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New tree is worse for wear.

SingleGardenerSingleGardener Posts: 6
in Problem solving
I bought a Birch tree on the internet. When I opened the box it was very dry and the leaves were curling up and dropping off. Also one of the branches has snapped off and is hanging down. Will the tree turn out ok? Can the branch be fixed? I'm worried that the tree will be bare on one side.

Or is it best to buy another one? Maybe try and get a refund on this one? Thank you.

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Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    cut the broken branch off, it won't come good. give it a good watering, did you thoroughly soak the root before planting? How long has it been there?



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • SingleGardenerSingleGardener Posts: 6
    nutcutlet said:
    cut the broken branch off, it won't come good. give it a good watering, did you thoroughly soak the root before planting? How long has it been there?

    I gave it a good water as soon as I took it out of the box. Then I planted it the next day (yesterday) while keeping it wet. Will there be a new shoot appearing where I cut the broken branch off?
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    No, you will not get a new branch from where the old one snapped off.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • SingleGardenerSingleGardener Posts: 6
    pansyface said:
    I don’t know the ins and outs of buying live things on the internet, but I’d definitely send the seller your photos and explain the situation. Ask clearly for a refund.

    In the meantime, take off that nasty green strap tying it to the post, replace it with a much looser tie and, using a sharp pair of clean secateurs, cut the damaged branch off as close to the trunk as you can and give it a jolly good water. And then give it another one in a couple of days’ time, and so on.
    The green strap is gone, that picture was taken before I finished planting. If I cut the branch off will there be a new shoot growing in it's place?
  • SingleGardenerSingleGardener Posts: 6
    punkdoc said:
    No, you will not get a new branch from where the old one snapped off.
    Shame. That's a big problem. The tree won't look right.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    The branches look alive in yout pic.  I think it will pull round.

    Wild silver birch, (weeds in my garden), have lost most leaves early in the drought.  Its what nature does.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • SingleGardenerSingleGardener Posts: 6
    bédé said:
    The branches look alive in yout pic.  I think it will pull round.

    Wild silver birch, (weeds in my garden), have lost most leaves early in the drought.  Its what nature does.
    That's good. It's just the broken branch that is worrying me. It wont look right as the tree grows.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    As the tree grows the lower ones will be unimportant and usually die back, get cut off. 
    It's not the best time of year to get plants through the post/carrier


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If you want it to be a standard tree with a clear trunk to show off the bark, the lower branches will be removed in due course anyway.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • SingleGardenerSingleGardener Posts: 6
    JennyJ said:
    If you want it to be a standard tree with a clear trunk to show off the bark, the lower branches will be removed in due course anyway.
    Oh ok. The lower branches have already been cut off in the nursery. Are you saying that your supposed to continue doing this as it grows? I thought that all the pruning had already been done and I just do nothing and watch it grow into a tree.
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