Description of the appearance of birch, advice on growing in the garden, how to reproduce, fight against diseases and pests, interesting notes, species. Birch (Beluta) belongs to the genus of plants that are part of the Birch family (Betulaceae). Its distribution is quite extensive, since it is found throughout the entire Northern Hemisphere of the planet, and if we talk about Russia, then birch is the most common tree species. The number of species reaches 100 or slightly more. Preferred habitats for birches are deciduous and coniferous forests located in the temperate and cold parts of Eurasia and in the north of the American continent.
| Family name | Birch |
| Life cycle | Perennial |
| Growth features | Deciduous trees or shrubs |
| Reproduction | Seed and vegetative (cuttings or rooting of cuttings) |
| Landing period in open ground | Seedlings are planted in spring or autumn |
| Disembarkation scheme | At a distance of 4 m |
| Substrate | Moist, loose and nutritious |
| Illumination | North or East direction with good lighting |
| Moisture indicators | Very plentiful, especially in the heat of summer or immediately after planting |
| Special Requirements | Unpretentious |
| Plant height | 1, 2–45 m |
| Color of flowers | Green, brown |
| Type of flowers, inflorescences | Complex inflorescences - thyrsus, earrings |
| Flowering time | Summer |
| Decorative time | Spring-autumn |
| Place of application | Rock gardens, mixborders, stone gardens, as a tapeworm or in group plantings |
| USDA zone | 3–6 |
Birch got its name in Russian from the Orthodox word "berza" "to shine, whiten", which is rooted in the term "bhereg", the scientific name goes back to the Gallic language. The word "birch" is close to such words as "birch bark" or "birch bark", coming from the Latin "Ulmus".
For the most part, birches are tall trees, the height of which varies from 30 to 45 m meters, and the trunk in girth can reach 120-150 cm. However, some varieties have shrub outlines, small or large in size, and there are specimens that differ in creeping branches only slightly raised above the soil surface. But all specimens of this genus are plants with female or male flowers on the branches and have a feature of pollination by the wind (anemophilous).
The root systems of all birches are distinguished by their power. The location of the tree directly depends on the place where the tree grows: on the soil surface or going obliquely into the soil. Usually strong growth is observed at lateral roots with lobular root processes. At the very beginning, the growth rate of the tree is slow, but then it gains strength.
Birch trunk coating can take on a whitish, yellowish, pinkish or reddish-brown color scheme. But there are trees whose bark is gray, brown or even black. The cavity cells, which are present in the cork layer, contain a white substance of a resinous consistency (betulin), which provides white birch bark paints. When the tree ages, its lower part is covered with a dark crust, mottled to a depth with fissured cuts.
The leaves on the branches are arranged in a regular sequence. When the leaf has just unfolded, it is sticky to the touch. The leaf plate is solid, but there are denticles at the edges. The leaf shape is ovate-rhombic or ovoid-triangular. The foliage is monosymmetric, with a base in the form of a wide wedge present, or it can be practically truncated. The surface of the leaves is smooth and there is a cirro-nerve venation, the lateral veins end at the denticles. The leaf is 7 cm long and 4 cm wide. Before the foliage falls off, it will turn golden yellow.
The buds of birch trees are sessile and they are covered with scales arranged in a helical arrangement with a sticky surface. From male flowers, inflorescences are formed in a shape resembling earrings, they are called thyrsus. Their location on the tops of elongated branches is 2-3 units. Their color is green at first, but over time it becomes brown. The length of such earrings is 2–4 cm. The tops of short shoots, called brachyblasts, are crowned with earrings made of female flowers. Usually they are clearly visible on the sides of the shoot, since development proceeds from the buds formed on the lateral side.
As soon as the male earrings begin to bloom, the leaf plates unfold and the female trises bloom. Women's earrings are always shorter than men's, and they are also narrower. After the female flowers are pollinated, the male flowers immediately fly around, and the female earring takes the shape of an oval or oblong-cylindrical "cone".
The ripening of the fruit depends on the climate in which the birch grows, but usually from mid-summer to September. The fruit is a nutlet with a flattened lentil-like contour. At its top, there is a pair of dried up pillars. The nutlet surrounds a wide webbed winglet to a greater or lesser extent. The fruits are arranged sessile, 3 pieces in the axils of fruit scales, which have three lobes. The seeds in the fruits are light - only 1 gram contains up to 5,000 seeds. The seeds are picked up by the wind and can be carried up to 100 m from the mother tree with it. At the same time, the fruits are not opened.
