Birch is a classic of suburban areas. Landing, care. Description of common birch Birch warty Latin

Birch has been considered a symbol of Russia since ancient times. And there is not a single person who does not know this tree, because it is widely used in industries, medicine and garden decoration. And also in many books you can often find an artistic description of birch in poetry and fairy tales.

general description

Birch is a tree that has a clear change of deciduous cover, and it belongs to the genus Birch. Botanists have found that this plant has about a hundred species, most of which stretch up to 30-35, and sometimes 45 meters. In the midst of such a variety there are bushes that are found both very large and completely tiny, expelled. Life expectancy is on average 200-250 years. The tree is undemanding to the soil. Sandy, clayey or barren lands are suitable for it. Loves water and mainly grows near the seas, rivers and swamps.

Numerous fairy tales, poems, riddles that pass from generation to generation can show all the beauty and inimitability of a slender tree. This is probably why the description of a birch for children, including in artistic skills, is very important for their spiritual development and the upbringing of patriotic feelings, the disclosure of humanity, and the formation of love for all living things.

Growing Features

If you want to plant a birch near your home, you must remember that large sprouts with an open rhizome, even planted at the right time, do not always take root - some of them die, or their crown dries up. Therefore, it is better to purchase seedlings with an earthen clod or in a container. . The main rules for caring for a tree:

Planting and caring for Chinese date unabi

Species classification

The genus Birch is numerous and is found throughout the world. The habitat ranges from sultry subtropics to regions with very cold air. In central Russia and in areas with moderate weather conditions, these trees create bright groves, having a fairly large variety of species:

Japanese red maple: description, cultivation in the garden

The use of birch

In the food industry, veterinary medicine, industry, traditional medicine and cosmetology, birch has found a very wide application, because it has healing capabilities, due to the presence of many useful components in the petals and buds.

Medicinal properties

A decoction of the leaves is used by herbalists as a disinfectant, antiseptic, diuretic and choleretic drug in the manufacture of various fees. Birch petals have a large amount of:

The juice collected in early spring can be used as a preventive measure against blood diseases. Tea from chaga (birch fungus) relieves headaches, improves appetite and gives strength.

Tar is used mainly as an anti-allergic and antimicrobial agent, it is part of soaps, various balms and lotions that are used to treat skin diseases.

flower formula

In medicine

Free the intestines, drink "" - a natural laxative collection of medicinal herbs. Works fast but gently!

Birch preparations (leaves and buds) are used for mild to moderate edema of cardiovascular and renal origin. Birch leaves are prescribed for chronic kidney disease, cystitis, urolithiasis, uric acid diathesis, nephrosis and nephritis; in the treatment of liver diseases, jaundice, mild forms of cholecystitis and cholecystoangiocholitis. Birch buds are prescribed for respiratory diseases: laryngitis, bronchitis, tracheitis, glossitis, tonsillitis; otitis, acute respiratory diseases; in diseases with suppurative processes (abscesses, mastitis, peritonitis, furunculosis, phlegmon).

Infusions and decoctions of birch buds are used: in dentistry - for stomatitis, gingivitis, periodontal disease; in gynecology - with nephropathy, cervical erosion and endometritis. In dermatology, birch preparations are used for acne, neurodermatitis, eczema, dermatitis, etc.

Birch buds and leaves are part of the collections and dietary supplements.

children

The drug is approved for use in children from 12 years of age.

In cosmetology

In cosmetology, birch preparations are used externally as anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents. Leaves, sap, birch buds and birch tar are used for cosmetic purposes.

In cosmetology, decoctions of the kidneys are used to stop irritation of the skin of the face, inflammation, itching, to increase skin tone and against acne. A decoction of the leaves is used to wash the hair to strengthen and improve hair growth. Birch sap is considered useful for the treatment of eczema, lichen, various rashes and furunculosis, and is also prescribed as a remedy that removes age spots and relieves oily skin. A decoction of birch buds is part of lipsticks and creams.

In Bulgaria, France, Austria and other countries, birch leaves and buds are widely used in cosmetology.

Classification

In nature, there are up to 120 species of birch, which belong to the birch family (lat. Betulaceae). In medicine, 2 types of birch are widely used:

Birch drooping (warty) lat. Betula pendula Roth. (lat. B. verrucosa Ehrh.);

Downy birch Betula pubescens Ehrh.

Botanical description

Birch is a deciduous tree, up to 20 m high, with white, easily exfoliating bark. The leaves are alternate, triangular-ovate or ovate-rhombic with a wide wedge-shaped or almost truncated base, doubly sharp-toothed along the edges, young leaves are sticky. The flowers are collected in female and male earrings. The formula of birch flowers: male flowers - * O2T2P0, female flowers - * O0T0P (2).

At silver birch young shoots are red-brown, glabrous, covered with resinous glands - warts, the branches are usually drooping. In older trees, the bark at the base of the trunks is black-gray.

At downy birch non-hanging branches, and the bark at the base of the trunk remains white until old age. Annual shoots and leaves of birch are covered with short fine hairs, shoots without warts.

Spreading

Birch is widespread throughout the European part of Russia and the CIS countries (except for the Far North and South), in Western and partially Central Siberia, Northern Kazakhstan, the Western Tien Shan and the Caucasus, in the east it reaches Baikal.

Distribution regions on the map of Russia.

Procurement of raw materials

Birch buds (Gemmae Betulae), young birch leaves (Folia Betulae), spring "weeping" juice (Succus Betulae), sometimes bark (birch bark) (Cortex Betulae), birch fungus chagu (Infusum innonotus obliquus), birch tar (Pix liquida Betulae).

Birch leaves are harvested at the beginning of flowering, in April - May, when they are fragrant and sticky. Dry in the open air under a canopy or in dryers at a temperature of 25-30°C.

The buds are harvested in early spring (January - March) during their swelling, before the leaves bloom, when the scales on their top have not yet dispersed. At the same time, the branches are cut, tied in bunches and dried for 3-4 weeks in the open air or in a well-ventilated area. After drying, the buds are separated from the branches and cleaned of impurities on a sieve or fan. When dried, birch buds should have a dark brown color, a pleasant smell and a bitter taste.

Chemical composition

Birch leaves contain an essential oil with a pleasant balsamic odor (up to 0.8%), which includes sesquiterpene alcohol betulol (25-47%) and its esters with acetic acid (30-40%), bicyclic sesquiterpene lactone betulen, triterpene bicyclic alcohols, triterpenoid betulin. The leaves also contain flavonoid and flavonol glycosides (1.96–5.56%): hyperoside, rutin, avicularin; tannins, coumarins, phenolcarboxylic acids, vitamins E, C, PP, carotenoids.

birch buds contain an essential oil (0.2 - 8%), consisting of sesquiterpene alcohol betulol (25 - 47%) and its esters with acetic acid (30 - 40%), betulenic and palmitic acids, betulen bicyclic sesquiterpene lactones, β-caryophyllene sesquiterpene and its monoxide, triterpene bicyclic alcohols α-, β- and γ-betulenols - 1.8–14%, α-betulenol acetate, betulin triterpenoid, alkaloids (0.1%), naphthalene, paraffin, yellow dye, n-pentacosane , resins (5-hydroxy-7,4-dimethoxyflavone).

