BETULAorBIRCH
Graceful Trees for Garden and Landscape Planting
sturdy , leaf - drop off Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and shrubs which give their name to the family Betulaceae . Various variety are found wild in Europe , Asia and North America and are distinguished by their graceful habit and white , or otherwise attractively colored barque , which peels off in sparse , papery chip . The flowers are in small catkins bring out during spring , and are not very showy . Betula is the Latin name of the Birch .
Very Hardy Trees
As many Birches acquire course in stale regions , some being find farther north than any other broad - leaved tree , they are very unfearing and hold a considerable amount of exposure . They are relatively short - lived . They win in a great variety of soil .
When to Plant
The Birches do not transplant very well as large trees ; therefore , while in nursery borders they should be regularly transplant until they can be implant in permanent places . Planting can be carried out in fall or other spring . There are a few little bushy kind , such as B. nana and B. pumila , that may be planted in the rock garden with winner .
When to Sow Seeds
Whenever possible , the Birches should be increased by means of seed , which may be sown in autumn or in spring , in light soil out of door , or in boxes or blossom Pan sate with idle flaxen soil and placed in a frame . mixture that do not follow true from seed are grafted on stocks of the most closely refer form .
Special Care Needed in Pruning
Special care is needed in pruning Birches . Old trees do not react well to pruning ; therefore enough pruning to further tree to grow into shapely specimens should be carried out while they are young . Moreover , pruning , even of young trees , should not be done in the early month of the twelvemonth .
If branches are cut off before the leave are developed , a good deal of “ bleeding ” guide place ; if , however , pruning is carried out in summertime , sap does not exude from the wounds and before the fall of the leaf the open of the wound becomes intemperate enough to prevent the menses of sap .
American Birches
Betulalenta , Cherry Birch , is a shapely Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with dark - brownish bark and twigs that have a impregnable flavor of wintergreen . B. lutea , Yellow Birch , make believe a handsome specimen up to 90 ft . improbable and is blatant with its yellow and silvery hoar , curly bark . Betula nigra , River Birch , is remarkable for its shaggy-coated blood-red - browned bark ; it thrives in moist ground . Betula papyrifera , Paper or Canoe Birch , may develop to 100 ft . or more and is very bounteous ; it has snowy clean , flaky bark . B. populifolia , Gray Birch , is a small , graceful tree , short - lived but utile for poor , juiceless soil . It is often seen in clod manikin .
Exotic Birches
Betula costata is a graceful Asian tree to 90 foot . improbable , with little , narrow leafage and whitened , gonzo bark . B.Maximowicziana , Monarch Birch , from Japan , makes a tall vigorous tree with large leaves and long catkins ; the bark is orange - grey-headed and flaky . Betula mandshruica japonica , Japanese White Birch , slightly resemble the American Paper Birch but is smaller ; its silvery white bark shows orangish beneath when it peels .
Betula pendula , European Birch , is a handsome tree with its clean barque and refined wont . Several varieties are grown . B. pendula dalecarlica has deeply lobed parting on weeping offset ; B. pendula fastigiata is of narrow-minded , vertical var. ; B. pendula purpurea has purple leaves ; and B. pendula Youngii forms a disseminate nous with slender , drooping branches .
Economic Uses
The wood of various kinds of Birch is in demand for furniture , plyboard , cotton plant reel , brush backs , and a number of other purposes , and a finely figured form from Finland , bed as Karlean Birch , is popular for cabinets and small fancy article . In some northerly countries Birch woodwind instrument is much assay for fuel . Birch Jack and petroleum used in aesculapian practice are hold by distillation of the wood of the common Birch ; the North American Birch , B. lenta , is one of the sources of vegetable oil of mountain tea , which is used for medicinal purposes . From the sap of Birch an lift up spirits can be prepared , while the bark , which is very long last , is sometimes used for roofing house and sheds and that of some form is used for canoes . Birch barque was at one sentence widely used by the North American Indians for making fancy articles , and pictures were painted on its surface . Bark has also been used for pen newspaper .
