The slenderness and splendor of birch have always delighted poets, artists, gardeners and even simple connoisseurs. Many people, having come across a birch tree at the edge of a forest or on the bank of a river, wonder how to grow it on their site.
After all, it always looks impressive and noble in any garden and does not require special care. There are many types and varieties of birch, but the most suitable for the garden are the stem varieties.
There are several ways to plant birch. Let's look at them in more detail.
Birch propagation by cuttings
Who hasn't wanted to plant a birch tree in their garden?
I definitely wanted it, dreamed it and planted it. It grew up small, but very strong, and the main thing is that it has grown, so now I consider myself a very successful gardener - my first tree has been planted, and now I can share advice and information with such good results. As I was told earlier, when I voiced my thoughts that I wanted to propagate birch by cuttings, it lends itself extremely poorly to this method. But I think that the success of the cutting method depends only on how much of the root system the cuttings acquire before we dig them into the soil, that is, when the first preparations take place before planting.
To begin with, we immerse birch twigs or cuttings in water until roots appear. There is no need to rush, take out and run to plant the cuttings as soon as the first couple of things hatch. If you can barely see them through a magnifying glass, then it’s obviously too early, so wait, change the water constantly so that it doesn’t turn sour, and wait.
As soon as the root system is good and the very young seedlings (which have now changed their status as cuttings) are ready, they can be planted in open ground. The soil for birch should be extremely fertile, and it should first be treated with organic fertilizers, mix the whole thing, level it, and then place the cuttings in it. Be careful with the root system - it is delicate, so do not touch or injure it again to avoid problems in the future.
Also check whether the weather conditions are suitable for growing. You should not root birch cuttings too early, for example, at the beginning of spring, because the temperature has not yet reached the level that we need for successful cultivation. For rooting, birch prefers a temperature of at least 20 degrees, but not only air, but also the soil mixture in which it will be located.
Young seedlings need an eye and an eye so that they take root normally. I don’t know whether it was my tenderness and love that I conveyed to them, or timely, correct and constant advice, which influenced me, by the way, thanks for the recommendations, but they grew up good and persistent.
How did I water birch cuttings after planting them in open ground?
I watered them, I tell you, very often. For the first half of the month, watering was my constant and regular action, which I wrote down and ticked so as not to miss, because the cuttings need to be watered up to three times a day, and during such short intervals the soil mixture still had to rest so that the cuttings did not float in the slurry, but were somehow in dense soil, held on like soldiers in it and did not fall, did not break or rot. Don’t forget to watch the reaction of birch cuttings and how they behave. If something goes wrong, then it’s better to rummage through the literature, ask for advice from someone who has already been able to grow a birch tree, rather than arbitrarily decide to somehow change something in the care technique, thereby, perhaps, only worsening the situation, and most importantly, don't be afraid to try, even if everyone around you tells you it's hard.
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Choosing a place
We must remember that birch loves water very much. A tree can pull almost 20 buckets from the soil per day. It takes root well in poor areas, solonetzes, chernozems, sands and loams. But it is best to choose areas where the soil is predominantly slightly acidic and loose, loamy and always well moistened.
Therefore, select a place, and if the soil is not very suitable, then you should prepare a planting hole, that is, add a mixture of sand, peat, humus and garden soil to it. In spring you will need one glass of complex fertilizer. But before planting, you need to take care to collect birch seeds. This can be done in early autumn.
Birch propagation
This family of trees is quite common in our latitudes. There are about 100 species of birch trees, each of which has its own characteristics - crown size, height and even bark color. But all these varieties can easily be identified within the same family - by the characteristic features on the bark of the trunk.
Birches have long been used for decorative purposes; many parks and squares are decorated with them, and recently, it has become fashionable to plant them on personal plots - next to a residential building or at a country house. Most often, birch trees - weeping, warty and dwarf - are planted for decorative purposes. Each has its own unique feature.
Protection against diseases
Birch from seeds at home grows quite easily, but care must be taken to ensure that the planting is not destroyed by a fungus or other disease. Therefore, before placing them in the soil, they must be pickled. For this purpose, potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide is used. Seeds are placed in a one percent solution for 20 minutes. After this, they are washed and dried. There are special industrial preparations that help protect plantings from fungi and viruses, strengthen the immunity of future plants and give the sprout all the necessary nutrients.
