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Hi I'm new here, and would like some advice please!!

Rebecca64Rebecca64 Posts: 30

Hi Everyone

I am new here, and would like to Introduce myselfimage. I am not sure if I am doing it in the correct place, apologies if not. I live in South Wales with my husband and 2 daughters, 15yrs and 9yrs old. We have a medium size garden, and I have always loved having as many plants and flowers etc as possible. However I am just a beginner, and have little knowledge on gardening, but I do try.

I am passionate about helping wildlife. I always try to have plants that are helpful to the wildlife, and also love helping the birds. I am planning to plant loads of nectar/pollen rich plants in my garden this yearimage.

Now that I have finally found the courage to introduce myself here, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I planted a Rowan tree, 2 years ago in my garden. The last year it has really grown in height, the lower half has loads of long branches, but the upper half has none yet. So at the moment it looks a little odd.  I did read on some site previously that when planting a young tree, it shouldn't need anything done to it for the first 5 years, but I am unsure if this is true.  Could someone varify for me if the above is true please, and also advise me if I should be paying more attention to the young tree.  I know I probably sound really silly haha, but I wanted a rowan tree for years, and now I have one I want to look after it correctly.  Do I just leave it or am I supposed to cut the branches, so it grows more evenly? 

Thankyou in advance  

Rebeccaimage

 

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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    Hello Rebecca, and welcome - yes, you seem to be getting the hang of posting messages ok image  You don't sound silly ha ha (or even peculiar image).  I love rowan trees too, although I don't have one in this garden (yet), but if we lose our ash trees to this horrid disease we'll plant several new trees and rowan will probably be one.

    To answer your question, rowan trees don't need a lot of looking after and they certainly don't need pruning (except to prune out disease, which is rare), so don't cut the branches.

    Rowans don't usually need fertiliser either - in the wild they are at home on exposed hillsides where the soil is poor, but if you want to give it a little tlc as it's still a baby you could scatter some chicken manure pellet fertiliser around - this is a good time of year to do it, and the rain will dissolve it and wash the nutrients into the soil.  

    I'm not sure why the branches are growing in the way you say, except that rowans don't usually grow in a symmetrical way so it may be that it's growing perfectly normally.  It's hard to tell without a photograph - can you take a photo and post it on here?

    (to post a photo you click on the little tree in the toolbar at the top of where you write your message)


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





  • Rebecca64Rebecca64 Posts: 30

    Thankyou so much Dovefromabove for your reply image

    I too, love rowan trees. I hope you can save your ash trees.

    Thanks for answering my question, that is exactly what I was wondering....wether or not I needed to prune it. Not that I would have any clue how to prune it anyway HAHA. 

    Thanks for the tip with the chicken manure pellets, I will certainly do that. I have just been into my garden to take some pictures of the tree. Im will try to upload them straight after this message. I am not sure if the pics will be very good though, because its pouring down with rain here, and my tree is in a corner of my garden, with low panels around it to stop my dogs getting to close to it. But I will upload them now (if I can), and look forward to your opinion. thankyou

  • Rebecca64Rebecca64 Posts: 30

    As I thought, they are not very good pics i'm afraid

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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    I think it's going to be fine image that long leading stem/trunk has plenty of buds on and some of them will form branches in due course - you might then decide to cut off s ome of the lowest ones if they're too low and get in the way - if you decide that I'd do it in the winter.  

    Looks like you've got a very health camellia nearby and something growing in that green pot, and food for the birds - my birds are eating me out of house and home at the moment.

    Lovely part of the world you live in - I've got relatives on The Gower - gorgeous beaches image


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





  • chicachica Posts: 252

    hi rebecca and welcome im sure the tree will be fine my one was like that three years ago and i just left it and now its quite big,hope you will join in with our disscussions as we are all learning and there are always someone who knows something so well done and look forward to hearing from you.

  • Rebecca64Rebecca64 Posts: 30

    thankyou chica and dovefromabove for the lovely welcome image yes I will join in discussions, now that I have finally posted. I have been reading posts on here for a while, but now I have taken the plunge.

    Dovefromabove, do you mean the bush to the right being a camellia? I really dont know  what it is. I have two of them, one is slightly darker, but a much better shape than the one in the pic. I have actually been wondering what they were . They were originally in my mum's garden, but I had them and planted them in my garden about 13 yrs ago when she passed away.  All this time, I didnt know what they were.  The green pot has a climbing rose in, its only been put there because my husband moved it while working in the garden today.  

    Yes I feed the birds everyday, have nest boxes up everywhere too. We have bluetits and sparrows busy building their nests at the moment. 

    The Gower is a beautiful area. Its not quite like the Gower where I live though, I live in a village right out of town, more up in the mountainsimage

  • DONS1979DONS1979 Posts: 16

    Hi Rebecca - Welcome! Im new also and am loving this forum and website.  Im on it every spare minute and learning so much and getting lots of good ideas for my garden. Im interested in gardening for wildlife also and started last year to put in trees and native hedging etc to encourage wildlife and create habitats for insects and birds. We built on a new site up a mountain and it is very exposed and the ground is really sloped so im finding it a challenge!  I have a large garden and have just planted a mixture of trees and fruit bushes this weekend - 3 were rowan as they are suitable for high areas. I put in a really shallow tiny pond - purely for wildlife last year and it has frogspawn this year and im so chuffed - some of the tadpoles have just started swimming about today - they are tiny and I spent ages today just watching them and the kids were so chuffed too!  Hubby made me a chicken run along the top of the garden and I have 6 hens now too!  Im waiting to see if any bats take up residence in my new bat box and no one has moved into my bird nesting boxes yet either - waiting patiently!

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    Rebecca, it looks like a camellia to me, but I'm not a camellia expert.  Does it flower?

    Why not post a photo in a new thread asking for identification and see if I've made a booboo?


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





  • jatnikapyarjatnikapyar Posts: 419

    Hi Rebecca, get your OH to make sure your chicks have a VERY secure area to run and live inimage

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