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Sacha[_1_] · 25-09-2006, 10:13 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 25/9/06 18:22, in article
, "Old stoat"
wrote:

I'd like to plant a group of three birches, probably jacquemontii,
together, as I gather that they restrict each other's growth. Does
anyone know if they actually do that, and if so, by how much- a bit, a
lot or hardly at all?

Interesting one to which the answer is yes, they will restrict their growth
if planted closely. I say 'interesting', because I had a group of 5 planted
closely in a previous garden and I should guess they'd been in for about 10
or 12 years when I bought the house. They hadn't grown either very tall or
developed thick trunks. So when I read your question, I remembered these
and I asked Ray about this. He confirmed that if planted alone they grow
pretty quickly to tall trees and if planted in a group they remain smaller.
As to how much smaller, I think mine were probably about 15' but that's
going from memory of nearly 10 years ago. I may say that, IMO, it's an
extremely effective and attractive way of planting them. There's an
especially lovely B. jacquemontii called Grayswood Ghost but these are the
people with the National Collection and they could give you more info:
mythicgarden.users.btopenworld.com
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/