New build tree in garden? Dead.

[Sheldonsheher]

Is it petty to complain about a dead tree in your new build. It’s on the plans. The original tree never grew so it was replaced end of 2023 next one never grew either now a dead twig. Should I complain to the developer or just dig up and replant or grass over it. Doesn’t seem that the developer is interested now. Seems the soil is probably poor or not planted well?

Did you water it? Young trees need water in dry summers to establish and survive

A little bit…… it never stopped raining here last summer.

Just get rid yourself surely? Hardly a major issue or difficult job, if its just a sapling that died pretty much immediately.

The other trees in communal areas all grew and to be honest they were not watered so I don’t think it’s that the ground was really wet all last year.

Yes maybe I am being petty. It’s just a job to do I don’t have a spade maybe I should get one!

What tree can I plant or a bush. That doesn’t grow too high and won’t cause any issues ? I don’t know much about gardening ?

Don't plant anything now. Trees do much better if they are planted in autumn. I would go for a cherry blossom or a rowan. Neither get too big and they both have lovely autumn colour and berries for the birds

Depends on the direction of the garden, how much shade it gets and the type of soil...

Look at Acers. There are many different varieties in different colours. They can be show-stoppers.

The two dead trees are Rowans so I think will try something less cursed.

West facing sunny (but far north so not really hot) . Soil is rubbish it seems.

I have an Acer Palmatum Deshojo in a big pot, and it is absolutely thriving in a shady spot in my garden. Honestly, I love it so much, it is the most beautiful deep pink colour from early March and mellows out into red and then green over summer, then a fabulous yellow in the Autumn. If you start with it in a big pot, you can make sure it has good soil and find a spot it likes before committing to putting it into the ground. You do have to make sure you keep it watered, though (I have mine on a timed sprinkler connected to my outdoor tap). There are so many Acer tree varieties, and they all seem to be beautiful, definitely worth a look.

An Acer won't like bring in more than a few hours of sun a day

Rowans thrive in municipal car parks, they are generally tough as old boots.

We have a problem affecting our rowan at the moment so it might be linked to that. I have an area where there are about 100 and many of them are dying. The leaves shrivel and turn black and the tree hangs on for as long as possible and then dies and falls.

Although in your case it does sound like you haven't watered it.

New trees and shrubs need a good lot of water almost every day for the first year, no matter the weather. And then keep watering after the first year in drier weather. It’s boring, but so worth it.

In that case, remove the dead tree, get a spade and enlarge the hole. Fill the hole with scraps, manure, dead leaves, anything that might once have been green. Let it do its thing over summer and plant into it before Christmas.

If you are looking for ideas, does your local BBC radio have a gardening show? Does their expert have a website with suggestions? Or try your local RHS garden. Start with the website.

We did have a tree that the developers had planted replaced by them, though in retrospect I wish we’d chosen one and planted it ourselves.
It died because it had been planted way too deep - or more likely, planted before the front lawn (which slopes down from neighbours drive to ours had been filled in.

It could have been badly planted or it could be bad soil. We lost a young tree due to an underground fungus that spread from next door’s garden - within a couple of weeks neighbours had lost two trees and ours had died - all in a line with one another.

So if you do plant another, perhaps choose a different spot. What about a Birch? If you get it trimmed properly they can be height restricted and made a bit ‘rounder ‘ than normal .

Birches can have a pretty extensive root system. Quite a few of those were planted in our cul de sac by developers and now (30 years on) many have been removed. I’d go for something inherently smaller near an house, even though birches (especially the Himalayan ones) are lovely.

In tree terms though Birches have very small rootballs. We have hundreds and when they fall it's always surprising how shallow rooted they are. The small rootball is actually more likely to be the reason for removing them if they are close to housing (they are prone to falling in storms)

Our well established rowan died this year. Think it’s some disease.

They may be shallow but their roots can spread a long way IME.

Can I suggest a Honey Locust Sunburst
(Gleditsia Trianthos).

Had one in our previous house and when we moved to our NB property we decided to plant one in the back garden (along with a Hawthorne tree).
Lovely soft leafs which provide dappled shade.

Agree with PP's, make sure you dig out the hole and plant with lots of good soil & compost plus stake the tree.
Water regularly for the first year or so.

My suggestion is an amelanchier. Really pretty delicate flowers in early spring and a nice small tree.