Preparing branches...

[Flappy]

Last night my boyfriend and i cut down 3 large-ish branches from a forest nearby. The 2 biggest branches look like Ash (have black buds on them), and the 3rd i'm not sure about.

Anyway, first of all, i cut all the leaves and buds off the branches, and then put them in my bath, which is filled with a bleach/water solution. About an hour later i scrubbed some as much of the lichen (round green patches) off as i could.


Questions:

There's still some lichen on there. Am i ok to leave the bits that are left? It's in the cracks and joints of the branch, and i doubt i'll get it out.

How long do i need to leave the branches in the bleach? I've been told over night. They've been in there nearly 2 hours now.

When it's time to rinse, should i do just that, or should i soak them in water for a while?


I'm really excited about them. Pebbles went mad when he saw them, and kept trying to land on them when i was cutting off the leaves. He's in for a treat :)

[clifff123]

There's still some lichen on there. Am i ok to leave the bits that are left? It's in the cracks and joints of the branch, and i doubt i'll get it out.

Good question I would like to know the answer too!

[Pippin's mom]

I'm not sure about the Lichen either. As far as the bleach soak i don't think it needs to be overnight. I would think a couple of hours would be fine. Rinse them off really good and lay them in the sun (if you have any sun lol) to dry. I'm assuming the branches are too big for your oven..if not then you can also dry them out in your oven.

[Flappy]

As far as the bleach soak i don't think it needs to be overnight. I would think a couple of hours would be fine. Rinse them off really good and lay them in the sun (if you have any sun lol) to dry. I'm assuming the branches are too big for your oven.

Ah good.... i left them in bleach a few hours, but i left them in just water overnight.

As far as the lichen goes, i think i may have removed it all. I had an idea to use a toothbrush in the grooves, and after the overnight soak, it all seemed to come off. I'm sure there are some tiny pieces left somewhere, and i'm sure Pebbles will find them (he's in chew mode!). I just hope that will be ok.

Luckily (as the branches are way too big for the oven), the weather has been lovely here, so the branches are in the garden baking away in the sun!

[Budgietom]

Do oyu have any pictures of the branches??

[Flappy]

I'm at work at the moment, but could post some later. :)

[Flappy]

Ok, here are the branches, sorry if the pics aren't very good.

The branch on the left in the first pic is the one that's different. I'm fairly sure the other 2 branches are Ash.

The second pic is a close up of the supposed Ash.

The third is the unknown.

Bare in mind that this is after i have hacked off all the leaves and buds, and scrubbed off all of the lichen. Actually, they could now be unrecognisable :p

[BudgieBudgie]

The third looks a lot like my cherry. I would toss it out if you're uncertain.

[Pippin's mom]

You definitely want to know for certain what kinds of trees the brances are from and look them up to be sure they are not a type that is toxic to birds!

[Flappy]

I think the unknown one may be silver birch? Since i washed it, it's looked quite shiney. But that's just a guess.

[Budgietom]

Could you take it to a nursery (gardening shop) and see if they know?

[BudgieBudgie]

Good idea! :cool:

[Pippin's mom]

Great idea Phillip!:) Its not a good idea to guess you really do need to make sure your branches are bird safe. Your local Master Gardeners would know too.

[Flappy]

Just to let you guys know..... we went back to where we got the branches from, in daylight this time, and discovered that the 3rd branch is oak. I've read that oak is toxic because of the tannins, so that one's getting thrown out!