Planting a Ton of Dahlias & Inspecting Our Birch Tree for Possible Issues! 🌸🌳👍 // Garden Answer

29 Replies to “Planting a Ton of Dahlias & Inspecting Our Birch Tree for Possible Issues! 🌸🌳👍 // Garden Answer”

1. my first thought for the birch tree was possibly salt damage? I live in a place with crazy winters, many trees (especially street trees) have a lot of dieback on the top caused by salt damage from the winter sprays… if you sprayed around the tree on the deck boards or on the driveway, perhaps the salt leached into the soil and the tree has a low tolerance…. could also just be normal wear and tear from the winter freeze thaw cycles, this year was a weird one in terms of temperature fluctuations- many of the nursery plants that we recieve for installs have very similar damage so I wouldnt worry too much if there was no insect holes or damage

2. Also, probably a good idea to consult with your arborist

3. Had same problem as one of your other subscribers, Laura Coughlan. Arborist said it was called die-back, and recommended deep-root feeding in Spring. Red maple bounced right back. Aiy-yi-yi, that's a whole lot of dahlias. Mamma mia! 💜💜

4. We call those water sprouts here in southern Ontario. Cut them out to keep shape or keep them to let the tree grow. Love you guys! Keep doing what you're doing. I've learned more here than anywhere about gardening. You rock girl!

5. Thank you Laura and Aaron for the Sunday video! Cudos to you Laura for filming while Aaron was raising the basket….you are FOCUSED. Love it. BTW-all of my gardening friends are on the morning obsession of coffee and Garden Answer! 🥰💚🌺

6. Seems like it might be winter damage where it started too early then maybe you got cold with wind and it kind of desiccated the buds up top. I would give it a full season til next springs leaf out bc I've seen this with some shrubs like old established ones where they didn't leaf out correctly due to weather and look bad the whole year then the following year they leafed out and grew perfectly normal

7. What about the excessive heat you had last year?

8. About the birch, I had an issue looking exactly like that, my pear trees were about that size, but voles under the roots took two of them out in two years. I mean you also have gophers… Look if you can find something near the trunk under the soil surface. Good luck!

9. i almost missed this video because i dont even think to look on sundays!

10. Hi Laura. I love your show, been watching for awhile. Thank you for sharing so much helpful gardening content. And dahlias are my favorite flower, so I love watching you plant and harvest them. SO beautiful. About the birch problem, I worked at a gardening center for several years, but not a "professional" tree expert by any means, so I went and did some research online. Most of the research said that if the bronze birch borer has infested the tree, the top canopy will start dying back, and often it will show up after the first two years after being planted, like possibly in your case? One university research site said that these borers attack stressed trees, like from exposed roots, hard soil that's compacted, where construction has taken place, or from drought. And it did look like you may have birch borers from the video you showed. I saw a couple of black "d"s on the trunk. The "d"s are their exit holes and only about 1/5 of an inch in size. There won't always be frass, often just a clean dark "d". I saw one photo online of a borer exiting the tree, clean as a whistle? YUK! ha Anyways, I know you know gardening WAY better than me, but thought I'd share. God bless you both.

11. Hair looks lovely.
    Had a trim?

12. Sounds like leafminer.

13. That Birch tree clearly has a Giraffe infestation. Giraffe's like to eat the higher trees.

14. In Vancouver WA we have seen a huge die off of binch trees. One large apartment complex lost all of their trees, perhaps 100 plus trees. I hope that won't happen to yours.

15. I went to Walmart today and was shocked to see they sell Dahlia tubers in the garden center

16. Time to get to know the folks at the local Extension Office if you don't already know them. Take some photos and a affected branch, and hear what they have to say.

17. Have a question for you would you do a tour of all your flower beds one by one say flower bed one, two ,three and so on?

18. They like a lot of water if not getting what they need will self prune starting at the top

19. Don’t you have a tree guy that comes out? I remember that he was impressed with the job that Aaron did on the cracked truck

20. The Birch trees-
    Central Texas here, when we got hit with that infamous Arctic Storm where it was -5° for 6 days, we ended up with this same problem in older trees that are fast growing.
    All the trees affected (& they are the ONLY trees affected this way) they were all at the end of their 25 year life span, so maybe that made them more susceptible to that hard freeze?
    I don't know, just guessing on that.
    Those trees of mine still need to be cut down.
    Although, watching the progression of these trees since that time has been very interesting…
    The top ⅓ of each tree definitely died, and those branches broke off & fell to the ground (with a mighty crash!).
    The remaining portion of the trees are still a good 40 feet tall each.
    Now, I can see there is termite damage where the trunks meet the soil.
    AND there was a big ant colony that moved in under one of the trees. (It's Texas, we just live with the ants, and try to move them around from time to time! But they never really leave…)
    So, I'm guessing the termites started AFTER the big freeze, since they only eat dead wood.
    The point is-
    Those trees of mine definitely have dead wood internally.
    Even though the lower half of the tree is growing like gang busters, the lower parts are super green, lush, very prolific, and giving it everything they've got! They are growing so well right now that even in the drought were having their new growth actually looks TROPICAL!!
    (and I don't water them)
    Nature never quits!
    But, these trees have to come all the way down…
    They'll eventually fall & I don't want to be sitting there pulling weeds when that happens!!
    It's just a matter of us getting it together to go tackle that big job.

    Laura's Birch trees-
    I'm just guessing-
    But maybe they just got caught off guard during one of the freezes…
    Kinda like frostbite, and toes…

21. With trees being sensitive or susceptible to so many issues in your area, at what point do you call in an arborist for a second opinion? You two obviously know a lot about what to look for and preventions to keep them healthy but it would stink to lose another one. Especially the birch. You have me wanting to plant them here. Love the trunks. ❤

22. awesome laura

23. So glad that Aaron decided it wasn’t safe in that lift and got you down!!

24. After watching you grow your first big crop of dahlias in 2020, I decided to take a chance and bought several gallery dahlias (which don't need to be staked) in 2021. That went so well that this year I decided to create my own cut flower garden space with 15 different varieties! All full size varieties! I'm trying a few different kinds of staking, including Claus Dalby's method of using tomato cages. I'm in zone 6b in Northwest Arkansas, and was able to get these in the ground several weeks ago, so already seeing a ton of growth. So excited to create spectacular bouquets this summer! Thanks for the guidance and inspiration!

25. Maybe the problem with that birch tree is that it's too close to the chicken coop and all that chicken manure is alkaline and the birch trees need acidified soil to be healthy.

26. My neighbor had a tree that the top was dying and found out it was tree girdling where there was a root below soil surface 2" that was wrapping around in a circle, they cut a 3" piece of that root out cut the top of the tree back and now is growing well . After 5 years it's looking good but will never reach full height.

27. That new house is going to have the most beautiful view! I’m kinda jealous.

28. Even if the suspect branches weren't caused by the root flare being covered, you did a great thing for the longterm health of the tree. Great job! You could also check for girdling. I've found a small handheld broom, the kind that comes with a dustpan, works great for carefully uncovering roots to see if there's an issue. It's tedious but you don't have issues with things being tedious. I'd avoid spraying with water, that just makes a mud hole. Love all the new trees.

29. Tree lindo caule branca.estava aqui não tem do Brasil nada ..☹️
    A Laura queimo o sol braço pele kkk. Ainda cuidado tree. Ela caiu babaca 🌿

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