For a summer cottage, you can use types of birches that have low growth and shrub forms, they are planted in mixborders, rock gardens and stone gardens are landscaped or used as a tapeworm in a large area.
Birch: planting and care at their summer cottage
- Landing place it is recommended to choose a northern or eastern location so that the soil is not too dry and direct sunlight does not shine on the birch at lunchtime.
- Priming for birches, moist (but not wet), loose and humus is necessary. A layer of 3 cm of drainage is placed in the hole, or if a site with close groundwater or stagnant melt water, black birch is preferred. For this species, the soil may be drier. It is better to let the acidity be slightly lowered (pH 5–6, 5).
- Planting a birch. The substrate for planting must be mixed from garden soil, humus, river sand and peat in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1. When young seedlings are planted in spring, a complex fertilizer (for example, Kemiru-Universal) is added to the holes, 150-200 grams each. In autumn, phosphorus-potassium preparations are preferred. After planting, the trunk circle is mulched. When planting, the pit should contain all the roots, the root collar is not buried, since the mycosis fungus is dying. The distance between the birches is maintained up to 4 m.
- Watering. This factor is most important when growing birch, since a plant can extract up to 20 buckets of moisture from the substrate per day - almost 250 liters. When planting, watering is extremely necessary and then and in the next 3-4 days. If the weather is dry in summer, then you should constantly water the plantings of birches at the rate of 1 bucket per 1m2. After watering or rain, you need to carefully loosen the soil in the near-trunk circle and weed the weeds.
- Fertilizers bring in in March or June. At this time, drugs with a high nitrogen content are introduced (1 kg of mullein, urea with ammonium nitrate, 10 and 20 grams, respectively, are diluted in 1 bucket of water). In the fall, it is required to feed the birch with Kemira-Universal or nitroammophos.
- Pruning. Before the plant begins to move the juices, it is recommended to carry out forming pruning. All sections are treated with garden pitch. All dry branches must be removed in the fall.
Birch: tips for breeding
Usually a birch tree is grown by sowing seeds, rooting cuttings or cuttings.
If the sowing of seeds will take place in the spring, then you will first need to stratify for 3 months at a temperature of 0-5 degrees, with autumn sowing such measures are not needed. Before planting, the planting material is treated with an antifungal agent, and the soil where the seeds will be planted with fungicides or a strong solution of potassium permanganate. Carefully weed the soil. After planting, it is necessary for the first time to water the crops abundantly, and with the arrival of winter, throw more snow on it. Often, birches reproduce by self-seeding, forming young shoots in the near-trunk circle.
Only some species can be grafted, for example, Daurian birch. Blanks of other types give only 10% survival rate. It is best to cut the branches in the spring. If the cuttings are taken from the Daurian variety, then their lower cuts must be treated with a root formation stimulator (for example, Kornevin), then up to 99% of the blanks will take root. The length of the cutting should be 5–10 cm; a cloudy day is selected for cutting. The lower cut of the branch is made obliquely, and the upper one is perpendicular. The cuttings are placed in water and wrapped in polyethylene. When the root shoots on the cuttings reach 1 cm, they are planted in the soil laid in a pot. The container is placed in a place with bright lighting, but shading from direct sunlight and watered regularly. In 3-4 months, with proper care, the seedlings will take root and are ready for planting in open ground.
Fight against diseases and pests of birch when grown outdoors
If we talk about harmful insects, then birch moths, linden hawk caterpillars, deer beetles, tube beetles, thrips, foliage prefer to gnaw May beetles on birches, and their larvae harm the roots. In such cases, acaricidal and insecticidal preparations can be used. Spraying birch plantations, for example, Fitoverm, Aktara, Aktellik or with a similar spectrum of action. To prevent harm caused by the larvae of the May beetle, it is recommended to dig up the soil shallowly in the near-trunk circle, and remove the parasites.
Also, birch trees can be affected by fungal diseases (for example, a tinder fungus). To combat such a nuisance, such formations are immediately removed, since they can subsequently damage the wood and are treated with fungicides.
