another at Culstank Moss, also near Nethy Bridge, where planting will take place during October 2012. These trials are the first three in a wider programme of translocation work for Twinflower being implemented by the Cairngorms Rare Plants Project in collaboration with land owners in the Park. Planting at additional sites, including Glen Tanar, Mar Lodge, Rothiemurchus, Inshriach and Invereshie, and Abernethy Forest, will take place during the 2013 season.

In preparation for this work, cuttings have been collected from 40 different Twinflower patches on Deeside and Strathspey over the course of the 2011 and 2012 field seasons. This has been a considerable task, owing largely to the fact that many remaining Twinflower populations in Scotland occur in remote sites often requiring a long and challenging trip to reach them. The cuttings, approximately 1200 in total, are being grown on in cultivation until they have well-developed root systems and are of sufficient size for planting out.