choosing alders

countrywoman

am planning ahead at the minute...for bare root season

area at back is very wet. i posted about it here before. decided to embrace the conditions rather than work against them (after much head scratching, and many plant/tree deaths!!)

sowed silver birch, downy birch and river birch in the area last year (spring) and all of them have died!!

have decided to try alder this year, even though i don't think they are the most attractive tree

just looking for recommendations- alnus incana (grey alder) or alnus glutinosa(common alder), alnus cornata (italian alder)

i need something that will actually grow

magicbastarder

alder prefer flowing water to standing water. have you considered willow?

Qwerty?

We have Glutinosa and Cornata, and both doing very well in poor wet soil. I actually think they are both attract trees. I would also suggest willow, its also doing very well on our site.

lottpaul

I think in your situation willow might be best. Cornus will also do well.

When we planted our garden - average soil but high annual rainfall - we mixed alders and willow on our perimeter with an inner belt of pines and olearia etc.

They have provided an excellent windbreak and need next to no care and have stood up well in our very windy and wet area.
However as the alders grew they crowded out the willows and have managed to kill most of them.
They also tend to drop their lower branches as they age so to maintain the windbreak we have had to underplant with holly, olearia, privet, etc etc.

Oldtree

alder can take water around its roots for up to six months of the year and would be ideal for a wet site. I have cordata and glutinosa both growing very well, as are a number of willows.

What exactly are you trying to achieve?

countrywoman

thanks for all the replies

i was looking online at the place where i was going to buy the alders (glutinosa, and incana). it states that they grow approx 35 foot high


oldtree- i am trying to achieve a boundary hedge type of effect. i have planted cornus (the red ones), interspersed with willow. i want some trees for height, but as i mentioned my attempts at growing birch failed!!

i really dont want trees of 35ft high overshadowing the house though

planetX

I prefer the look of willows to alders - and if they get too big you can just cut them down and they'll start again. Avoid the Italian alder, IMO a horrible looking tree.

Oldtree

Dare I say I like alder and have both the grey and italian in the garden as a hedge. I would be suprised if they stopped at 25 foot as i have seen an old one in the UK that was very high.

The catkins are a lovely feature with the grey having purple ones and the italian having an orange tinge. Alder functions very well as a hedge for privacy if maintained correctly, and regrows very well from cuts and from the stump. It leaves up early and is just starting to go now so you get a good run of the privacy. It also sets nitrogen in the soil. It can take water around its roots for up to 6 months of the year. The bark on these trees looks old very quickly. They make excellent wind breaks and are used around orchards in the UK now.

The only problem with it is that the aphids love it too and so these is a lot sugary sap expelled and any car nearby will get covered. Roots could also be a problem if planted too close to a building.

have lots of willow in the garden too.