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Help with a rapidly growing tree!

Zaza.be247Zaza.be247 Posts: 1
edited May 2020 in Problem solving
app Hi all we have a what we think is a young birch - we think birch downy using a tree identifier app from the leaves-see pictures, that has sprung up between a tiny crack in concrete and the neighbours fence in the garden. It has and continues to grow rapidly over the past 4 months and is now touching a wire on the neighbours side due to its height and leafage. We would like to keep it in the garden but don’t know :
1) if we can transfer it now and how to transfer it as we have limited access to roots/base
and
2) how and when we can prune it -at least to shorten it in the first instance? Online research suggest pruning should take place in late summer-by then it will be very tall! 

I have attached photos any advice /links to useful resources or experts in this field much appreciated! 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    You can’t leave it there. It will grow huge and the roots will damage the foundations of your home. You will not be able to dig it up without taking down the fence. Even if you did that you would have to lift it with a very large rootball in order to replant it with any hope of success. 

    In my opinion the best thing to do is to cut it down and treat the stump with a stump killer eg SBK. 

    Then choose a spot in your garden for a shrub or small tree, decide on something suitable (ask us for suggestions) and plant a tree you can enjoy and that will enhance your home and garden without worries. 

    😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You'll never be able to dig it out and transfer it.
    Better to follow the advice @Dovefromabove has given, and choose something suitable for your space  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    edited May 2020
    Best advice from Dovefromabove and Fairygirl -  it looks as if you have Agapanthas growing alongside the fence next to the tree.  If they are, they too, can become quite big and lift the paving.  Might be an idea to lift them, cover with ornamental gravel and put rectangular pots with herbs or similar in.  Just my opinion and a wee bit of experience.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

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