Also birch buds contain flavone and flavonol glycosides (1.96-5.56%): hyperoside (0.8-1.5%), 5-hydroxy-7,4-dimethoxyflavone (0.3%), 3- Myricetin D-digalactoside (0.37%), quercitrin (0.14%), avicularin (0.57%), quercetin 3-glucuronide (0.25%), isorhamnetin, other derivatives of kaempferol and apigenin; sterols, tannins (1.07–9%), bitterness, coumarins (0.09–0.44%), anthocyanins, resins (betulester), butyl ester of betuloretinic acid, 8–10% sugars, inositol, ascorbic acid (up to 2.8%) and nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, carotene.

Pharmacological properties

Preparations leaves birches have a moderately pronounced diuretic, choleretic and antispasmodic effect, have antiseptic, antifungal, wound healing, anti-inflammatory properties. Leaf extract enhances the excretion of sodium and chlorine ions from the body.

Tincture birch buds has a diuretic and anti-inflammatory effect, has antimicrobial activity against antibiotic-resistant staphylococci (144 strains).

The diuretic effect of birch preparations is exerted by flavonoids and potassium nitrate, which enhances the action of flavonoids.

In the process of treatment with birch preparations for heart failure, edema disappears in patients, shortness of breath decreases, excretion of protein in the urine (albuminuria) decreases, and the general condition improves; in the treatment of liver diseases - pain, vomiting, nausea decrease or disappear, the size of the liver decreases, the excretion of urine and bile increases, and the general condition improves.

The effectiveness of the treatment of diseases with birch preparations increases when they are taken simultaneously with other medicinal plants of a similar effect in the form of collections or complex medicinal teas.

Application in traditional medicine

In Chinese medicine, birch buds are recommended as an antipyretic and diuretic for nephritis. Preparations of birch leaves as a choleretic, diuretic and diaphoretic are popular in folk medicine in Western Europe - Poland, Bulgaria, France, Austria, Germany.

In Mongolian medicine, birch leaves are used in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumonia, lung abscess and pleurisy as an expectorant, as well as in diseases of the joints, muscles and beriberi. In Tibetan medicine, birch bark is used to treat burns and purulent wounds.

History reference

The healing properties of birch have been known for a long time. Numerous tips on the use of birch are given in herbalists of the 16th-17th centuries.

In Russia, tincture of birch buds was used to treat cholera. In folk medicine, birch leaves and buds are used for urolithiasis, edema, gout, bronchitis, tuberculosis, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and hyperacid gastritis.

In the treatment of purulent wounds, birch buds were most often used. Tinctures or decoctions from the kidneys were an effective remedy for chronic diarrhea and helminthic invasion (ascaris and pinworms). Birch buds rubbed the gums with scurvy. Fresh birch sap and preparations of birch buds were used as a general tonic to improve metabolism.

In 1834, a report appeared in the Russian Medical Newspaper about the use of birch leaves for dropsy. In 1894, its diuretic effect was established. The choleretic properties of birch leaves were established by M.K. Petrova in the laboratory of I.P. Pavlova.

Literature

1. State Pharmacopoeia of the USSR. Eleventh edition. Issue 1 (1987), issue 2 (1990).

2. State Register of Medicines. Moscow 2004.

3. Medicinal plants of the State Pharmacopoeia. Pharmacognosy. (Edited by I.A. Samylina, V.A. Severtsev). - M., "AMNI", 1999.

4. "Phytotherapy with the basics of clinical pharmacology", ed. V.G. Kukes. – M.: Medicine, 1999.

5. P.S. Chikov. "Medicinal plants" M.: Medicine, 2002.

6. Sokolov S.Ya., Zamotaev I.P. Handbook of medicinal plants (phytotherapy). – M.: VITA, 1993.

7. Mannfried Palov. "Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants". Ed. cand. biol. Sciences I.A. Gubanov. Moscow, Mir, 1998.

8. Turova A.D. "Medicinal plants of the USSR and their application". Moscow. "The medicine". 1974.

9. Lesiovskaya E.E., Pastushenkov L.V. "Pharmacotherapy with the basics of herbal medicine." Tutorial. – M.: GEOTAR-MED, 2003.

10. Medicinal plants: A reference guide. / N.I. Grinkevich, I.A. Balandina, V.A. Ermakova and others; Ed. N.I. Grinkevich - M .: Higher School, 1991. - 398 p.

11. Plants for us. Reference manual / Ed. G.P. Yakovleva, K.F. Pancake. - Publishing house "Educational book", 1996. - 654 p.

12. Medicinal plant materials. Pharmacognosy: Proc. allowance / Ed. G.P. Yakovlev and K.F. Pancake. - St. Petersburg: SpecLit, 2004. - 765 p.

13. Forest cosmetics: Reference manual / L. M. Molodozhnikova, O. S. Rozhdestvenskaya, V. F. Sotnik. - M.: Ecology, 1991. - 336 p.

14. Healthy skin and herbal remedies / Ed.-comp.: I. Pustyrsky, V. Prokhorov. - M. Machaon; Minsk: Book House, 200. - 192 p.

15. Nosov A. M. Medicinal plants. - M.: EKSMO-Press, 2000. - 350 p.

Betula, birch. Trees, shrubs and dwarf shrubs with a see-through crown, giving a sparse shadow, and, as a rule, with a beautiful trunk bark. Leaves petiolate, round to lanceolate, entire, serrated. Male earrings droop during flowering, female ones stand upright. The fruits are two-winged achenes.

Many species are suitable for use in ornamental gardening, are used to create alleys, tree and shrub groups, in a single planting.

Types and varieties of birch

More than 65 species are known, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere in nature, more than half of them grow in Russia.

Warty birch, or drooping birch, weeping birch, common birch (Betula verrucosa, Betula pendula)

Deciduous tree up to 20 tall with an openwork irregular crown, has a wide Eurasian range. The branches are drooping at the ends, the bark is white, black in the lower part of the trunk, fissured. The leaves are rhombic, glabrous, up to 7 cm long, resinous, sticky when blooming. Earrings are cylindrical up to 3 cm long. Warty birch blooms in the first decade of May, fruit ripening occurs in late July-August. Warty birch is one of the fastest growing trees in Russia.

USDA zone 1-2.

Popular forms and varieties of birch drooping:

"Aurea"- a slow-growing tree up to 10 m high, the leaves are shiny golden yellow, the crown is openwork with falling branches, the trunk is white;

"golden cloud"- a tree up to 10 m high with leaves of a rich yellow color, when blooming with a peach-orange tint;

‘Gracilis' - a variety with a weeping crown, the leaves are smaller than those of the wild form and deeply dissected;

‘Laciniata' is a large deciduous tree (up to 15 m high) with an oval openwork vertical crown, drooping branches and dissected leaves. It grows more slowly than the main species. In severe winters, annual shoots freeze;

‘youngii' - a small tree without a main trunk, with an irregular, picturesque crown, with thin drooping branches. Crown umbrella type;

‘Tristis' - a close variety with the previous one, usually the central trunk is preserved, from which the branches hang down, forming a narrower crown, the leaves are dissected;

‘Purpurea' - a slow-growing tree up to 10 m high, with a white trunk, purple leaves, do not change color in autumn, smaller in size;

‘Trost's Dwarf' - a rounded shrub up to 1.2 m tall, leaves are light, up to 5 cm long, strongly dissected into narrow linear lobes.

Warty birch, or drooping birch grade "Crispa"

Karelian birch (Betula verrucosa var. carelica)

A tree with six forms of growth - from creeping to straight-stemmed. Trees can reach a height of 5-7 m, have the shape of a bush. The trunk of the Karelian birch has irregularities in the form of tubercles or spherical swellings. The wood on the trunk has an original pattern that resembles marble.

A particularly valuable tree species.

