About
This tree has a conical shape, featuring reddish-grey bark that matures to a dark grey. Its dark green leaves can reach lengths of up to 10 cm and transition to a golden-yellow hue in the fall. The aromatic shoots bear elongated, yellow-brown male catkins that appear in early spring.
About the genus
Betula comprises both deciduous trees and shrubs, known for their vibrant autumn foliage and distinctive bark that can be white, pink, or brown and peeling. In spring, male and female catkins emerge separately, preceding or coinciding with leaf growth.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil type
- Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- North-facing, South-facing, West-facing, East-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H7
Plant details
- Plant type
- Trees
- Habit
- Bushy
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- Higher than 12 metres
- Spread
- wider than 8 metres
- Time to full height
- 20-50 years
- Suggested uses
- Cottage and informal garden
- Native to
- Japan
- Fragrance
- Bark
Care notes
- Cultivation
- This species prefers sheltered, woodland conditions
- Pruning
- Pruning group 1
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed sown in a seed bed in autumn or take softwood cuttings in summer
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to birch borers, leaf-mining sawflies and aphids
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to honey fungus, a tree rust and powdery mildews