dead silver birch

aine · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:38 pm Post subject: dead silver birch

just looking for advice please
i sowed silver birch earlier this year (march). they were bare rooted. i sowed them in an area that is quite wet and marshy as i thought that they would grow there. 5 of them grew for a while and are now all dead!! some of them are still growing
when planting i added seamungus fertiliser and sowed them properly

what conditions do silver birch require?

gardenman · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Posts: 33

Hi Aine,

It depends on which type of Birch it was exactly. If it was a true silver birch (Betula pendula), it prefers drier soils.
Betula pubescens or the 'Common White Birch' will do well in damp locations.

To tell the difference: B. pendula has warty young shoots with diamond shaped leaves.
B. Pubescens has a more reddish bark with downy young shoots and more rounded leaves.

Even B. pubescens won't thrive if the ground is waterlogged all the time and would do best if there were cycles of drier periods interspersed with very damp.

aine · Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:58 am Post subject:

thanks gardenman....they are betula pendula

i wonder what could i plant there tht would survive. alder? or willow, would you recommend either or anything else
thanks

James Kilkelly · Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:10 pm Post subject:

How wet is wet aine?
Would there be pores in the soil for air to travel through or would that those pores be filled with water.

gardenman · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 04 Aug 2011 Posts: 33

If it is as wet as it seems,

Alnus incana would be the best option of the Alders, A. cordata tends to rot in very wet soil.
A. glutinosa doesn't like acid soils too much so if it is peaty it may not suit.

Of the willows, Salix alba and it's varieties like damp ground and would suit best.

If rushe's are growing on it, Betula pubescens and Alnus incan are the best options.

tippben · Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:13 pm Post subject:

If you really want birches, maybe try Betula nigra, aka the river or red birch. Poplars do well in damp conditions, my favourites are Populus tremula, the Aspen, because of the way they are always "trembling" even on a very still day, and Populus alba, the white poplar, for the flash of white from the underside of the leaves.

aine · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 4:05 pm Post subject:

aine · Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:50 pm Post subject:

plans for this Spring are to get the wet area of my garden sorted.

going to take your advice and plant up salix alba, alnus incan and some of the birch more suited to the area
i'm also goign to get some of the poplars

thanks, as ever, everybody!!

Greengage · Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:01 pm Post subject:

A lot of questions ned to be asked, If you planted bare rooted Birch, were they of good quality and properly cared for before being lifted. They should have a good fiberous root system and needed to be undercut in the nursery every year to build up this root system, When lifted and before dispatch to the customer they should have been heeled in to prevent the roots from drying out also and damaged roots especially the anchor roots need to be cut cleanly
When they were planted the need lots of TLC, prevent from drying out pre planting, staking and planted to the proper depth.
If you planted them in waterlogged soil i'am afraid there dead. Drowned, they may have produced leaves in a last attempt to survive.