General description of the plant
In the wild, these are broad-leaved plants, with leaves that fall off in winter and striped bark on the trunk. For the most part, they are a tree, but sometimes they can grow as a shrub. The plants are quite unpretentious, take root well in almost any soil and are highly resistant to frost.
Weeping birch
The bulk of birch trees of this species grow 20–25 meters in height, and the crown, which sends out drooping shoots, is covered with oval-shaped leaves. The birch trunk has a pattern that is clearly visible even from a great distance, which gives it a special attractiveness, especially during the flowering period. The trunk pattern is complemented by white, and the leaves become a particularly rich color.
Weeping birch reproduces by seeds, which ripen in its catkins and, when ripe, scatter and germinate. As a rule, the shoots eventually form a single-stem system, but sometimes it turns out something similar to a bush - 2,3 or more ears grow from the ground.
Birch warty
This plant is also very common, but has slightly smaller dimensions than those of Weeping Birches - no more than 25 m in height. The tree is distinguished by its white, smooth bark and the red, with a brown tint, color of the young growth, which is also dotted with growths similar to warts. Hence the name.
Most often, such plants are planted around park lawns and along alleys.
Dwarf birch
This type of birch is the most versatile, since its small size allows it to be planted in almost any interior, even in small areas.
The most popular type of such dwarfs is the “Junga” birch. It barely reaches 6 meters in height, and its thin branches, falling from the crown, reach the ground, which looks very impressive.
Dwarf birch grows quite slowly and easily gets along with any trees, but it is not advisable to plant it with fruit crops. Birch will oppress them.
Reproduction
In any conditions, birch can reproduce both by seeds and shoots. In forests, seed propagation, due to the thick cover of the ground, is difficult, so the main propagation occurs by shoots, and in open areas both types are observed.
Reproduction in nature
The vitality of the plant allows it to sprout new growth even after a fire, when only a burnt stump remains from the tree. And this can happen many times.
Seed propagation of birch, characteristic of open areas, occurs from seeds formed during pollination of female flowers. Female flowers of catkins are fertilized by male flowers developing on the branches of the crown. Catkins develop from the buds of the plant and, starting from the 10th year of the birch tree’s life, bear fruit. They look like a small nut, lentil-shaped with two membranes. Fruits are abundantly produced and ripen on birch trees annually, during the summer months.
Seed shedding occurs in two stages - approximately half of them fall in the fall, the rest in the winter. At the same time, winter seeds survive quite safely until spring and, once in the ground, many germinate.
Artificial propagation
For decorative purposes, birch is usually planted from seed. To harvest it, you need to wait until the seeds ripen. Their maturity is indicated by the browning of the plant’s earrings. Seeds ripen in late autumn; they are collected and stored in glass containers until they are planted on the site. It is worth considering that such storage leads to a significant drop in the percentage of viable seeds - in the spring no more than a third of all collected will produce shoots.
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Plant grafting
In ornamental gardening, trees that combine features of different species are often used. Such plants are very interesting and most fully fulfill the tasks of landscape decoration. Such properties are achieved by grafting cuttings from another tree onto a tree. In parks, you can often find a familiar tree with grafted birch cuttings. It looks quite extravagant.
There are a lot of vaccination options and the same number of individual results obtained. For example, if you graft branches onto an ordinary birch in a certain way, you can achieve a dwarf effect - you get a “Yungi” birch, with a beautiful flowing – weeping crown.
With the help of grafting, you can also form a crown of any other desired shape, but you need to take into account that such trees are somewhat lower than their ungrafted relatives.
In order not to harm the tree, grafting is carried out when the tree is actively producing sap. At this moment, its movement through the internal channels is as intense as possible, and this allows the grafted cutting to take root more easily and with minimal trauma to the tree.
The vaccination is carried out as follows:
- The shoot in place of which the cutting will be grafted is determined. An incision is made on it;
- The grafted cutting is prepared - its tip is cut off;
- The cutting is inserted into a cut in the bark of the shoot and secured with special gardening material. If temporary frosts are possible, the grafting site is insulated.
For grafting, it is best to choose a cutting whose diameter matches the diameter of the bud on which it is planned to be grafted. After the procedure, the tree is especially vulnerable for some time, therefore, until the cutting takes root - approximately until the end of July, it requires especially careful care. It is necessary to constantly monitor the condition of the plant and provide it with comfortable conditions - regular sufficient watering and, if necessary, protection from direct sunlight.
Once you gain experience in grafting cuttings, you can create unique forms at your own discretion, since the procedure allows you to graft more than one cutting - 2, 3, 4 or more.
