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Betula pendula
 You
may already recognise the Latin name. If not,
perhaps the description of slender, elegant
and attractive may help you to picture this
month’s tree. Betula pendula, or ‘Lady
of the Woods’, is better known of course
as Silver Birch. Like last month’s Rowan,
we think of Silver Birch as a ‘medium’
sized tree, which doesn’t demand a huge,
spacious garden.
Silver
Birch is easily recognisable by its attractive
silvery-white peeling bark, which develops deep,
dark fissures with age. A delicate tree, it
has fine branches and small, oval leaves, edged
with double teeth. Silver Birch is deciduous
and its hairless leaves begin to decorate the
tree around March/April. Eventually they will
turn yellow, then golden, bringing striking
autumn colour to your garden.
Photos above right and below
left thanks to: WTPL/Peter Paice from Belfast
 This
tree also boasts fine displays of catkins (the
male catkins are yellow and generally larger
than the slender, green female catkins). These
tight clusters of tiny flowers appear at the
same time as the leaves and, by autumn, contain
mature seed. The catkins provide a pretty picture,
while the seeds prove popular with small seed-eating
birds, such as the colourful siskin. The small
birch seeds are also a welcome source of food
for one of our very special wild inhabitants,
the endangered red squirrel.
Photo below right: WTPL / UKPN
/ Margaret Barton
 Birch
will grow in poor soils; however if you do decide
to bring some elegance to your garden in the
form of Silver Birch, then it ideally favours
a sunny position and good drainage (unlike Downy
Birch which tolerates wet soils). It’s
best planted when small and ideally around late
winter or early spring. In return, the Silver
Birch will establish quickly and will soon reward
you with glorious colour, from its silver bark
to its golden autumn leaves. What a wonderful
way to bring the beauty of natural woodland
to life in your garden!
We’ll
be back next month with another native tree
for you to enjoy.
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