Dalekarliyskaya birch (Betula dalecarlica, Betula pendula var. dalecarlica), or drooping birch ‘Dalekarliyskaya’ (‘Dalecarlica’)

A deciduous tree up to 20 m tall, similar in crown shape to drooping birch, distinguished by dissected leaves and an openwork texture of the crown. Often confused with b. dangling ‘ Laciniata', from which they differ in large dissection of the leaves and less drooping crown.

USDA zone 2.

Downy birch, or white birch (Betula pubescens, Betula alba)

The species is distributed in Siberia.

Deciduous slow growing tree up to 15 m tall. The crown is broadly branched, ovoid. The bark is whiter than b. drooping and without a dark crust at the base. Young shoots are fluffy. The leaves are broadly ovate, leathery, dark green, shiny, up to 6 cm, young are sticky and fragrant. Women's earrings up to 3 cm long. Blooms in early May.

It is undemanding to soils, acidic, moist are optimal.

There is purple-leaved ( "Rubra") and yellowleaf (‘ Aurea') varieties.

USDA zone 1.

Fluffy birch grade "Yellow Wings"

Woolly birch (Betula lanata)

Tree 3-15 m tall with a wide spreading crown. The species naturally grows in the Far East and Korea. The bark of the trunk is dark gray, brownish, chestnut-gray or yellow-gray, often hanging on the trunks and branches in tatters, so that the tree has an original look. Rarely seen in culture.

Erman birch, or stone birch (Betula ermanii)

Deciduous tree 10-12 m (up to 15-20 m) tall with a spreading openwork crown. Grows fast, often multi-stemmed. The bark is yellowish or pinkish, on old trees it peels off and hangs down in ribbons. Young shoots are reddish brown. The leaves are broadly ovate, turning yellow in autumn. Blossoms in the first half of May, fruits ripen in September.

The species has a very durable wood.

popular variety ‘Holland’ characterized by slow growth. The bark is yellow-white, after leaf fall it is brown-yellow with a lagging, tearing and hanging tattered crust, densely warty branches.

USDA Zone 4 (5a).

All birches have decorative bark. Several birches planted in a single-species group look especially impressive.

Dahurian birch, or Dahurian black birch (Betula davurica)

An Asian relative of the American black birch. The tree can reach a height of 15 m. The bark of young trees is beige or pinkish, in adults it is dark brown or brown, exfoliating in plates.

USDA Zone 4.

Black birch, or nigra birch, Dahurian birch (Betula nigra)

Motherland - Far East, Japan.

Deciduous tree up to 10-12 m tall with a wide spreading, openwork crown, up to 7-10 m in diameter. Often multi-stemmed, lateral branches hang down. In young trees, the bark is pinkish or reddish, in older trees it is black-gray, peeling off in stripes. Leaves 3-5 cm long, dark green, glossy, yellow in autumn. Grows fast. Flowering in early May, fruiting in September.

Suitable for growing in conditions of excessive moisture. It can be used for landscaping the banks of water bodies. Sensitive to soil compaction.

USDA Zone 5.

Dwarf birch, or dwarf birch, dwarf birch, dwarf birch, dwarf birch, birch elfin (Betula nana)

The species is distributed in the tundra in the mountains and on the plain. An important component of the diet of reindeer.

Deciduous, upright, strongly branched shrub or small tree with warty branches. The bark is dark brown. Young shoots with dense velvety pubescence. The crown is strongly branched, the leaves are oblong, up to 2 cm long. Oval earrings up to 1 cm long. The growth rate is low. It blooms 3 weeks after the snow has melted for 2 weeks. Fruits - nuts - ripen in August.

popular variety ‘Glencarry’ more compact with glossy leaves.

Prefers moist, acidic or slightly acidic soils. Tolerates waterlogged soil.

USDA zone 1.

Birch useful (Betula utilis)

Homeland - the Himalayas.

Deciduous tree up to 12-15 m high with a wide oval openwork crown. The bark is white. Grows moderately fast. The leaves are ovate, pointed, dark green, yellow in autumn.

Popular varieties of useful birch:

"doorenbos"- the variety is similar to the Karelian birch - in adulthood it looks like a huge bush;

"Long Trunk"- the variety is distinguished by a weeping crown shape, a snow-white trunk and bright yellow autumn leaf color.

USDA Zone 4 (6a).

birch squat, or low birch, dwarf birch(Betula humilis)

An upright, strongly branched shrub or small tree with warty branches. It reaches a height of just over 2 m. The bark is dark brown. The crown is strongly branched, the leaves are oblong, up to 3 cm long. The growth rate is low.

Prefers acidic, well-humused soils.

USDA zone 1.

Birch squat, or low

Curve birch (Betula procurva)

A tree of medium size (10-12 m) with a branched curved trunk. Young branches are slightly pubescent, with resinous glands. The leaves are rhomboid-ovate, 6.5 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, acute or slightly pointed. Growth rate is low. Vegetates from April to September, blooms in May. Rarely seen in culture.

Maksimovich's birch (Betula maximowicziana)

Homeland - Kunashir Island, Japan.

Deciduous tree up to 15-18 m high. The crown is wide, rounded, openwork. The bark is gray or orange-gray on young shoots - cherry-brown. The leaves are broadly ovate, pointed, the base is deep heart-shaped, large. Rarely seen in culture. Flowering in May, fruiting in late autumn.

It is distinguished by solid wood and is valued as a high-quality building material.

USDA Zone 4.

Manchurian birch (Betula mandshurica)

Deciduous tree up to 20 m tall with a spreading crown. The bark is white, young shoots are red-brown, glabrous, later with white lenticels. The leaves are triangular-ovate, 5-6 cm long, with a wide wedge-shaped base, more or less pointed at the end, glabrous, dark green above, light below. Rarely seen in culture.

Paper birch (Betula papyrifera)

Homeland - North America.

Deciduous tree with a wide-cylindrical, low, dense crown with thin branches. The bark is bright white (slightly pinkish when young). Young shoots are pubescent, later glabrous, shiny, dark brown. The leaves are large, ovate, 4-10 cm long, dark green. Earrings up to 10 cm long. Autumn color is light yellow.

It tolerates city conditions well. It can be used for planting greenery in cities, taking into account precipitation in impassable places, since it does not tolerate soil compaction.

USDA zone 1.

Schmidt birch, iron birch (Betula schmidtii)

The species is found on dry rocky slopes in the south of Primorye and in Korea.

Deciduous tree. The bark is brownish-gray, almost black. Young shoots have a smooth dark brown bark with a cherry tint. Differs in slow growth, especially in the first years. The most durable birch. The leaves are 5.5 to 9 cm long, the leaves of older specimens are relatively wider, leathery. The original leaf shape is oblong-ovate. Earrings up to 3 cm long. Flowering in May, fruiting in late autumn.

The wood is exceptionally strong and durable.

USDA Zone 5.

birch care

All species are light-requiring, but tolerate slight shading, tolerate various soil conditions and varying degrees of moisture.

Landing is carried out in pits filled with a mixture of leafy soil, peat and sand (2: 1: 1). The root neck should remain at ground level. Young plants are transplanted in autumn or spring, large specimens (more than 3 m) - only in winter. In spring, plants benefit from top dressing with a complete mineral fertilizer. Fresh plantings are watered regularly, rooted trees - during dry periods.

birch propagation

Birches are propagated by seeds, garden forms - by layering and grafting in early spring.

birch application

Baskets and various art products are made from birch bark. Essential oils are obtained from the leaves of some species, tannins are obtained from the bark.