Curious notes about birch
Since ancient times, birch branches have been used to decorate Orthodox dwellings and churches on Trinity. The alum-laden foliage is used to give the coat a yellow color. Birch is known in beekeeping as an excellent supplier of pollen. The birch lucina has long been used by peasants for lighting, since it practically did not give soot when burning, and shone very brightly.
Birch firewood is of good quality, and this material is also used for crafts, making plywood and skis, and weapon butts. If you use birch bark and carry out its dry distillation, you get birch tar, which is used for medical purposes.
Birch is a supplier of sap, which is full of nutrients and sugar. It is not only drunk by people, but also offered to bees for spring preparation during evaporation.
For a long time, healers knew about the medicinal properties of birch, and used buds and foliage for tinctures because of their diuretic and bactericidal properties, and these drugs can also help heal wounds and reduce fever. The extract obtained from birch buds has been prescribed for dermatological problems. Well, brooms made of birch branches with leaves were always taken with them to the bathhouse in Russia.
Types of birch
Common birch (Betula pendula) or as it is also called Hanging birch (Betula verrucosa) or Warty birch. The most common variety found in Europe and Siberia, as well as in North America. It has a spreading crown formed by weeping branches. The trunk of the plant is straight, it can reach 10-15 m, and occasionally 30. It is accepted to use as a tapeworm or group plantings. The bark is distinguished by a white color scheme, it can flake off. When the birch becomes an adult, the bark at the bottom begins to thicken and becomes covered with grooves or cracks in a black tone. Young shoots on a bare surface have warty growths. The foliage is glossy, green, jagged along the edge. In length it can reach 5–7 cm, with a width of about 4 cm. Earrings are green, which, when blooming, changes to a greenish-brown color. Because of its power, the root system helps to hold the soil together in crumbling ravines or along river estuaries.
The most popular varietal forms are:
- Jung (Joungii). The height of this fragile plant, which has an asymmetrical crown, which sometimes resembles an umbrella, is 4 m.
- Trost's Dwarf, differs in a reduced growth rate, and its height does not exceed one and a half meters. At the same time, the crown has openwork outlines and foliage of a grayish-green color.
- Purple (Purpurea), it is clear that the foliage of this plant casts a beautiful purple hue, which, with the arrival of autumn, changes to colors ranging from dark brown with a golden brown undertone to reddish or bright scarlet. The tree has compact outlines of a bush and reaches 15 m in height.
- Gracilis (Gracilis). The tree combines the trunk of a snow-white color scheme with a delicate coating and a tent of weeping branches, which resembles a weeping willow.
White Chinese birch (Betula albosinensis). The territory of the western regions of China is considered to be the native habitat of natural growth. The trunk in those places can reach 30 m in height, but in middle latitudes its indicators do not exceed 8 m. It is used for group plantings, planting in rows or as a tapeworm. The bark of this plant varies in color from snow-white to orange-brown or copper-golden color. While the plant is young, its bark often casts a bluish tone due to plaque. Over time, it peels off and twists into "curls".
Dwarf birch (Betula nana) grows naturally in the Russian forests of the European part, in the west of both Europe and Siberia. Prefers sparse swampy soils and peaty soil. Shrub form, deciduous. Shoots will not stretch more than 1, 2 m in height. Growth is slow. Seeds may not lose germination for a couple of months, but before planting, a three-month stratification is required at a temperature of 1-10 degrees. Flowering begins in mid-May.
Maximovich birch (Betula maximowicziana). The foliage of this species is the largest. It has tree-like outlines, the area of growth falls on the territory of Japan and the Kunashir Islands. Differs in rather heavy wood, which is applicable in construction. This material is exported under the name "red birch", as the color of the bark of the plant takes on a brownish-cherry, whitish-orange or gray hue. The birch bark begins to peel off well. On the branches, the bark is also dark cherry.
Daurian birch (Betula dahurica) is also called Far Eastern black birch. In natural conditions, it prefers to grow in mountain forests. It is one of the few varieties that can be propagated by cuttings, if green cuttings are treated with growth stimulants (survival rate reaches 99%) or layering given by young shoots. At the same time, pruning has a very negative effect on the plant. The bark is colored black or dark brown with white dots. In this case, its surface is cracking along. The color of the branches is pinkish-brown, they form a falling crown. The wood turns out to be heavier than that of common birch. Dense soil is not suitable for growing.
Video about birch:
