How can I help my Vilmorin's Rowan tree to grow?

I've got a five year old Rowan/Mountain Ash tree which is not doing at all well. This year was the first in which it produced any berries and there were only about ten in all. If you do an image search in google for this tree you'll see masses of berries but not on mine.


The tree is Vilmorin's Rowan (Sorbus vilmorinii) and was chosen as I've only got a small garden and I wanted something which might attract birds-no luck there either. Is it likely that I just got a weedy specimen or is there anything I can do to promote more vigourous growth? The soil is free draining and gets plenty of sun, it is also a sheltered site. I have been top dressing the soil with bonemeal and last year I added some Sulphate of Iron after someone told me to give that a try. However there was no real improvement.

Do I give up and get a new tree or is there anything I can do to help it grow? If it's time to get a new tree can someone suggest an easier mountain ash to try and grow?

Cheers

 

Hi

Was the tree barerooted or in a pot when you bought it
when did you plant it

Does it need a another tree to help set the berries like some apple trees do ??

What did you do to preapare the planting hole

Spruce

 

Hi Spruce,

It arrived in a hessian bag with plenty of compost and was planted in October 2005. I prepared a good sized hole and put plenty of bonemeal in. Having said that I did move the tree a couple of years later when it was dormant. Again the hole was the appropriate size and the tree was staked securely. It survived the move OK but just doesn't seem to want to set berries. I've often wondered if it needs a companion tree too but I can't find the answer. I hope it doesn't as I don't have enough space in my garden unfortunately.

 

Hi Spotty

Rowan trees don't often give good crops of berries year on year, and don't really start producing them until they're well over ten years old. What one tends to expect is a good mast year where the tree develops plenty of berries, followed by a number of years where it produces few. Rowans are monoecious, meaning that they have both male and female sexual reproductive parts, so you needn't worry about getting in a 'mate' for your single rowan.

Rowans prefer well-drained soil, but unfortunately well-drained soil can also be lacking in nutrients, so feeding the tree as you are is recommended. You may also want to try adding well-rotted manure or straw into the soil to aid water retention as well as valuable decomposing organic matter. If you're really serious about improving your trees health and wellbeing you could also investigate adding mycorrhizal fungi into the soil, as this aids in nutrient absorption.

 

Thanks for that advice. Is now a good time to feed the tree and put the mycorrhizal fungi in or should I wait until springtime? If I should be doing it around about now do I need to wait until the leaves have dropped off?

 

Hi Spotty

Probably moving it has set it back the named varrieties can be sparse growing I have had a look what they look like , I thought with the fungi it had to be actualy touching the roots to work properley ?? and best done when planting it out bare rooted , I may be wrong but sure Harmony would know best.

Hey at least its still growing I have a white flowered cherry tree in the back garden I had free from Barrrats when I moved (the only one sshhhhh) I used to have a chat with the landscape guys and it was a xtra one they had it didnt hardly grow for 3 years and I made up in my mind it had one year left or that was that , anyway it grew realy well and now looks great so a bit of patience ......

Next year give it a good water once a week should help , I personaly dont like to over feed trees if I can help it but I normaly use bone meal early spring as doing it now the winter weather just washes it out of the soil so I think a waste of ££££££

Spruce

 

there are 2 ways to use mycorrhizal fungi (rootgrow) ... the best, is to use it when you plant the tree/shrub .... the roots have to touch the powder

the other method is called 'targeting' the roots and is used for shrubs etc that have not been planted with rootgrow

all you need to do, is to plant 3 plants (such as ferns etc) around the base of the tree and use rootgrow when planting these .... there is more info on google

 

I've got one that i planted about 12/14 years ago. I chose it because I like rowans and I though the berries would be pretty. Also, the height would be correct for my small garden. It took a few years to really get going.

I'm a bit disappointed with it, really. The flowers are a very dirty white, (luckily they don't last long) it sometimes skips a year of berrying, and they are not as showy as I'd hoped.

I wish I'd put in a named Sorbus variety - some of those Pink Pagoda types are ravishingly pretty with their pearly pink berries. Or a decorative apple. Or, s*d it, an edible apple.

In fact, if i was planning my garden over again, I'd put in a framework of food-producing plants first.

 

Well, it's been six months since I posted the question and I've just removed the tree. I was pretty sad at digging it out but as it's such a small garden I can't afford to have such an under-performer. I haven't yet decided what to replace it with yet but thanks for all your help.

 

A brave move, I don't think I could face the hassle of digging mine out.