[SeanOChuinn]

Thanks Greengage, yeah that's the ones, I guess I'll see as the spring\summer progresses but do they blossom at all? Or as the name suggest just remain...well ever green?!

[Greengage]

you will have to get off the bus and have a closer look near the end of the month.

[Good guy]

A lovely specimen tree for a big space. There used to be a very old one on the outskirts of town, here. Sadly, it fell victim to the Tiger - now there's a roundabout!

[phelim_d]

Hi there
just a quick reply- not sure if this was mentioned above.
On my site (not as nice as yours!) I chose native trees that attracted wildlife.
Look up the preference of native vs non native. Basically and alder or willow or oak will attract like 200 insect types, where as something like a Californian pine or even something naturalized like a sycame will be 10 or 20.
The impact is that the natives support a lot more bird life etc. your trees can become an oasis for birds.
I now have so many species of bird I never saw before coming to feed- the willows and alders are loved.

Alders grow very fast. up to 1m a year. Birch too.

And if buying in bulk- go to nurseries and ask for native stock. I use none so hardy in Wicklow...

Best of luck... good to see people setting more trees

[Greengage]

How do you know all the native trees purchased in Nurseries are native and indigenous to Ireland and not brought in in Bulk from both Holland, Germany and Hungry or further afield. Also where is the scientific evidence that they attract more insects or that they are beneficial. I see in last weekends Irish paper they had the old turkey of bees becoming extinct what bees and where is the proof how many do you need to have for them to be endangered. I am still counting and now know of 14 million Honey bees. The only danger to them is bee keepers and while I am on this There is no such thing as a native Irish honey bee (Apis millifera millifera)
It is a northern European honey bee and neither native or indigenous to Ireland.

[Blowin]

Surely, GG, any ecosystem (posh word that) will revolve around what's there? So, if alder and birch are predominant tree species, insects that like them will prosper and, quid pro quo, birds that feed on those insects or on the trees themselves will gravitate towards them and also prosper.

Any resourceful individual who wants to ensure he or she has actual native stock will only have to take cuttings off those in the area?

[Greengage]

I was asking were native stock available from Nurseries actually native to Ireland, Stock imported from eastern European countries usually flowers earlier than our native stock which can have an effect on hibernating insects or nesting birds as a there is no food source when they emerge or else birds miss the hatch of insects, It can be very complicated to have a balanced ecosystem. of course anyone can grow their own stock but not every wants to wait or has the skill set.

[Sue Deacon]

While I would agree that non native species of plants usually have little to offer our native fauna, nature is very adaptive. Otherwise how would species survive our unreliable climate. I am not talking 'Climate Change', just variations from year to year.

Our apple trees were three weeks late flowering last year. The little winter cherry normally flowers in February, this year it started at the end of March - six weeks late. The hellebores, normally flowering here from mid-March, have been in flower since January!

My friends in Southern Spain have some grey Poplar on their land. They have beautiful Autumn colour and some years back I took some 6" cuttings to try at home. We have the 'same' tree here. But it grows as a wider tree, (much like the Irish Yew is a narrower tree than the English Yew). Yet my 'Spanish' Poplars grow in sinc with the local ones.

[phelim_d]

I think we are going off topic here.
If someone wants to know if something is native vs non native, ask for certified provinence.