Description: the most common tree species in the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 120 species in the genus throughout the northern hemisphere from the subtropics to the tundra, of which 40 wild in the former USSR and about 25 introduced into cultivation. The most common of our hardwoods.

Trees up to 30 (45) m tall and obsolete up to creeping ones. The bark is usually smooth, covered with a layer of cork tissue, birch bark, exfoliating in thin plates, more often white, yellowish or pinkish, in some species gray, brown and even black; leaves petiolate from round de lanceolate, entire (rarely lobed), serrated; flowers in catkins, fruits - one-seeded nutlet, 1-5 mm long, flatly compressed laterally, with 2 membranous wings. The weight of 1000 fruitlets is from 0.1 g (in B. poplar) to 1.2 g (in B. black). The yield of pure seeds is 15-40%. The limiting age of most birches does not exceed 100-120 years, for B. yellow - 150 years, some trees reach 300 years. Most Birches are completely hardy, with the exception of the Himalayan-Chinese, some Japanese and American Black Birches, which are more demanding of heat.

Beautiful deciduous trees or bushes with a transparent, see-through crown and often with thin, hanging branches and light-colored trunks. In addition to the well-known and widespread in the temperate zone of white birches with long catkins and dense ovate-rhombic or triangular-ovate leaves, there are groups of species of a completely different appearance.

For example, with rounded ovoid fertile catkins directed upwards (woolly birch, Erman's birch); with ovate or oblong-ovate leaves (ribbed birch, Schmidt birch, cherry birch); with unusually colored bark (Daurian birch, ribbed birch, yellow birch, cherry birch, etc.). Almost all species are photophilous, undemanding to the richness of the soil, but they do not tolerate compaction and trampling. They are distinguished by rapid growth, tolerate city conditions well, provided they are planted on a lawn strip, and are very frost-resistant.

In our Moscow region, Tver or Murom forests, not one species of birch lives, but two. it warty or drooping birch(Betula verrucosa, aka B. pendula) and fluffy birch(B. pubescens). The first one lives in relatively dry forests - on the edges, overgrown fields and pastures, and the second one is a mostly marsh species. However, both species often grow together and it is not easy to distinguish between them - except that the leaves of the warty birch are sharper, and the fluffy (as you might guess) are pubescent. The trunk of a fluffy birch is smoother and whiter, but the warty birch lives almost twice as long, up to 120 years.

The main differences between birch drooping (1) and fluffy (2) from each other:
Trunk: 1 - white almost to the base and almost no cracks even at the bottom, 2 - in the upper part the bark is white, and in the butt - with many cracks and a thick layer of rough bark along the edges.
Crown: 1 - wide with branches raised up, 2 - with shoots hanging down.
Leaf: 1 - rounded, 2 - rhombic.
Hanging young shoots with many warts. Both leaves turn yellow in autumn.

Why should a birch be white? Indeed, it was not for admiration that evolution created this amazing device - birch bark? To find the answer to this question, you need to pay attention to where exactly the whitest birches in the world grow. So, paper birch- an inhabitant of the Appalachian mountains of America, useful- the Himalayas, and fluffy mountains of Scotland and Scandinavia. And this is clearly not without reason. The fact is that in the mountains there is very hard ultraviolet radiation, and it is to reflect it that plants have “learned” to protect the trunk with a white mirror over millions of years. It is amazing that some of the eucalyptus trees that live in sunny Australia have gone exactly the same way - their trunks are bright white.

But are all birch trees white? A completely unusual tree lives in the foothills of Eastern Tibet - Chinese white birch(V. alba-chinensis). It is not very clear why it was called white - after all, its birch bark is painted in an incredible brownish-pink color! Unfortunately, in our country, it still lives only in botanical gardens, and even there its young shoots sometimes suffer from too harsh winters.

But the situation with the color of the trunk is even more complicated - it turns out that there are many types of black birches. They are very significantly different from those familiar to us, not only in that their trunks are painted in dark colors and often completely devoid of birch bark. The ecological requirements of these birches are also completely different. If the white birches familiar to us are the most “children of the Sun” (they sprout only in open spaces and shading from tall spruces or pines kills them), then black birch trees are real forest trees. Often they live in the lower tier of forests formed by other trees, and do not germinate at all in clearings open to the light, but on mossy fallen trunks in the shade of the forest. American black birch(V. nigra), like its Asian relative Daurian birch(B. davurica) - not yet the most characteristic representatives of these amazing trees. Where more bizarre are the trunks of the North American cherry birch[AT. tape]. This low tree grows slowly, but reaches an amazing age for birches - up to three hundred years. Apparently, it was named "cherry" for the similarity of the trunk with the trunks of old cherries - they are just as dark and there is no birch bark on them at all. Its leaves are not at all like the leaves of our ordinary forest birches, they are more similar to the leaves of some distant relative of birch trees like a hornbeam, and this is absolutely true. Scientists believe that it is black birches that are the ancestral group of the entire vast genus, and their descendants acquired white trunks much later, having moved to the mountains. The fruits of black birches are also unusual - they resemble cones of coniferous trees more than catkins.

Black birch wood is exceptionally hard, it has even been used to make machine parts, which, combined with slow growth, has led to disastrous consequences. So, in our Far East it has become a rare species and is listed in the Red Book Schmidt birch(B. schmidtii), and in the United States, B. uber, which used to live in mountainous Pennsylvania, has completely disappeared in the wild and is now preserved only in botanical gardens.

It is clear that if there are already adult birch trees on the site, then there is no problem in choosing one or another species and variety. If there are no birches, and you just decided to plant them on the site, then keep in mind that their diversity is now extremely high. The size of the species and varieties sold varies from 70 cm in height (!) to 20-25 meters, the size of the sheet is from 8 mm in diameter to huge leaves for birch - 15 cm long, the color of the bark is far from always white, but can be brown, yellow, black, beige and sometimes even pinkish. Some plants have an autumn color; some - no, some grow quickly, some slowly, some turn into spectacular tapeworms, and some are rather slender and require planting only in a group.

In some species, the decorative characteristics are such that they can only be read at close range (peeling bark, heavily cut leaves, etc.) and, accordingly, they require planting only next to the observer. For some, on the contrary, the entire decorative effect is noticeable only from a distance (crown shape, its delicacy ...) and they need to be planted at a distance equal to at least two or three tree heights.

But not everyone goes to planting decorative forms and varieties of birches, some express a desire to plant the most common, already described above, drooping or fluffy birches. First of all, remember their final sizes, which significantly exceed the sizes of their varietal counterparts. When they are already there - this is one thing, but when choosing to land, you need to think carefully.

