[blagadan]

Hi folks, some of you might remember the border I planted with silver birch.. I am concerned I may have chosen the wrong species for the border and need some opinions... I'll put up a bunch of pics (photos speaking louder than words)

Plan of the property... The border is the crescent shaped border bottom right side of the house.


The bungalow and border from a distance.


The border up close. (retaining walls and piers "work in progress", apologies for untidiness)


Another pic behind the border.


Theres about 200 silver birch (petula bendula) that are planted roughly 2 years now and the tallest of which are about 7ft. Reading a gardening book recently I read that petula bendula can reach 30 mtrs? I worry about my choice regarding the height they could reach and potential root problems. We wanted the height to achieve a shelter belt effect and we like the bark of the silver birch, but I had more 20-30ft height in mind..
Have I made a classic boo boo?

Options, transplant the sb to the fenceline and plant the border with smaller trees and shrubs? What do you think?

[Sive]

Hi there, I'm no expert, but love sun and light, and instinctively feel you will lose both quite badly in the summer in a few years with the trees planted quite so close to the house.....too bad, it looks so lovely now in the photos. I'm sure you could transplant most in the winter if they are only in the bed for 2 years , and maybe retain a small group of them as a feature at the northern end of the bed, and replant with shorter trees/shrubs elsewhere.
I doubt there's a gardener anywhere that hasn't underestimated the final size of plants! Good luck!

[Dr. Sunny Thomson]

First off, GOD ALMIGHTY, that lawn, do you work on the old trafford pitch as well. I am in awe.
Secondly, the birchs which was the original question. I would thin them out as many foresters do, leaving a few (3,5) select speciman. The few left will still allow plenty of light from the south in as they are just birchs with light leaves. If you have the space to transplant then thin out by transplanting. By the looks of old trafford you have space to spare.
You can also limit the height of the birch by topping if the get too high. The extreme heights quoted are often at the upper end of the scale.

[cooler]

You will only tend to have root problems with birch when they are not getting good amounts of water as their roots spread in search of it. You should have no problem here in Ireland except for a dry summer when you can water well. Also if I was a birch and had a choice of trying to break through a wall with my roots or send them out into the good soil of the lawn, then there would be only one winner. leave a few and transplant the rest would be what I would do blagadan.