Yes, they might be dead. In other words, you may have bought poor specimens that won't turn out to be such a good deal afterall.

If this place is a big box store I seldom buy plants from the ones here, starting with the fact that they are consistently negligent about watering. Even at independent garden centers here there is a problem with lack of fertilization, so that stock discounted in fall may have gone for months without the regular fertilization they were getting at the production facility before being shipped out. Starved plants may establish slowly or worse.

Thanks for the reply. Menards is a big boxer, similar to Home Depot.

So it is possible for one trunk to be dead while others are alive on the same tree? I took a closer look last night and only one trunk on each tree is completely without leaves. Since it's gotten cold, the leaves are somewhat yellow on all my trees so I'm hoping maybe they just fell off prematurely on those trunks as a combo of fall and being stressed at the store.

How can I verify if a trunk is in fact dead?

Dead trunks will have crispy twigs or ones on their way, with brown beneath the bark instead of green.

Usually, although not always, the multi-trunked birches are a result of planting more than one (3-5) seedling(s) in the same pot. Sometimes, they are the result of letting a seedling grow for a season, cutting it back, and waiting to see what comes up, but since that is less reliable and takes at least another year to get sale-able trees, as I understand it, the multiple seedlings route is the usual one.

Do a scratch test on the twigs of the questionable trunk - if the cambium layer is green, then you have a viable tree/trunk, which should, if you look after the tree(s) well this winter/spring, leaf out fine in the spring. You may have some winter die-back to trim off.

If one trunk is dead, you could cut it off at ground level without that affecting the other trunks. My personal preference is for an odd number of trunks in a clump, anyway..... If it turns out one of the trunks is dead
then I would cut it off while the clump is dormant, late in winter or early in the spring. That way, if there is any accidental damage to the other trunks/branches, there is less chance of "bleeding" - dripping as the sap rises to the branch ends. Birch can (especially sweet birch) be tapped for sap, to be boiled down, just as sugar maples are, and damaged branch ends can drip sap for several weeks in spring.

in zone 5.. in october ... yes its fall ... i am not surprised that trees are losing their leaves.. are you?? .. especially potted ones ... at the bigboxstore ...

scratch the bark of the trunk .. if there is green in there... it is probably alive.. and probably just gone dormant a bit early ..

were these tortured all year on the parking lot by a toothless woman with a hose??? or was it stock recently brought in????

save the receipt ....

there is a chance.. that the clump will resprout from the ground ..... in other words.. the trunk may be dead.. but the roots may come back ....

check for borer holes ....

ken

Hey everyone- I wanted to give an update and I'll follow with pics.

Both trees had four trunks originally. I ended up removing two of the four trunks on one of the trees as no leaves sprouted in the spring. There are some decent size sprouts coming up from the groud, I hope they can reform a trunk eventually.

All four trunks leafed out on the other tree. However, on one of the trunks, the leaves only have sprouts on some of the branches while the others are brittle and dead. Unfortunetly the central leader on that trunk is brittle at the top and isn't growing higher. Should I prune off the dead top down to a branch with growth- will that branch become the leader? Thanks again for the help!!!

The problem with new birch nursery material is they no longer top the single tree to create a clump growth, in stead they plant three or four cuttings, or seedlings which grow as 'individual trees' with a 'clump' appearance. This has caused considerable complications in maturing growth because each tree is competitive-to, and in competition-with, the others. Using the 'older' method of producing birch clumps, all trees grew off the same root system and all were cooperative with the others for available resources... Your four-clump tree allows only 1/4 of the outward root growth area per tree, as well as 1/4th of the above ground environmental exposure area, so expect some leaning as well as limited uniformity in each tree's individual growth development/habit...
Bob Tooley Tree Health & Insect Service T.H.I.S.

On the tree that you have only 2 trunks left and some new sprouts coming up. It will be interesting to watch and see how well the sprouts develop. Also make certain you do not let your tree become stressed having to endure too dry of soil for any longer than a day.

If this were my tree I would wait to be certain that the sprouts remain healthy, and then late near the end of this year's upcoming winter, I would select three of the tree's most agressive sprouts to become the new tree.

To do that, in about mid to late Feb. 2010, simply cut off the two older trunks, which would always, otherwise, steal the needed water and soil nutrients from the sprouts. Also remove any other less healthy or thinner sprouts. Then watch the sprouts to see when they begin to leaf out in the then newly emerging Spring. Once the soil has thawed and the leaves have begun to appear, check the soil regularly, and then deeply water whenever the soil feels dry for the first inch down.

Even during the Spring rains, do not be fooled by the light or short rains which begin to occur near the end of that rain season. During that time, still keep check of the soil the next day after one of those short or small rain showers.

One other thing to keep in mind next Spring, is the need for you to be prepared to protect the newly emerged leaves and the thin sprout trunks from any late freezes which might still occur as late as April 15 or later in your area.

Take care of your tree this way this year and for at least the first 3 years after you have pruned off the older trunks and begun growing the new three healthy sprouts to become your tree's three, main leader trunks.

Concerning your other tree, I too would like to hear from others, more informed on this matter than me, as to how best is to deal with the dead trunks that are growing branched at one point lower.

Last Fall, I planted a single trunked 'Heritage' River birch in the same condition that you described the one of the trunks is growing in your other tree.

For mine, I have chosen to cut off the top dead part and let the rest of the tree continue to grow however it likes. This way I am hoping for its roots to become established well enough to begin sending up new sprouts from its then, better established roots, so that I can do with my tree the same thing I advised for you to do with the first tree issues I described above.

Still, just like you, I too would like to hear from others if my thoughts on how to handle the dead top of my tree's main leader is correct or not.