Where did you buy them from? Most reputable nurseries will guarantee trees for at least a year. I would go back to the source for replacements.

"Where did you buy them from? Most reputable nurseries will guarantee trees for at least a year. I would go back to the source for replacements."

I'm not aware of too many "reputable nurseries" that unconditionally guarantee their trees for at least a year. Any way you slice it, that is a gimmick! If a tree is healthy when it's purchased, the nursery has no control over whether it's planted correctly, whether it's watered correctly, harsh weather, etc. The big box stores have a guarantee like that because....well, we'll just say that many of them do have a guarantee like that.

There's not enough information in the OP to know what happened to the tree (maybe improper watering), but it's much more likely to be something out of the nursery's control.

Another problem with this approach is that whatever killed the first one is probably going to kill the second, third, and fourth one. Trying to identify what happened would be my first concern (assuming they were in good shape when you got them).

In my experience, the vast majority of tree 'failures' were caused by planting too deeply. But there's a looooong list of other things that could cause the problem.

Mary, if I were you, I'd review my planting techniques, as well as post-planting management. There are so many things we can do upon planting and during the first year that can kill a new tree.

Take a good look at the site, too. Perhaps the soil terrible, or very poorly drained, or the pH is way off.

If the suckers are growing out of the roots than let them keep growing and if kept watered properly they should take on the role of your main leader trunks.

Once they go dormant later in the year, you can dig them up and determine if your suckers are growing from one root system or if the grower had made your Heritiage Birch trees multi- trunked by planting two or three single trees together. If you find that is the case then you can seperate the individual root systems while the trees are dormant. Then you can replant the root systems individually, and be careful not to break off the new trunks, which the current suckers will have begun to form by the end of this growing season.

Then wait long enough for these individual trees to become well established, and during that time do not cut off any new suckers which grow. As those new suckers begin to grow from the root systems of the individual suckers you end up planting, then you should let all the new suckers that want to grow to keep growing until you can determine which ones are the most agressive and closest to the same size and trunk diameters. Once you get to that point simply chose how many main leader trunks you want your trees to grow and cut off any other weaker growing ones.

The new trees you grow like this should end up growing fairly quickly into nicer trees than these current dead looking ones that you first planted; that is, if you keep them watered properly, stake them if the winds begin to make then sway back and forth too far, and if you are patient enough to allow them to do their thing; they should get to that point over the same three years it would have taken for you currently dead looking trunks to have become well estatablished.

Not only a lack of proper watering could have potentially caused your main leader trunks to die, but your tree could have also suffered rootflare breakage as the canopy of your trees, during last growing season, caught strong wind gusts which could have cause the trunks to lean far enough back and forth to break those roots away from the trunk, which would have resulted in the trees failing to be able to take up the amount of avaliable moisture they needed from the soil.

This kind of root breakage happens often when people first plant Birch trees that are 5 to 6 foot or more tall with well developed canopies, but which were not staked well enough when first planted.

I got the trees from Sooner Plant farm.
They arrived in really good condition.
I followed the directions and kept watered and
also added the packet of fertilizer that came
with each tree.

Pictures are in order through out last season.

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Katrina 1,

The suckers are growing from the stem/ trunk.
As for the wind? We get strong winds and I didn't
stake my trees. Why? Well I saw it on a garden
show that it was not really necessary. However I had
planned to stake them any way this season, because
the trunks were not growing the way I wanted them to.

I also, don't think I planted them too deep.

Rhizo 1,
I don't think I have terrible soil in this location.
I have an elderberry , a tiger eye sumac, 2 OG's and
an assortment of other plants there. I had prepared the
bed the previous year, before I bought the tree.

As for the PH balance, I have never had my soil
checked.

I hope maybe the pictures may help answer some questions.

Thanks,
Mary

For Heritage birch trees it is important to stake potted trees you plant that are as tall and thin trunked as the ones shown in your photo.

The way you do that is to use 3 "T" stakes postioned evenly around and about 8-10 inches away from the tree. Then tie the trunks to the stake with non damaging cords. Just make certain, though, to take care to adjust the ties so that the trunks can still slightly bend with the wind, but not so far that any whipping trunk will stress the tree's roots where they are attach to the bottom of the trunk near ground level. Also you should at least every week at first and and later once every two weeks check the ties to see if they need to be re-adjusted.

Also your photos reveal that you need to pull the mulch at least 4 inches away from the rootflares of each trunk. If not, a mold could begin to form at the base of the trunks and if allowed to stay could begin to do damage.

Keep the leafed out sprouts as healthy as you can since they are currently producing the only leaves which will help feed the tree's roots.

With birch trees it is not as easy to tell how much of the tree is dead with the bark scratch test. It seems that since the bark flakes off is why you can do a scratch test where no green at all shows up, but then it is still possible to discover some green just beneath the bark even though that scratch test seems to reveal that part of the tree is dead and you cut it off. So I have found it better with Heritage birch trees, to wait until the branch or trunk gets dry and brittle before pruning it away.

Sooner Plant Farm's guarantee is pretty typical and seems reasonable. I bet they'd even consider extending it a bit in special circumstances, but not this far along. Their guarantee states, "We guarantee our plants to be healthy and true to type when they arrive. We do not offer a long term guarantee due to all the circumstances that could affect the survival of a plant. Our written guarantee states once plants are received and no reports have been noted to us within 48 hours of receiving them, we acknowledge the plants as accepted." BTW, Sooner Plant Farm is in the Watchdog 30, so they have an excellent reputation.

I would normally not consider staking a tree like this unless there was a special need. I agree with Mary, that this particular specimen could benefit from a little training. I would use pantyhose to couple the tree to properly placed stakes. Pantyhose are unlikely to damage the tree and will allow some natural movement for strong root development.

I can't tell how deep the mulch is. Ideally bare soil immediately next to the trunk is good, but I usually do mulch right up to the trunk myself. I taper my mulch layer so that it is as thin as possible next to the trunk, and only leave enough to visually block the bare soil.

I doubt we'll ever know why the upper parts of the branches didn't leaf out, but I would be sure to keep a good eye out on the watering situation. A wire mesh guard might also be a good idea for a little while for those rascally rabbits.

Katrina,

Is it possible to check for green under the bark at
the upper branches?? The stems seem very pliable. Which made
me think that maybe they might still leaf out this season.

Now its June and I have given up hope about that.
Would letting the suckers grow, make them a reliable adult tree?

____
Brandon,

I had not planned on getting or trying to get a refund for
the trees. The trees came in great shape and though I
thought I had done everything right, maybe somewhere I or
Mother Nature did something to kill the upper part of the
trees. I just have no idea.

I can move the mulch from around the trunk. I don't think
it is very deep. I thought that for the winter time
it would help protect my investment.

So, now I just have the decision to either leave them or
replace them. I just hate spending the money all over
again.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Mary

Since your trees' root systems are still alive, give them time to recover. Stake the trees to prevent them from whipping in the wind, but always maintian some play in the slack of the ties so the trees can still move a bit with the winds.

As per your question; yes those suckers are your best promise for a continued healthy tree. See how fast they are taking on height. That is a good sign indicating that they are agressive enough to take on the role of your new trunks.

Other than staking these trees, daily keep checking the soil moisture. Then whenever you discover that the soil is dry an inch down, give each of the trees at least 5 gallons of water.

If the upper branches are still flexible and as long as the lower leafed out growth seems to be thriving and developing nicely, you should be okay waiting until those upper branches get dried out and brittle before you remove them.

Katrina,
Thanks for your help.
I am keeping the "twigs" ...for now anyway. I hope
that they grow up through the summer months into
real trees.

Mary