2018 Collecting River Birch

I am posting these just to have something to do on this "Wet, Wet, Rainy Day, that I cannot go our and Play"
Planned to go collecting last weekend, Saturday would have been perfect day.... Thursday night my wife greeted me at the door and said the washer died. It was 30 years old, time of a new one (from what everyone has told me I will not get that kind of life out of the new one and I believe it, don't want to get started on that yuck) any way there went Saturday. My Dad was looking forward to going to the woods, so we went today, with Flash flood watch out for our area. Last year I saw some Birch that looked interesting with the peeling bark, it had warmed up so too late to get any. Looking forward to it this year, was not excited at what I found. Could not find any the size I wanted, all too big, no taper at the trunk and rushed for time as it was drizzle rain and expecting hard rain anytime. My Dad waiting in the truck as it was too thick where I went into the woods, once in there it was beautiful and open. No pictures, did not want to take my camera out in the rain. But I had made the 45 minute drive and figured I would get something. Both of them big and one is way too big but I put them in a pot and see what happens.

I've read that birch don't do well with trunk chops. They tend to abandon the trunk and grow suckers. Any dead wood is short lived.

I collected a black birch a couple of years ago with some success. It did sprount from the trunk but there were already buds in place at collection. I lost it the second year after collection when I tried to ground layer it. It did okay all summer but just went brown in the fall. It had only grown one week root that was not enough to support the tree.

Jean... when I saw these trees last year I came home did a Google for birch bonsai. Saw some nice trees and figured I would give them a try. When I got home Saturday I was searching to find what kind I had and read some of the negatives about them. These did have some small growth on the trunk that I got, I think most broke when I was holding them cutting the roots. Since I could not find any the size I wanted I may pass on collecting any more this year. Hope to go this weekend to where the hawthorn are growing and get a couple.

It will be interesting to see how they do. Birch are beautiful trees. They do pose some difficulties, but if you can figure them out, the bark alone will reward the effort.

Hawthorne are a safer bet toward the potential to make good bonsai, as are your locally native Ilex, bald cypress, hackberry or sugarberry (Celtis sp) and a number of other trees.