Tree info (1 Viewer)

[mickbe74]

Hi all,i wonder if anyone could give me some advice.I have recently moved into a new house it has a small garden which at the moment is just grass,i would like to put a small tree and some feeders in,i have cats and children so need to take this into account,any advice on tree/shrub species which are child friendly would be greatly appreciated.

 

[winkle]

Fruit trees might be an idea.

In time blossom in the spring; fruit late summer.

Cherry will get quite big relatively quickly, but will eventually be a quite large tree.

Most varieties of apple trees are available in a dwarf form, but most will need another variety of apple nearby to pollonate it.

Some varieties of apple are available that are self pollonating. You can also get what are know as family trees; these have a number of varieties grafted on to a single stem. So not only do you get a number of different types of apple, it also solves the pollonation problem.

One thing to remember with trees is that the roots will extend about 3 times the width of the canopy, so do not plant too close to the house.

The best time to plant a tree is in the middle of winter, but not on a frosty day. They will have the best chance of establishing then. You can also plant bare rooted plants then which will be a fraction of the cost of pot grown things from a garden centre.

As you are in Birmingham, you are quite near major fruit growing areas, so there must be fruit tree nurseries nearby.

 

[mickbe74]

Thanks for the reply Winkle,i was thinking about a fruit tree but had been told i needed to plant two but the family tree sounds ideal for me,i have never heard of these bare rooted trees could you give me any info where to buy these trees,thankyou.

 

[winkle]

As mentioned, you should be able to pick one up from any fruit tree nursery.

There must be fruit tree nurseries near you, Wocestershire & Herefordshire being big fruit growing counties.

Failing that I would have thought you could get a pot grown one from any garden centre, but pot grown ones tend to be forced and not as strong.

You won't be able to buy bare rooted trees until the winter, after the leaves have dropped. Even with a pot grown tree you should wait until winter to plant it.

You may even be in time to have one 'custom made' with varieties of apple of your choice grafted on in time for you to collect next winter. Any decent nursery will advise you on what varieties are compatable.

This is easy for me to say; I've got Brogdale with its national fruit collection up the road. I don't know if they do mail order, but if you Google Brogdale their website comes up at the top.

 

[Gary Polliard]

When I first got my patch of land I had planted maples and tulip poplars. Now I had wished they were dogwoods to attract the many berry eating birds. They are very pretty in the spring and do not grow too large. I do not know if they are native in your area but consider a tree to that has berries to attract birds.

 

[mickbe74]

Thanks for the replies guys,will be totally gutting my garden and starting again in the autumn/winter so it'll tie in time wise,i like the idea of a small fruit tree and maybe a few berry producing bushes but with two small children am worried about poisonous berrys and thorns any idea's ?

 

[winkle]

Three native non-spikey ones spring to mind - Common Dogwood, Spindle & Guelder Rose. Once they have established, maybe with Honeysuckle planted under them so it grows up through them. Another climber that is attractive to butterflies & moths is Passion Flower although it is not native.

All should cope with most soil types as long as it is not too boggy.

Attractive flowers in the spring with Dogwood & Guelder Rose; autumn colour from Dogwood & Spindle and all three produce berries.

One thing to remember with trees is that they take time. Your children may well be grown before they reach their best.

 

[mickbe74]

Thankyou Winkle,you've been a big help,i have found a local tree nursery which i will visit soon and will look into the other bush idea's.Cheers.

 

[timwootton]

Good luck - excellent advice upthread too. I'd be tempted to put a cotoneaster in a border somewhere, too - waxwing heaven!

 

[Nature__lover]

Hi I have cats and bird feeders up. Yes there has been a couple of tragedies in the past but I have been able to almost completely stop this now.
here are some rules you should go by if you have cats and bird feeders;

1. Put two little bells on your cat's collar.
2.don't put food directly on the floor, or on low feeders. Use hanging feeders on high branches or use bird tables.
read this http://www.wikihow.com/Try-to-Reduce-Your-Cat's-Hunting


I suggest putting up fat cakes or fat balls, peanuts, and sunflower hearts.
put up a birdbath.
plant berry-bearing and seed-bearing plants.

I suggest hawthorn,cotoneaster,teasels etc.
believe it or not , Ivy is a brilliant creeping plant to have in the garden as birds use it as cover and to nest in and they eat the berries in autumn, and butterflies have the nectar in spring.

good luck.

 

[jpscloud]

I too have cats... well, one of my own and many visitors from around and about, as my garden seems very attractive to them.

I minimise the danger from cats by putting the feeding pole in an open space in the garden - the birds can then suss out the scene from the safety of surrounding bushes and trees, and swoop on the feeders when the coast is clear.

Hawthorn and blackthorn both grow quickly, and make lovely specimen trees. They don't mind being cut back severely, and have lovely blossoms and berries. The drawback is of course the thorns, which you are right to be worried about... especially blackthorn!! If you grow one or two as specimen trees though, the thorns will be up above and out of childrens' reach... plus they are safe havens for hanging winter feeders.

Edit: Just adding a word for the humble buddliea - it attracts lots of lovely insects, has beautiful flowers, blue tits like the seed heads and you can hang feeders off it for most of the year (I cut mine back in February every year but I have seen them grown as a kind of standard tree as well).

 

[Jon Turner]

Lycesteria (himalayan honeysuckle).

 

[AnnPat]

I would definitely add cotoneaster, mine was heavily laden with berries in december and now its bare, the birds really enjoyed them. I also have honeysuckle which also provided a feast. I had a purple/cream passion flower which fruited well and it was killed off last year in the heavy snow/ice. If you do go for one make syre the roots are alot deeper than recommended as we are having colder winters.

 

[Nature__lover]

native trees are best for wildlife in general (not always , though)
Hazel,Blackthorn,Hawthorn, holly , crab apple, rowan or pussy willow are excellent.
I have a big pussy willow tree in my garden, bees love it, as do butterflies, and loads of birds find insects in the lovely catkins in spring.

 

[spencer f]

Alder, Hazel, Silver Birch, Crab apple, hawthorn is one of the best small trees for wildlife but the thorns might put you off if you have kids.