CUTTINGS IN A JAR
N. ZAMYATIN, agronomist of the Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants at the MMA named after. Sechenov.
It would seem, what else can be written in addition to the numerous guides on rooting cuttings? But when you start cutting cuttings yourself, you discover a lot of little things that have a decisive influence on the result.
The easiest way to root is in a jar of water. Under certain conditions, it can be used even for plants that are considered difficult to root. But despite the simplicity of this method, there are many little things on which success depends.
For example, not all plants can tolerate changing water. To avoid possible failure, it is better not to change the water, but only add it when it evaporates. Apparently, some metabolic products necessary for the plant accumulate in it. I have repeatedly observed the death of blue passionflower cuttings that had already taken root after changing the water, even if the water was well-settled and did not contain any harmful impurities.
The number of cuttings in the jar is no less important. Honeysuckle does not want to take root if there are more than three cuttings per 200 ml of water, but one at a time in a jar of even smaller volume, the same cuttings give roots perfectly.
Growing plants from cuttings is the most popular method of vegetative propagation. On the left is a nodal cutting. Its lower section is located directly under the node or bud. This is how green unripe stems are usually cut, since the tissues located in this place are more resistant to fungal diseases. A cut in the middle of the internode (on the right) is made, as a rule, when cutting cuttings from more mature lignified shoots.
Interestingly, the plant's ability to produce rooted cuttings depends on the nutrition of the mother plant. If it receives nitrogen in excess, roots on the cuttings form very poorly. Roots are also difficult to form in plants that have been “starved.” For maximum active root formation, the mother plant must be fully supplied with potassium, phosphorus and slightly lack nitrogen.
It is also important from which shoots the cuttings were taken. Fattening shoots that grow powerfully upward produce cuttings of poor quality. So don’t go after power and size; cuttings from lateral, not very strong growing branches take root much better. But it is curious that in some conifers, the place where the cutting is taken affects the shape of the future plant. Cuttings from the lateral horizontal branches of the pointed yew produce disheveled or even almost creeping plants, and cuttings that grow vertically produce vertical ones. Similar phenomena were noticed when cutting spruce trees.
For easily rooted plants, the age of the mother plant does not matter, but for those plants that are difficult to root, this is very important. The older the “parent”, the worse, in most cases, its cuttings take root. At a young age, cuttings are even taken from plants that are not customary to take cuttings, for example, apple and pear trees, in which, when treated with the drug heteroauxin (a root formation stimulator), apical cuttings taken from one-year-old seedlings easily take root. But the ease of root formation in cuttings prepared from one-year-old branches decreases with increasing age of the tree, even when treated with stimulants. Moreover, some plants completely lose the ability to reproduce vegetatively with age. This happened in our garden with the petiolate hydrangea, which produced layering splendidly 20 years ago, but now even the buried branches of the bush do not take root.
How to plant and grow a birch tree in the country
The dacha not only supplies the family with vegetables and fruits - it should become a place of pleasant relaxation. Be sure to leave a corner where you will grow flowers, climbing plants and birch seedlings. A few years will pass, and in the shade of trees you can take a nap in a hammock, listen to pleasant music, or do handicrafts. In early spring, children will not drink canned concentrates, but natural juice straight from the tree through a straw; on holidays, a friendly group will enjoy barbecue in the shade of a birch forest.
Weed control
When growing, you need to pay special attention to this. Of course, for an adult tree, grasses are not a hindrance, but a young plant can choke or become a source of disease. Among the abundance of weeds, a young tree may be overlooked and damaged during weeding. For prevention, it will need to be treated with fungicides and insecticides at any stage of growth. Be sure to carry out pruning as well. To do this, starting from the second year, in early spring you need to outline the shape of the crown and carefully correct it.
Where is the best place to plant a birch tree?
You hold thin twigs in your hands and want to grow a small grove in your summer cottage. Remember that you are creating a natural area not only for yourself; children and grandchildren will walk here. Young slender trees, planted 2 meters from each other, after ten years will stretch out, get stronger and begin to interfere with each other. Instead of a cheerful shady grove, a gloomy bowl with stunted trees fighting for living space is formed. To avoid having to cut down overgrown birch trees, plant them no closer than 4 meters from each other.
