Has my established silver birch died?
By Kaz65
Hampshire,
United Kingdom 
I love the silver birch in my garden. We used to have 2 but last year we noticed that part of one had died & it was posing a danger to our neighbours greenhouse. Our remaining tree hasnt got any leaves on it at all. Should it be in leave by now?
20 Jun, 2009
Answers
I believe that silver birch is susceptible to honey fungus. Could this be it do you think?
20 Jun, 2009
they are relatively short lived trees and susceptible to honey fungus.
the 2 we had died around the 45yr mark and honey fungus was the final nail in their coffin.
it is sad but all part of nature i'm afraid.
21 Jun, 2009
Oh, definitely. I suspect that it's an ex-silver birch. Sorry. :-(
Try scraping a little bark off the trunk and see if the wood is green or brown underneath. If brown, it's dead. Also, the twigs would snap off easily - another test.
20 Jun, 2009