Birch warty, or drooping-AT. verrucosa Erh.= B. pendula Roth Distributed throughout the European part of Russia and beyond the Urals to the Ob River. Light-loving mesophyte, microtherm, mesotroph, edificator of indigenous small-leaved forests of Western and Central Siberia, anthropogenically progressive unstable edificator of temporary secondary communities in burned areas and clearings, and assectator of coniferous and broad-leaved forests. One of the most popular birch trees, without which landscaping in Russia is indispensable. Betula pendula "Youngii" Photo EDSR. Betula pendula "Purpurea" Photos by Anna Petrovicheva Betula pendula carelica "Nana" Photos by Anna Petrovicheva Tree up to 20 m tall, with openwork, irregular crown and smooth, white, peeling bark. In adult trees, the lower part of the trunk is covered with a powerful blackish bark, with deep cracks, which distinguishes it from most white-trunked birches. The branches are mostly drooping, young shoots are warty. The leaves are rhombic, glabrous, up to 7 cm, resinous, sticky when young. Earrings are drooping. The fruit is an oblong-elliptical, winged nutlet. It grows quickly, frost-resistant, undemanding to the soil, very photophilous, drought-resistant. In culture for a very long time. Seed germination is high. The cuttings take root weakly. Betula pendula Artopurpurea Photograph by Kirill Tkachenko The dynamics of the growth of silver birch(fluffy has similar indicators): Living up to 100-120 years, it continues to grow in height up to 50-60 years, in thickness up to 80 years. During this period, the growth rate changes so that in the first 5-6 years, growth in height is moderate, then it increases significantly and, starting from about 10 years, reaches 75-90 cm per year. The final size is about 20 m in height. Keep in mind that it also begins to bear fruit from about 20 years old, and birch is a pioneer breed. This means that it throws a great many seeds at once into the vacated territories (for example, after a forest fire, and in a garden after digging a plot), thereby occupying an area and preventing anyone else from germinating. And only then, in the process of competition, only a few plants remain from these seedlings, which continue to grow in a territory free from other species. This is actually not such a problem, as the seedlings pull out quite easily. In part, the growth of large birches can be limited. Despite the fact that in the domestic literature the possibility of pruning a birch is often completely excluded, it is still possible. Often birches are cut in the Scandinavian countries. They cut off the top and part of the side branches. As a result, the crown thickens, the size of the plant decreases. However, this can only be done with plants that are in the stage of active growth, that is, these are only young plants (trunk diameter up to 15-20 cm). If you cut an old birch in this way, then you will have a bare trunk on the site. But young people also have some problem with pruning. The crown thickens and looks impressive only in summer, but when the foliage flies around, we see a not very beautiful arrangement of skeletal branches (unnatural). So if this is a dacha, then there are no problems, but if the house is for year-round use, it makes sense to think carefully. Many people still remember the birch when talking about roof gardens. Everyone remembers young birch trees growing on the walls of ruined temples and the roofs of old estates. But we must understand that it is precisely because of its pioneering nature, which we have already spoken about above, that the birch sows dilapidated buildings with millions of seeds. Of this million, a very small percentage of seeds penetrate into the cracks, even less into those cracks where moisture gets in, some of the remaining ones die, since there is water, but there is no substrate. In the substrate and with water, seedlings begin to develop, but even fewer of them remain after the first winter, when many die from freezing of the root system. And so year after year. Has anyone seen a mature tree on a wall or roof? If I saw it, then this is the same case in a million, and there is no guarantee that the birch tree you purchased at the garden center, solemnly hoisted onto the roof, will be identical to the one remaining from the million. It has several forms, of which the most decorative are: pyramidal(f. fastigiata) - with a narrow pyramidal crown; mourning(f. tristis) - with very thin weeping branches forming a rounded crown; cabin boy(f. Youngii) - with an irregular, picturesque crown, with thin drooping branches; purple(f. purpurea) - with purple leaves; var. carelica (Merckl.) Haemet Ahti- B.p. Karelian. A tree with six forms of growth - from creeping to straight-stemmed. Protected in nature reserves. It occurs within the range of the main species from Belarus and to the north. Cultivated in botanical gardens and grown in nurseries. In GBS since 1949, 5 samples (35 copies) were grown from seeds obtained from St. Petersburg and Karelia. In the arboretum, trees, height from 4 m to 18 m. Vegetate, bloom and bear fruit at the same time as the species. Winter hardiness is complete. Seed germination is low. The cuttings do not root. A beautiful park tree, spectacular in single and group plantings on the lawn. Karelian birch is not distinguished by its special external beauty, but its intricately twisted wood is strikingly beautiful. In fact, the Karelian birch is not even a separate form of the main species, but the result of infection with a certain type of fungus, which occurs even at a young age. Although the mushroom does not kill such a tree, it turns into a giant "witch's broom". Unfortunately, there is a difficulty in the reproduction of Karelian birch - and this is one of the problems of its distribution. Otherwise, it would have settled densely in our gardens long ago. When trying to sow, you have to wait a very long time to reject the wrong form (some have more than 10 years). One of the most successful methods is grafting, and now it is not yet a very widespread method of microclonal reproduction. "youngii". The height largely depends on the height of the graft, but often no more than 2-4 m. It has an umbrella-shaped crown. The main branches are spreading or curved. The terminal branches are very thin and drooping, the crown is irregularly shaped. Plants develop very differently and can meet both very picturesque specimens and those that look extremely unnatural.Due to their size, it is good for a small garden.It is often found in cultivation in European botanical gardens.In GBS since 1973, 1 sample (1 specimen) was grown from planting material obtained from Kyiv At the age of 16, height 8.6 m, trunk diameter 13 cm Vegetates, blooms and bears fruit at the same time as the species.Growth rate is average.Winter hardiness is complete.Seed germination is high. "Aurea". This slow-growing tree up to 10 m high has very beautiful shiny golden yellow leaves. Their color is especially bright in spring and early summer, and later they become greenish-yellow. It has no autumn color. The flowers are yellow catkins, appear in May. The crown is openwork with falling branches, a white trunk. It grows quite slowly. "Crispa". A tree up to 10-15 m high. A slender graceful tree with hanging branches and deeply dissected leaves that turn yellow in autumn. Sometimes considered a synonym for the "Dalekarlik" form, but the latter is not as weeping as this one. "Fastigiata". A tree up to 10 m high has a columnar crown shape, especially when young. With age, the crown fluffs up somewhat, but retains its vertical structure. All its branches are directed almost upwards, as they are located at an acute angle to the trunk. "Golden Cloud". A tree up to 10 m high with deep yellow leaves, when blooming with a peach-orange tint. Leaves often burn in the sun and may suffer from a disease in which they fall prematurely. "Gracilis". A tree up to 10-15 m high. A shape very similar to the Laciniata shape, but has smaller, graceful, delicate, deeply dissected leaves and a very weeping crown shape. In general, among all cut-leaved forms, the most openwork, light and air. "Laciniata". A tree up to 15 m high. A tree with an openwork crown, drooping shoots and rather deeply dissected leaves. It grows more slowly than the main species. In severe winters, annual shoots freeze. "Purpurea". This is a slow-growing tree up to 10 m high with purple leaves, hanging shoots and a rather loose crown. The dark purple color of the leaves is especially evident in early summer. The plant looks unusual due to the contrast of the white trunk and the dark color of the leaves. In autumn, the leaves do not change color. The crown is narrow, smaller than the original species.Return shoots often appear in the crown with ordinary green leaves, which must be removed.Single plants look extremely slender and are best used in groups of 3 or more.In GBS since 1959. 1 sample ( 7 copies) was grown from seedlings obtained from the Netherlands. Currently, the height is 15 m, the trunk diameter is 14 cm. Vegetates, blooms and bears fruit at the same time as the species. Growth rate is average. Winter hardiness is average (in severe winters it partially freezes ) 15% of the cuttings take root. There are other varieties Nigra" and " Bibor"- also with dark purple leaves. Both of these forms originated from the Purpurea b.p. and are in many ways similar to it. However, their foliage is much more saturated in color and at the same time more resistant, not so green by the middle - end of summer, as a form of "Purpurea". "Tristis". A tree up to 8-10 m high. It has a very weeping crown shape. The branches are thin, vertically down, hanging almost to the ground and can be up to several meters long. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow. "Trost's Dwarf". Tree up to 1.5 - 2 m high. Tree or shrub with slender winding shoots, which is important and rare for birch dwarfs, white bark and strongly dissected leaves. Slow-growing openwork plant. Very good option for a small garden. B.pendula var. carelica Photo EDSR. B.pendula cv. Trost's Dwart B.pendula "Purpurea" Photos by Andrey Sedov