To avoid conflicts with neighbors, do not plant trees close to the southern border of the site. If the dacha area is small, think over a planting plan so that half of the beds do not end up in the shadow of the crown. You cannot plant tall trees next to the house; step back from the wall at least 5 m. Please note that the birch will not allow fruit crops to grow next to it; you cannot create beds near the roots, since the mighty tree will take all the nutrients from the soil. If you want to have your own forest, select a corner where only birch trees will grow, and allocate another place for fruit trees, a vegetable garden and flower beds.
Birch loves moisture, but does not grow well in wetlands. Choose a place where there is enough light, and on hot days the earth does not dry out. An excellent option is the north side of fences or low buildings: the sun will illuminate the crown, and the roots will be located in moist, cool soil. You have chosen a site on the ground, now look up. The tree grows up to 20 m in height, and the crown diameter can reach 8 m. If there are wires running nearby, after a few years you will have to constantly cut down the branches reaching towards them or shorten the top of the trunk. A damaged tree will not add aesthetics to the site; it is better to find free space.
Autumn transplant
Birch seeds, photos of which are given in the article, can turn into young seedlings in just one season. Of course, provided good conditions and care are provided. In September–October, the largest seedlings need to be transferred to a permanent place. The rest are moved to a nursery for the winter, that is, specially prepared and fertilized places for further development. Now even rows are formed from chaotic plantings. Each of them must be at least 10 cm apart from each other. By the fall of next year, the height of each of them will reach 80 cm. Now they can safely move to a permanent place of growth.
Preparation of planting material
A young seedling can be purchased at a nursery, but why travel many kilometers and spend money if a suitable tree can be brought from the nearest forest? Birch trees will best tolerate replanting in early spring. You can try in the fall, but during this season they take root less well. Find a beautiful slender tree about 1 m high. The lower the seedling is, the better it will take root.
Try to preserve the root system as much as possible. The birch tree will survive the breakage of a small shoot, but it is better to keep all the roots intact. Cut through the soil to the depth of a spade bayonet on 3 sides, and then dig under the root and uproot the seedling along with the lump of earth. Carefully place it in a bucket and transfer it to the area.
If you don’t want tall trees to grow in your dacha, purchase a dwarf variety from a nursery. You can choose a weeping birch with branches hanging down or a shrubby form. The tree is not capricious, but cannot tolerate leaving its roots exposed to air for a long time. Buy seedlings in containers, then you can plant them along with a lump of soil.
If you like a mature tree, dig it up in winter with a large clump of frozen soil. Replant it on your site, in the spring the birch will wake up and begin to take root. If you wish, you can collect mature catkins and sow the seeds directly into the ground. Grains can be sown in spring after stratification, and in autumn under snow.
Stratification
Before planting, seeds must undergo cold treatment. To do this, you can keep them for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator, and then dry them at room temperature. It is recommended to sow them in frozen soil at the beginning of winter or early spring. The seeds are placed directly on the surface, without burying, but only covered with a board. They can be pressed on top with small branches and watered. As soon as the first shoots appear, be sure to remove the covering. Birch seeds also spread independently, so don’t be surprised if a young sprout suddenly appears on your site at the beginning of summer. If it interferes, then in the fall you can carefully transplant it to a more suitable place.
Rules for planting a forest tree
The hole for planting must be dug in such a way that the roots fit freely in it. Throw in a shovelful of forest soil, peat, black soil and sand, add a little complex fertilizer, mix and distribute along the bottom. In an area located in a swampy area, make drainage. If excess moisture appears only during melting snow or heavy rains, add hydrogel to the ground.
To make the tree feel less of a change in conditions, bring a couple of buckets of soil from the place where the seedling was dug, and use this soil to fill the hole.
Birch is accustomed to the cool climate of central Russia, and does not take root well in extreme heat. In the evening, when the air temperature is about +10⁰, plant the tree on the site; the cool night will give it the opportunity to rest and gain strength for rooting. If planting a birch tree is possible only during the day in hot weather, be sure to cover the tree from the sun.
Place a seedling at the bottom of the hole, bury it and lightly compact the soil. The root collar should remain on the surface. Drive a stake into the ground next to the birch tree and tie the trunk to it. If you leave the tree without support, the wind will shake it and disturb the roots. Moisten the soil well and mulch the tree trunk with leaves. Until the tree takes root, keep the soil moist. Next summer, the roots will grow deeper and will be able to independently obtain moisture from the soil.
