Who knows about trees ?

Theres a tree in my garden thats on its last legs so to speak.

Story is, the tree was in danger of splitting and the council took off one limb. I collected one of the cut sections of the main log(bole)22"x14" thereabouts) which i stored in my house till it was more or less dry, then rived it into small narrow planks and made the timber into a nice wee box.

I was wondering what the timber was,so went into the garden to get some leaves so i could identify it online.

Ahh
There appears to be 2 very different leaves growing from this single tree A large broad leaf on the main tree itself but then i see growing out of a knot on the trunk some 5' up another type of leaf. The is one looks like an oak leaf, it isnt oak but the leaf is similar, its also a red berry bearing 'tree'
The broad leaf might be birch or beech. neither ive seen sawn on the quarter and the timber i have off it is really highly figured with medullary rays because ive rivin it on the quarter and ive never seen either timber figured like that.

So my question is to the tree guy(or any1) is how can a different species grow from another and still retain all its characteristics
Ill pop up a pic tonight if it helps

Could be that in the past someone grafted different trees togther. This is very common with fruit trees grape vines etc.

I think from memorary there is a budlea grafted onto a laburnum in the Glasgow botanic gardens.

+1 on the grafting idea this is very common. I have an tree that has FIVE varieties of apple on it.

Steven

Could be reverting to root stock?

thegreenrabbit is your ginger bearded man when it comes to all things tree shaped.

According to Mrs_Koupe (who has a horticulture degree, allegedly):

Either 1) the oak-like 'tree' is the original rootstock; this method is generally only used for speeding up slow-growing fruit trees however, and sounds unlikely in this case, or 2) someone has grafted another branch on at that specific point, for any number of reasons. It couldn't have happened by accident, that's for sure.

On a side note, look after any trees in your garden. My parents used to have over a dozen mature trees around the edge of their garden - pears, damsons, ash, birch, and a huge 150+ year-old walnut. The walnut, which was sucking countless gallons of water out of the ground daily, ended up being so badly split that they had to chop it down completely; the roots of the remaining trees had massive growth spurts due to the excess water, and all had to be removed as they were undermining the house foundations. I find it heartbreaking to see the bare garden when I go back there now.

Sounds like a graft Andy, but pics will help. It is possible and quite common for two trees to grow together naturally, one self seeding in a fork of an existing tree.

But You're in a tenement flat, yes? So more likely a smaller tree in back court which has been grafted in early years - the possible graft at 5' suggests its an old 'un.

Yours,

Iain M Welsh (B.Sc) Arboricultural Contracts Manager, English Woodlands Ltd 1988 - 1992

There is a house here in Claremont where an oak and a palm that were planted too close together some 50 years ago grew together until the trunks merged. It's quite the sight...

Fair enough then, I'll ask the OH where she purchased her degree from

The Green Rabbit is the man to ask about trees...