planting silver birch

eoin.d

I have a large garden of nearly 1 acre and want to plant around 10 silver birch along a fence beside a road.
One garden centre I called to said wait until November and plant bare root trees as it would cost less and the trees would need less care.
But a second garden said they have 10 foot potted trees and I would be better with them and I could sow now.
Which should I go with, I have very little gardening know how. Thanks

secman

They are quick growing tree's, I planted about a dozen or so along a side of our site, they were mere twigs about 10 years ago, fully grown about 30 foot now. Only took about 3 to 4 years to look like trees.

magicbastarder

you'll pay less than one tenth the price for bare root, rather than the potted ones. the bare root will establish quicker too.
if you want instant impact, go with the second garden centre. but how much are they charging, 30 quid a tree?
but in five years time you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference probably.
bare root should cost a couple of euro each.

gk5000

eoin.d wrote: »

I have a large garden of nearly 1 acre and want to plant around 10 silver birch along a fence beside a road.
One garden centre I called to said wait until November and plant bare root trees as it would cost less and the trees would need less care.
But a second garden said they have 10 foot potted trees and I would be better with them and I could sow now.
Which should I go with, I have very little gardening know how. Thanks

Bare root is always cheaper because its easier to handle/ship so its what I would go with - and you can also order them online.


Are the others really 10 x 10 foot, because that's too big for a pot...and if was in a pot would either be pot-bound(bad) or you'd need a JCB to plant.

eoin.d

Thanks for replies everyone.
Magicbastarder yes 30 each for the potted tree. Who does them online and any advantage over going to local garden centre? Would bare root be only planted from November on and what height would they be.
Gk5000 he said 10 foot tall but mustn't be very wide because he said I would fit all 10 trees in a car trailer no problem.
I also wanted to sow a few apple trees would these be the same?
Thanks

looksee

I bought a himalayan silver birch, about 8 or 9 ft, lovely tree, and planted it. A couple of years later I bought a 4 to 5ft silver birch from lidl and planted it nearby (It was supposed to be weeping but it was just an ordinary tree with its branches tied down. When I came to my senses I realised how ridiculous it looked and 'freed' it). Anyway within a few years they were the same size and very similar in appearance, though in fairness the himalayan was a nicer tree.

Get the bare root later in the year and make sure they are well supported for the first couple of seasons. You could go to somewhere like Future Forests or Johnstown Garden Centre to buy online, not sure if they do bare root silver birches though, if at all possible I would go and supervise what I was buying.

magicbastarder

looksee wrote: »

Get the bare root later in the year and make sure they are well supported for the first couple of seasons.

also worth noting - the bare root trees will be smaller - probably about 1m tall. but they'll need less staking - their roots will establish more quickly (they won't be wrapped up in circles in a 5l or 10l pot) and they won't act as a sail in the same way a 10 foot tall tree will.

eoin.d

I will wait until November and get bare root silver birch so. Does the same advice apply to Apple trees?

gk5000

eoin.d wrote: »

I will wait until November and get bare root silver birch so. Does the same advice apply to Apple trees?

Yes, have a look at https://futureforests.ie/ or any other online place. They have everything (or shall have). Just got my first crop of pears from some bareroots I got from them a few years ago.

Probably worth reading up on varieties and sizes.

I planted Apples on MM106, Pears on Quince A, Plums on St Julian A, Cherry on Gisela. These are suitable for large gardens/orchards growing 10/12 foot high and should be hardier and more productive than dwarf varieties - but read up and check this kind of thing yourself.

Also, consider a few hazelnuts/cobnuts.

eoin.d

Im trying to decide on 10 bareroot trees, Is there much of a difference between silver birch, paper birch and Himalayan birch?

gozunda

eoin.d wrote: »

Im trying to decide on 10 bareroot trees, Is there much of a difference between silver birch, paper birch and Himalayan birch?

In my experience- apart from some difference in bark colur and some small variations in appearance- there's not a lot tbh.

All have bark which peels away to reveal lighter colours underneath. The silver birch is the most vigorous of the three imo. You could plant a selection if that suits the site.

Lumen

Silver birch is native and so better.

Some sources say paper birch is bigger than the other two, probably too big eventually so you'd need greater spacing which would detract from the planting.

Also I think Himalayan might be a bit much in a row, they look best as solo trees IMO.

I've a lovely row of birch along a fence near me, I'll try and get a pic.

eoin.d

Yes I will definitely sow some native silver birch. Just wondered about either of the other two aswell for something different or would they be too similar that you wouldn't notice much difference

standardg60

Imo if you're planting them all in a row I would stick with a single species as they'll have different growth rates so would look a bit uneven.

Personally i would go for the Himalayan birch ( 'jacquemontii') as they are tidy and look stunning in winter as opposed to the common one.
The similar paper birch ( papyrifera) is larger growing and wouldn't be as widely available.

looksee

Not familiar with paper birch, but I had a himalayan and a silver birch beside each other and the himalayan had the edge in appearance. However there was really very little difference and in quantity I don't think it would be worth going for other than the silver birch. I would not mix them. Silver birch look best in groups, I think, would you plant them in little groups of two and three rather than just a straight row?

Lumen

Here are some beech planted casually at the side of the road. I like them. Not the best time of the year to photograph them, mind.

Spacing is random, mostly less than 2m.

magicbastarder

Lumen wrote: »

Here are some beech planted casually at the side of the road.

birch!

Lumen

magicbastarder wrote: »

birch!

LOL, it was a tough day!

eoin.d

Looksee I thought I would plant in a row as I have a timber rail fence 100 yards long at front of house I thought it might look better. Maybe not, maybe a couple of small groups may look better. Lumen those trees look great and not been in a row look much better than I thought it would. Thanks

looksee

That's pretty much what I meant, they do look nice.

macraignil

eoin.d wrote: »

Looksee I thought I would plant in a row as I have a timber rail fence 100 yards long at front of house I thought it might look better. Maybe not, maybe a couple of small groups may look better. Lumen those trees look great and not been in a row look much better than I thought it would. Thanks

I pass a row of evenly spaced silver birch on the way home from work. They are fairly mature large trees but some have developed a growth form that is a bit contorted or to put it more simply not completely straight. While this would be fine with trees that are more naturally arranged, because the effort of planting them in an evenly spaced row has been disrupted by uneven growth it kind of looks wrong. They have been planted at an equal distance but because of natural variation in the way the trees have matured it looks uneven.



It's probably a matter of taste but I would think a more naturalistic irregular planting of trees could make a better overall impact easier. If you are not sticking to an even row you could also mix the varieties a bit to add more diversity and interest to the arrangement.