It is believed that birch sucks moisture and nutrients from the soil so much that nothing can grow under it. Do you believe this statement? Then go into the grove and see if the land resembles a lifeless desert. Perhaps vegetable crops will not grow - and there is no need, there is a garden for them. Take a closer look at the vegetation in the birch forest, dig up strawberry bushes, beautiful wildflowers and plant them around the trunk. Along with the soil, you can bring boletus mycelium, and after a while edible mushrooms will appear under the trees.
Caring for a young birch tree
To make the birch tree grow better, you can feed it in spring and autumn. Prepare the composition:
- water – 10 l;
- manure – 2 kg;
- ammonium nitrate – 20 g;
- urea – 20 g.
Mix everything well so that the mineral fertilizers are completely dissolved, and water the soil around the seedling. Try to ensure that the composition is poured only on the ground and the splashes do not fall on the plant.
Inspect the tree trunk to notice the appearance of tinder fungi in time. They must be removed immediately so that they do not grow deeply and damage the wood. The roots of the tree can be chewed by cockchafers and their larvae. From time to time, loosen the soil around the trunk and collect any pests found. If you see damaged leaves, the tree has been attacked by tubeworm beetles. Collect gnawed leaves and treat the crown with insecticides.
Birch does not tolerate pruning well; it is better to give it the opportunity to develop and form a crown on its own. Only diseased, broken and dried branches need to be removed. You need to do this work in the fall, when the juices stop moving. All cuts must be covered with garden varnish.
What does birch give to a person?
When the tree becomes an adult, it will not only decorate the site, but also benefit its owners. The tree bark secretes phytoncides that are destructive to all pathogenic bacteria. Take your children to the dacha in the summer, let them play under the birch trees, and you don’t have to be afraid that they will become infected with infectious diseases. Wood is a great stress reliever. When your nerves are at their limit, sit near a birch tree, press your back against the trunk - it will draw out all the negativity and fill you with positive energy.
You can harvest a rich harvest from a birch tree, and not just one, like from a vegetable garden, but several per year. Just don’t be greedy, take it in moderation so that the tree doesn’t weaken. What does the white-trunked beauty have in store for you?
- Kidneys. From the New Year before the sap begins to flow, cut off thin branches and collect medicinal raw materials from them.
- Young leaves. Collected in May, when the leaves are still sticky. They are used in folk medicine.
- Birch juice. When the trees begin to wake up after winter, stock up on a healing drink. Make a small hole in the trunk, insert a tube or groove into it and collect the juice into jars. After collection, do not forget to close the wound with a wooden stopper and cover it with varnish.
- Brooms for the bath are prepared in mid-summer.
- Birch bark. You can cut off a thin layer of bark in June. Birch bark is used for various crafts. On a birthday or other holiday, send a beautifully decorated birch bark letter in an envelope; such a congratulation is much nicer than a soulless SMS or a banal postcard.
Conclusion
Birch doesn’t just take up space in a summer cottage, it cleans the air of bacteria, relieves stress and produces a good harvest of medicinal products. If you plant several trees, you will get a small grove in which strawberries, forest herbs and mushrooms can grow. There you can organize a relaxation corner, hang a hammock, or put up a barbecue.
You can choose a young seedling in the forest, and if you want to plant varieties with an interesting crown shape, unusual shade of trunk or leaves, contact a nursery. Do not purchase seedlings with an open root system; they do not take root well. It is better to buy a tree in a container and, when replanting, save as much soil as possible. You can propagate birch by seeds, but this is time-consuming and labor-intensive.
An established tree requires almost no maintenance. Immediately after transplanting, young birch trees need to be shaded from the hot sun for several days and ensure that the soil is moist. You can feed the trees, they will be happy with such care, or you can simply mulch the soil so that it does not dry out and the nutrients penetrate deeper. Make sure that tinder fungi do not form on the trunk, and that the roots are not gnawed by cockchafers. Don’t occupy the entire area with edible crops, leave a corner for your soul and plant a birch tree there.
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White birch, so dear, Russian, tender. Many people want its branches to rustle overhead, bringing pleasant coolness. This means that the idea of planting this tree yourself often arises. To do this, you should follow some simple rules, and the white-trunked beauty will soon delight you with its rapid growth. Unlike softwoods, you don't have to wait decades. Very soon the tree will become large enough to provide shade on a hot afternoon. And even if you cut off a few brooms for the winter, you won’t damage its luxurious crown. Initially, you will need birch seeds or young saplings. Both of these options are not costly in financial or time terms.
