Alnus glutinosa is the native species here. It would be worth a try though
I won't attempt it with my own because they are very old trees marking the
line of an ancient river which moved its course about a thousand years ago
- also the hawks' favourite look out posts. Also they have sheep under them
- not good for garden plants. HOWEVER it is very noticeable that many
native herbs and wild flowers which would normally avoid the bases of trees
flourish under the alder, presumably because of the nitrogen levels. There
are huge stands of nettles which normally only flourish on ancient middens!
Fungi do not seem to do well under them. The mushrooms that we find all
over the rest of the field are missing under the alders. In many parts of
europe the wood was traditionally used to sole clogs
kathryn
