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Old 15-05-2009, 01:05 PM
beccabunga beccabunga is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Apr 2007
Posts: 543
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Turner[_2_] View Post

I bought a whitebeam a couple of months ago from a supermarket. The main
reason I went for a whitebeam over the other choice they had (cherry) was
for the berries in the Autumn that the birds will eat. I'm not much of a
gardener and have only just realised something.

The whitebeam was grafted onto rowan root stock (if that's the right was to
say it) and tonight was when I realised, as I have two sets of leaves
growing. One main stem has whitebeam leaves but several from below the graft
have rowan leaves. These were all there when I bought it but nothing
occurred to me. As it happens rowans also produce berries that are loved by
birds.


--
Steve
Get rid of it and look for a whitebeam on its own roots. I cannot think why anyone would want to graft them. They are natives. None of the whitebeams in Magdalen College gardens in Oxford are like that, and they are terrific trees.

Put in a more interesting rowan if you want to feed the birds - Joseph Rock has yellow berries that are taken in January/February.