Paper birch-AT. papyrifera March. Eastern and central regions of North America. Grows in all types of forests, swamps and river valleys. More unpretentious than B. pendula. Light-loving mesophyte, mesotherm, microtroph. In culture, it is found widely in Europe, Asia and North America. Powerful tree up to 30 m tall, with a wide dense crown. The bark of the trunk is bright white, in young trees it is pinkish, it easily peels off in leaf-like, transverse stripes. It got its name "paper" for the whiteness of the bark. The old birch bark peels off the trunks in huge pieces, really resembling sheets of thin paper. Young shoots are fluffy, later glabrous, dark brown, shiny. The leaves are ovate, large (up to 10 cm long). In GBS since 1965, 6 samples (22 copies) were grown from seeds obtained from botanical gardens in the USA and Canada. At 27 years old, height 10.7 m, trunk diameter 27.8 cm. Plant grows from the second half of April to early October. The growth rate is high. Blooms at the end of April. The fruits ripen in October. Winter hardiness is complete. Seed germination is high. Frost-resistant, unpretentious to soils, but more moisture-loving and shade-tolerant than warty birch. Despite the great similarity, both birches are so different from each other that they can be planted in joint groups. It is interesting for park construction in single, group and avenue plantings. In culture since 1750. var. subcordata(Rydb.) Sarg. - B. b. semi-heart-shaped. Tree up to 7 m tall. Northern and central regions of North America. Grows mixed with other breeds. Light-loving mesophyte, mesotroph, microtherm. Rarely seen in culture. In GBS since 1953, 2 samples (5 copies) were grown from seeds obtained from St. Petersburg and Lausanne. At 40 years old, height 17.4 m, trunk diameter 24 cm plant grows from mid-April to late September-early October. The growth rate is average. Blooms from 5 years, in mid-May. It bears fruit from the age of 11, the fruits ripen in mid-August. Winter hardiness is complete. The cuttings take root weakly. Photograph by Kirill Tkachenko

cherry birch- V. lenta L. Very decorative North American look. East of North America. It grows in the mountains in a mixture with other deciduous species, found in rocky habitats. Prefers deep, moist, well aerated soils. Light-loving mesophyte, mesotroph, micro-mesotherm. Cultivated in Europe, North America. Tree up to 25 m tall, in youth with a pyramidal crown, in adult plants - with a rounded, hanging branches. The bark of the trunk is dark, cherry-red (hence the name "cherry"). Young shoots slightly pubescent, later glabrous, red-brown. Remarkable are its oblong-ovate, large, beautiful leaves (12 x 5.5 cm). When young, they are silky, pubescent, adults - bright green above, shiny, dull green below, pubescent along the veins; in autumn they become reddish-yellow, very showy. In spring, it attracts attention with abundant, long stamen catkins. This low tree grows slowly, but reaches an amazing age for birches - up to three hundred years. In GBS since 1957, 7 samples (18 copies) were grown from seeds obtained from botanical gardens in the USA, Canada, Kyiv and natural habitats. At the age of 24, bushy trees reach a height of 7.3 m, a crown diameter of 370 cm. The plant grows from mid-April to late September-early October. The growth rate is average. Blooms from 8 years, in the second half of May. Fruits in 8 years, the fruits ripen in October. Winter hardiness is average (in severe winters it partially freezes over). Seed germination is good. It grows rapidly when young and prefers deep, moist, well-drained soils. Durable. It can be recommended for wide use in alley, single and group plantings from the latitude of St. Petersburg. In culture since 1759. Photo EDSR.

birch-AT. dalecarlica L.= Betula pendula var. dalecarlica Some botanists consider it as a dissected-leaved form of warty birch [" Laciniata" or " Dalecarlica"- Dalekarlian birch], Homeland Scandinavian peninsula, in culture singly throughout the European part of Russia. Grows mixed with other hardwoods. Light-loving microtherm, mesophyte. Widely cultivated in gardens, often found in the landscaping of European cities. Once found in Central Sweden near the city of Uppsala. The Dalekarli birch is the plant emblem of the Swedish province of Dalarna, where the great scientist Carl Linnaeus lived and worked. It was in this province that in 1523 an uprising began against the Danish invaders, which ended victoriously by 1536. When choosing such a symbol, apparently, it was not without the heritage of the ancestors - after all, the rune "berkana" (which in Old Swedish means "birch") in the Scandinavian system of signs is a powerful amulet of the hearth. A beautiful tree up to 20 m tall, similar in appearance to the weeping birch, but differs from it in deeply dissected leaves with unequally toothed edges. Vegetates at the usual time for birches. Winter-hardy. Propagated by budding of an awakening or dormant bud, grafting by cuttings, with seed propagation, a large splitting of characters was noted. In GBS since 1953, 2 samples (4 copies) were grown from cuttings obtained from the nursery of Zheleznodorozhny (Moscow region). Trees, height 6 m, trunk diameter 8 m. Vegetates at the same time as the species. The growth rate is average. Doesn't bloom. Winter hardiness is high. 100% of cuttings take root without special treatment. Very decorative, can be used in landscaping to create decorative groups. It has graceful decorative form (f. gracilis) - with weeping branches and smaller and finely dissected leaves than the typical form. It is used in a single landing in critical places of the stalls. Now often the forms "Crisp" and "Dalekharlik" are considered synonymous, but the true "Dalekrlik" is rare and differs from "Crisp" in more deeply cut leaves and practically non-weeping branches. Photos by Anna Petrovicheva

Dahurian birch, or black-AT. davurica Pall. = B. nigra It grows throughout the Far East, in Mongolia, Northern China, Japan, Korea. It is considered an indicator of soil suitability for agriculture. Protected in nature reserves. It grows in the lower part of the mountain slopes on deep and moist soils as an admixture in deciduous forests. Light-loving mesophyte, mesotroph, micro-mesotroph, stable assectator. In culture in the botanical gardens of Europe and the Far East. Tree up to 25 m tall with a wide spreading openwork crown. Easily distinguished from other species by the original bark: in young trees it is pinkish or even slightly reddish, in old trees it is dark gray, sometimes even black-brown, cracking along. The birch bark periodically exfoliates and partially falls off, part of it remains hanging in shreds, giving the impression of curlyness. This attracts attention, but the tree should grow near the observer: by the path, bench, porch, and so on. From a distance of even one height, this sign is already hardly distinguishable. The leaves are oval, dark green, turning yellow-brown in autumn. Blooms after the leaves open. Its growing season is shorter than that of other birches. In GBS since 1955, 5 samples (40 copies) were grown from seeds obtained from Dnepropetrovsk and natural habitats. At 34, height 11.5 m, trunk diameter 26.6 cm. Plant grows from 28.IV±5 to 5.X±8. The growth rate is average. Blooms from 8.V to 12.V. The fruits ripen on 16.X. Winter hardiness is complete. 100% of cuttings take root when treated with a 0.01% IMC solution for 16 hours. It is very photophilous and exacting to the soil, but is less exacting to soil moisture. Poorly tolerates pruning and transplanting, suffers from soil compaction. Deserves wide use in order to diversify the range of parks and forest parks. Looks good in clean and group through plantings in illuminated areas. In culture since 1883. Photo on the left EDSR. photo right Knyazheva Valeria

yellow birch, or american- V. lutea Michx. Native to North America. It is decorative in large sizes (up to 30 m), an interesting color of the bark - silver-gray or light orange, on old trunks - reddish-brown and a leaf shape similar to hornbeam leaves, up to 12 cm long, in the autumn of a peculiar yellow color. The growth rate and shade tolerance are average. Winter-hardy. Prefers moist but well-drained soils. Lives up to 300 years. Suitable for single, group and avenue plantings south of St. Petersburg, with the exception of the arid southeast and subtropics. In the Asian part of Russia, it can be used in the south of Western Siberia and the south of the Far East. In culture since 1767. Photo EDSR.

