European White Birch Betula pendula

Betula is Latin for birch and describes a genus of about 60 species of deciduous trees and shrubs found in many gardens and landscapes throughout the northern hemisphere. Betula pendula, or European White Birch, has a pyramidal form when young, more oval as it matures, and is noted for its white bark, which exfoliates in papery strips, and for its drooping or pendulous branches.

Birches are best grown in moist, acidic, sandy or rocky, well-drained loams in full sun to part shade. European White Birch will tolerate dry soil. Best foliage color occurs in full sun, but if the plant is sited in an area of summer heat and humidity, it will appreciate afternoon partial shade. The plant does best in cool northern climates where summer temperatures rarely exceed 75 degrees F. and where root zones are generally covered with snow throughout the winter. It grows in zones 2-7 and is short-lived in zones 8-9. Keep the tree consistently moist and consider using soaker hoses and bark mulches to keep the root zones cool and moist. It needs little pruning, but if necessary, you can prune during the dormant season. Do not prune in winter or spring when the sap is running because it will bleed. Birches produce an abundance of sap in spring and a species of woodpecker called the sapsucker taps birch trees in spring by cutting small wells in the bark and drinking the sap, which oozes out.  European birches can be messy in the landscape; numerous small branchlets fall to the ground.

Birches are considered a "pioneer" species and, thus, tend to grow quickly when young. However, it is difficult to transplant. Tiny monoecious (male and female) flowers appear in early spring in separate catkins on the same tree. Greenish female flowers are followed by drooping cone-like fruits containing numerous small winged seeds that typically mature in late summer.

Diseases, Insects, and Other Plant Problems:

Birches can become stressed by summer heat and humidity. It is not recommended for planting south of USDA Zone 7. The European White Birch is one of the most susceptible birches to the bronze birch borer, which infects and kills trees. Aphids, leaf miner and birch skeletonizer may also occur. Watch for leaf spot problems.

VIDEO created by Ryan Contreras for “Landscape Plant Materials I:  Deciduous Hardwoods and Conifers or Landscape Plant Materials II:  Spring Flowering Trees and Shrubs” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University