mmaddock Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Does anyone have anything to say (positive or negative) with regards to planting [silver] birch here in France?I want a few 'not too heavy' trees to mask neighbouring buildings, but I don't want to plant 40ft leylandii and pee everyone off with a wall of green ugly trees that don't exactly blend in all that well!Anyone recommend alternatives with similar growth characteristics i.e. speed, size, shape?Cheers,Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert the InfoGipsy Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Which bit of France? Climate and soil vary somewhat. We don't all recognise all the departments by post code. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmaddock Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 Ah yes - sorry - we are in the Vienne [Poitou-Charente] about 50km south of Poitiers. The soil here is the sort of stuff I've dreamt of having in my garden all my life! I reckon if I planted a lump of concrete it would grow roots and spread!Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 Silver birch is fine if you want a lightweight medium size tree that's quite attractive and that won't need cutting down in 10/15 years because it's getting too large, which can be a problem with some trees and it grows well enough in most parts of the Vienne. You could consider fruiting cherries on suitable root stocks to keep them manageable, sort of double benefit, or even Apricots, it depends on what type of effect you want to achieve.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmaddock Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 Cheers Chris. I like the look of the silver birch both in terms of colour and form, but just don't want to plant them only to discover something I should have found out beforehand and find that I've wasted years growing them when something else may be more suitable or practical.I don't really want to get any more fruit trees as we have an 'orchard' (I put it in quotes as it isn't that big!) in another part of the garden away from eating/childrens play area as my wife is terrified of wasps/bees!What I want is to screen next door and the built-up area beyond it so as to give more of a 'countryside' outlook on that side - plus I love having trees around, especially as they attract more birds into the garden.Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert the InfoGipsy Posted January 14, 2007 Share Posted January 14, 2007 I love silver birch, but they're a bit see-through for a screen. If you like attracting birds then how about berrying trees? You could consider the sorbus family (rowans and the like), or arbutus if you're on an acid soil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suze01 Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Have you got a pool? If you have then I would avoid silver birch. They drop huge quantities of tiny seeds that get absolutely everywhere and are a real pain in the neck. Otherwise they are lovely (had a lovely one in the house I grew up in and spent many hours peeling the silver off!) but are a little sparse in habit to provide a screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 They also drop vast quantities of curly twigs (caused by birds?) which take ages to gather up and are useless for kindling. I have for the first time realised what a broom of birch twigs would look like!Chrissie (81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmaddock Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 I realise silver birch isn't the best tree for screening, but I don't want to completely block the view - just mask it somewhat in a polite and non-intimidating way. We don't have a pool - I kind of like the idea of one, but it just wouldn't 'fit in' with our location - hard to describe why, it just wouldn't feel right here - plus there is a superb outdoor public one only a few minutes walk away!I like the idea of berries - the birds go mad for them around here - they were even eating the ones from the Christmas decoration we put on our gate!! My only issue would be making sure they weren't harmful to the kids (who are 1 & 2 with a strong appetite and absolutely no sense!)I don' mind the maintenance side of things - it just gives me another excuse to spend time outside pottering around!Cheers for the replies. Any recommendations for 'berry' trees with non-toxic berries would be more than welcome.Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 The previous occupants here have planted a lot of hazel - I like it for screening because I can butcher it as much as I like and it doesn't seem to mind. The new growth low down also means it's full at thick there too. Then there are all those lovely nuts which the birds like - and the sparrows nest in them in their hundreds. Just a personal thing of course. The silver birch is an attractive tree too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 We have a multistemmed birch but it isn't a very speedy grower - one of my garden 'dreams' would be a group of birch trees with blue bells underneath but it wouldn't work in this garden sadly !We have a hazel and its true you can hack it back with abandon, we are planning to get rid of a hawthorn tree which isn't a good shape and replacing it with a rowan - you can buy rowan jelly so I think they are OK. I think the red berried variety is most prolific but you can have yellow or pink berries too. Birds like the red variety best, I'm told.What about some of the acers - there is a very good variety of leaf colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I have a gorgeous red maple which keeps its leaves for ages into the winter and looks wonderful, maybe that would work for you. I'm Up North but it should grow well were you are. Have a look around in your area to see what grows well, if there's no silver birch they'll be an environmental reason as the French seem to plant them eveywhere (I'm pleased to say) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Don't forget though, Acers are lime-haters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Bit of a generalisation, but the soil in most of the Vienne tends towards a PH of 6.5 to 7.00, so definitely not acid.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diotima Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 Rowans, the Mountain Ash, are lovely trees, but mature ones have a tendency to split their trunks, and when that happens they can rot quickly and need to be cut down. We found that out when we called a tree surgeon to look at our purple beech which we thought was too close to the house. He showed us how to keep the beech in bounds, but said the rowan was terminal, there was no saving it because the trunk had split. We called it our cauliflower tree because of the size of the flower clusters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmaddock Posted January 15, 2007 Author Share Posted January 15, 2007 OK, so now I'm thinking of going for a mix rather than just birch....does anyone know where is a good place to buy them in/around the Vienne. I don't mind travelling a bit - anywhere between Poitiers/Angouleme or outwards from Civray for a decent place is fine.Cheers,Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londoneye Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 just for information, we have a rowan and last summer i rather optimistically (and with my usual lack of all gardening skill and knowledge !) pulled out three off shoots coming from ground and planted them in various places. all three are growing really well, so if anyone has a rowan which they think might be on the way out they could always try propogating it before it has to be felled. of course i might be eating my words next spring if all three offspring are dead, but they all look fine to me (well except the one that the puppy bit the top off) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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