birch fluffy-AT. pubescens Erh. Europe, Western Siberia, Kazakhstan. Protected in nature reserves. Grows in damp forests, marsh margins, lake shores, can form crooked forests on the border of tundra and forest tundra, singly found in highlands. Restorative, light-loving mesophyte (but tolerates abundant and stagnant moisture), microthermal, mesotrophic, edificator of native birch forests along the forest border in the northern part of the range and in the forest-steppe, as well as in swampy habitats, anthropogenically progressive unstable edificator of temporary phytocenoses in burnt areas and clearings and assektator native coniferous and broad-leaved forests. In culture, it is often found in botanical gardens and sometimes in the landscaping of settlements. Tree up to 15 m tall, with a pure white trunk that does not form a dark crust at the base; with a broadly branched, ovoid crown formed by upwardly directed branches. The bark of young branches is smooth, reddish-brown, later pure white. Young shoots are fluffy. The leaves are shiny, ovate or rhombic, up to 6 cm, sticky and fragrant when young. In contrast to the warty birch, ripened seeds are kept in earrings for a long time. In terms of ecology, it is close to it, but less demanding on light, better tolerates shading, waterlogging of the soil, more frost-resistant and further distributed to the north. In culture since 1789. Forms natural plantations on the territory of the GBS. At the expositions of the arboretum since 1954, 3 samples (7 specimens) were grown from seeds obtained from Kyiv, the Lipetsk LSOS and Tashkent. At 39 years old, height 17.5 m, trunk diameter 30 cm. Plant grows from 27.V17 to 10.X±6 for 166 days. The growth rate is average. Blooms from 9.V±5 to 14.V±3 for 6 days. Fruits ripen 3.1X±22. Winter hardiness is complete. Seed germination is average. The cuttings take root weakly. It has a number of decorative forms: pyramidal(f. fastigiata), ovoid(f. ovalis); rhomboid(f. rombifolia), nettle leaf(f. urticifolia). There is a purple leaf form Atropurpurea", but it is less common. "Urticifolia". In culture in the collections of botanical gardens in Europe. In GBS since 1969, 1 sample (1 copy) was grown from seeds obtained from Germany. At 24 years old, height 7.4 m, trunk diameter 6 cm. Vegetates at the same time similar to species.Growth rate is average.Does not bloom.Winter hardiness is low. Photo Cheban Elena

Ribbed birch, or Far East-AT. costata Trautv. Most suitable for harsh growing conditions. One of the distinguishing features of this species is its exceptional shade tolerance. Young plants can develop only in the shade. It is very rare in cultivation, but it can undoubtedly be recommended for parks and forest parks. The shaggy trunk, covered with a shiny light yellow bark, the peculiar shape of the crown give it an original look throughout the year. A common breed of foothills, a companion of conifers in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories, Northeast China and North Korea. Grows in deciduous and mixed mountain forests. Shade-tolerant mesophyte, microtherm, microtroph, assectator of cedar-broad-leaved and cedar-birch forests. In the collections of botanical gardens in Europe, rarely in North America, the Far East and East Asia. Straight slender tree up to 30 m tall, with a spreading through crown. The largest birch in the Far East. Lives in favorable conditions up to 80-100 years. Shoots in youth shortly pubescent. The leaves are oblong-oval, with a strongly elongated pointed tip, dense, dark green, strongly pubescent during the blooming period. In autumn, they are painted in a variety of yellow tones. In GBS since 1970, 2 samples (11 copies) were grown from seeds brought from natural habitats. At 31 years old, height 12.2 m, trunk diameter 22 cm. Plant grows from 28.IV16 to 25.1X ± 16 for 150 days. The growth rate is average. Blooms from 14.V to 16.V18 for 3 days. The fruits ripen on 18.VIII. Winter hardiness is complete. Seed germination is low. The cuttings do not root. It is exacting to humidity of the soil and air. It puts up with urban conditions, does not tolerate soil compaction, and reacts painfully to pruning and transplanting. May be recommended for landscape groups mixed with cedar and other conifers. It is very effective in combination with Far Eastern maples: false-sybold, small-leaved, Manchurian. In culture since 1880. Photo EDSR.

Woolly birch-AT. lanata (Regel) V. Vassil. A representative of mountain slopes, clearings, bright places of dark coniferous forests of the subalpine belt of Eastern Siberia, the Far East and Korea. In forest phytocenoses. Light-loving mesophyte, mesotroph, micro-mesotherm. rare in culture. A tree completely unlike our birches, up to 15 m tall. Noteworthy is the presence of pubescence on young twigs, as well as woolly or even felt-pubescent buds. Fruiting earrings directed upwards. The leaves are broadly oval, up to 9 cm, sparsely hairy on top along the veins. It belongs to the most cold-resistant hardwoods. In terms of decorative and silvicultural properties, it is similar to stone birch. Recommended for use in single and group plantings of gardens and parks. In GBS since 1967, 2 samples (8 copies) were grown from seeds brought from natural habitats, there are GBS reproduction plants. At 38 years old, height 8.5 m, crown diameter 450 cm plant grows from early May to early September. The growth rate is average. Blooms in May. Doesn't bear fruit. Winter hardiness is complete. Cuttings are weak. Photo Kravchenko Kirill

Birch Erman, or stone-AT. ermanii Cham. Naturally distributed in Kamchatka, the Commander Islands, Sakhalin, the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Kuriles, Japan. Protected in nature reserves. It grows in mountain forests, forming pure birch forests on heavily rocky slopes or in the subalpine zone. Light-loving, restative mesophyte, microtherm, mesotroph, edificator of park birch forests and assectator of coniferous-deciduous forests. In culture in the botanical gardens of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Vladivostok, Arkhangelsk. Tree up to 15 m tall, with a wide spreading crown. The bark of the trunk is variously cracked, dark gray, brownish, chestnut-gray or yellow-gray, often hanging on the trunks and branches in tatters. Shoots densely warty. The leaves are ovate (14 x 10 cm), dark green above, paler below. Very frost-resistant, undemanding to the soil. It got its second name for the ability to develop on rocky places where other birches do not grow. In GBS since 1951, 7 samples (15 copies) were grown from seeds and living plants brought from natural habitats, as well as from seeds obtained from the Lipetsk LSOS. At 22, height 19.3 m, trunk diameter 38 cm. Plant grows from 27.IV±6 to 5.X±8 for 161 days. The growth rate is slow. Blossoms from 16 years from 12.V to 13.V13 for 2-3 days. Fruit ripening was observed on 16.IX. 8% of cuttings take root when treated with a 0.01% IMC solution for 16 hours. As a very original plant, it can be used in single and group plantings. In culture since 1880. Photo EDSR.

Location: prefers sunny or slightly shaded places, but there are also quite shade-tolerant ones (B. woolly, ribbed, yellow).

Landing: when planting, the distance between plants is at least 3 - 4 m. The soil mixture consists of leafy soil, peat and sand (2: 1: 2). Drainage from sand with a layer of 15 cm is desirable. Planting is done in early spring at the age of no more than 5-7 years, older adults are planted in winter, with a frozen lump; during the autumn planting, a large waste occurs.

