Thanks for your replies. You've given me plenty to think about. In my
experience silver birch roots seem to grow quite near the top of the surface
of the soil. We did have one in a previous garden and we found the
encroaching roots to be a problem in near-by flower borders.
However the idea of planting in the ground and pruning seems a good one as
it would get over the problem of watering.
Maybe we should buy another tree and try both methods!
By the way, can't help noticing the relevance of our names. Any advance on
Hazell or Wood.....?
--
Sue Wood, Derby, England.
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Sorry if this is a pain.
"Hazell B" wrote in message
s.com...
We grow Birch trees, but as they have been only going for a quid or two
at the sales I have kept most of last year's sellable ones in pots for
another year. Mine are in old buckets at the moment, about 15L in size,
and most of them are between 5 and 7 foot tall.
Even much larger ones have done well in 15L pots, but they never look
as good as the same sized ones we have growing in our hedgerows.
What I would suggest for you is to plant it out in the garden and prune
away to your hearts content each winter - you will easily stunt the
growth yet still have a gorgous, twisted, open canopy that can be
basically any size you wish.
Having seen the ones at Hickstead showjumping arena, I have been
lopping branches off out 8 foot tall birches for the past two winters
to keep them bonsai style, all twisted and easy to look at the view
through. It works well. They may eventually grow to 20 or so feet, but
that'll take years and they look fantastic in the mean time. The bark
at this time of year is to die for!
I keep reading that they lose sap if pruned, but haven't found this a
problem. They are also host to about 350 insects, which is a good
thing. We feed them with a 6 inch layer of rotted horse muck each
winter, but they really don't need it.
In the pots they dry out too quickly, even plunged in soil, and blow
about a good deal.
Hope this helps. Birches are a favourite of mine.
--
Hazell B
I'm thinking of starting a lawn laying business and calling it Sodding
Perfection
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