When planting birch trees, there is one very important obligatory rule - in no case should the root neck of the seedling be buried. If it is at least slightly below the soil level / the tree will suffer for several years, and then die anyway. The fact is that in this case, mycorrhiza completely dies on birch roots, and birch trees cannot exist without their fungus cohabitants. For the same reason, birches do not tolerate soil pouring over the roots of adult trees and an increase in the level of groundwater (the latter is less relevant to the original marsh species - fluffy birch, but it is also grown relatively rarely). Of course, in the first years, the seedlings should be watered as necessary, but subsequently, not only the majority of “black” birches, but even the fluffy birch put up with a temporary drought.

But it’s worth thinking about fertilizing the soil, again, only in the case of “black” birches, which are very demanding on this. The best fertilizer will be the addition of leafy soil directly at planting. Well, for white-trunked birches, you should not worry about this at all - everything you need will be delivered to these plants by symbiotic fungi.

Care: Top dressing. In early spring, before the leaves appear, and at the end of spring, trees are fed: 1 kg of mullein, 10 g of urea, 15 g of ammonium nitrate are taken for a bucket of water. 10 - 20-year-old plants require 30 liters of solution, 30 and more years - 50 liters.
Watering. Mandatory during landing and three to four days after it.
Loosening, mulching. The soil is loosened to a depth of 3 cm while weeding. Stem circles are mulched with peat, peat compost, wood chips with a layer of 8-12 cm.
Haircut, cutting. Dry branches are cut out in the spring.
Protection from diseases and pests. Tubeworm beetles damage young shoots and leaves. It is recommended to collect and burn the affected leaves, and dig up the tree trunks. Caterpillars of the silkworm-nun and Bucephala corydalis eat the leaves leaving only veins. The caterpillars are shaken off, and the plants are treated with insecticides. May beetles and their larvae eat the roots. It is recommended to dig the soil and select the larvae. Birches are prone to many fungal diseases, tinder fungi are especially dangerous, which destroy wood. They should be removed. Against rust, spraying with fungicides, such as copper oxychloride (0.4%), is carried out.
Preparing for winter. They cover near-stem circles near especially valuable decorative forms planted in autumn.

Betula utilis var. occidentalis
Photo Shakhmanova Tatiana

Reproduction: to plant one of our bull birches, it is enough to dig up a small seedling in some abandoned field, but with the reproduction of exotic species, everything is much more complicated. If varieties of warty birch, in particular, this applies to super-weeping and dissected-leaved forms), nurseries now supply in fairly large quantities, then the reproduction of other species will most likely have to be dealt with by gardeners themselves, and thoroughly tinker with it.

The fact is that birches are completely incapable of propagating in the simplest and most familiar way for us - cuttings, and growing from seeds and grafting remain the ways to obtain new plants.

Birch trees are propagated by sowing seeds collected during the browning of the earrings. Germination 90%. subsequently falls rapidly. It is better to sow immediately after harvest or in late autumn. Birches are well renewed by shoots, giving decorative multi-stemmed forms.

Dried to an air-dry state (humidity 7 - 14%), the seeds are stored in hermetically sealed containers, plastic or paper bags in a refrigerator or a dry, unheated room. At the same time, germination is maintained for 1-2 years. Laboratory germination depends on the species. Sowing in autumn or early spring. Freshly harvested seeds are photosensitive: germinate in the dark at 15 - 32 °C. At 15 ° and below with. germinate only after illumination. After dry storage before sowing c. stratification is necessary at 1 - 1 0 ° for 2 - 3 months or treatment with gibberellic acid at a concentration of 100 mg / l for 24 hours. germinate at 12 - 25°. Sowing with. superficial in well-prepared grooves or ridges with compaction c. to the seed substrate. Crops are mulched with small sawdust, peat, humus, sand or black soil, covered with shade shields or straw by 50-70% until germination. During this period, crops are watered daily until the substrate is completely saturated with moisture, weeds are removed in a timely manner, lighting and irrigation rate are adjusted depending on temperature and air humidity.

Although birches massively populate abandoned lands, conflagrations and clearings, their tiny seedlings are at first very picky about living conditions. First of all, most birch trees need abundant sunlight already at a very young age. Even a slight shading with weeds turns out to be disastrous for them, and they germinate only lying on the surface of the soil - they cannot be buried. Therefore, if you decide to sow some kind of birch, this should be done in a box with soil specially steamed from weeds, and then you will have to carefully, but very carefully, water the tiny sprouts all spring. But starting from the middle of summer, when the plant reaches five centimeters, you can already stop worrying about them and, with a clear conscience, transplant them into a “school”. However, the above procedure applies only to "white" birches. The "blacks", like typical forest dwellers, require less light, but their seedlings barely grow in growth in the first year (despite the fact that their seedlings are several times larger than those of the "whites"] and are completely unstable to the slightest drought.They begin to grow rapidly only in the second or third year.

Another way to propagate birches is grafting. This is the only way to propagate their varieties, but this requires a fair amount of skill. It is necessary to accurately guess the time of the operation - the leaves should already begin to unfold on the rootstock, and the scion must be kept completely at rest (in the refrigerator at a temperature of about zero]. Apparently, the best time for birch grafting will be the beginning and middle of May. with one or two buds in the “split”, “butt" and the like way: in other words, so that the stock is thicker than the scion. It is important to lightly shade the grafts and protect them from excessive evaporation (for example, by placing them in a new plastic bag]. However, even with such tricks, the percentage of successful vaccinations is insignificant, it is higher only in cool greenhouses with constantly high air humidity.Worse, it turns out that it is almost impossible to graft a "black" birch on a "white" one or vice versa - the distance of relationship of these groups affects. In our area, the only way to reproduce such dark beauties as cherry or Dahurian birch is painstakingly growing from seeds.

Usage: are among the best park trees and are highly desirable in gardens and avenue plantings, but always on a lawn strip. Decorative openwork crown, bright color of the bark, light green foliage in spring and golden yellow in autumn. Suitable for all types of plantings, especially in combination with mountain ash, willows, oaks, lindens, maples, beech, bird cherry, and also against the background of conifers. When planting birch trees, one should take into account its proximity as a “whipper”, especially birch trees with thin hanging branches, from which conifers especially suffer.

Partners : under a drooping birch, herbs and plants always grow better than under a fluffy one. The latter has a denser crown, the crowns of individual trees are in contact. But there are a number of plants, albeit not so many, that could be used under it. The limiting factors here are shade and dryness. Among woody plants, one could use common hazel and its varieties, viburnum viburnum and its varieties, snowberries in assortment, some spireas (albeit to the detriment of abundant flowering), tree-like caragana and its varieties, as a ground cover and climbing along supports - tree pliers and girlish five-leafed grapes are smaller than usual, but white turf and its varieties will grow there, some hawthorns and Tatar honeysuckle, holly magonia and mock oranges (although not so abundantly flowering), good bushes, but not very abundantly flowering, shrub cinquefoil will give, it is good to use alpine currant and mountain ash in assortment, Chinese junipers, forms and varieties of common spruce, thuja western and other plants. The list of perennials is even longer. The limiting factor is the same - dry shade. It’s good if they are not the most demanding on fertility.

materials used:
Sergey Kuptsov "Such different birches" // "Garden and Garden" - 2007 - No. 6
Alexander Sapelin "Birch, a white friend" // "Vestnik florist" - 2008 - No. 23

Botanical characteristics of birch

Birch drooping or warty- Betula pendula Roth (Betula verrucosa Ehrh.) - a tree from the birch family)