2021 Five Year Native Tree Challenge: Sputnik’s Betula Pendula

[Sputnik 184]

Restricted by lockdown to trees in the garden for the challenge I have decided to try a silver birch. They grow like weeds in this area and I collected a couple of saplings a couple of years ago to put in the growbed to bring on. Lots of people have told me the silver bark doesn’t develop if the sapling doesn’t mature in the ground so I have waited for signs of the colour change before digging.

The birch seedlings grow like grass in the area where these were collected and have to be cleared yearly.

The first tree was lifted from the growbed in the autumn. The second has still to be dug.

 

[Sputnik 184]

Restricted by lockdown to trees in the garden for the challenge I have decided to try a silver birch. They grow like weeds in this area and I collected a couple of saplings a couple of years ago to put in the growbed to bring on. Lots of people have told me the silver bark doesn’t develop if the sapling doesn’t mature in the ground so I have waited for signs of the colour change before digging.

The birch seedlings grow like grass in the area where these were collected and have to be cleared yearly.

The first tree was lifted from the growbed in the autumn. The second has still to be dug.

The tree lifted in the autumn has continued to progress. I thinned the branches and did a little rough wiring. It’s now leafing out.

 

[Sputnik 184]

The second birch was lifted early spring and has been recovering in an unpruned state. It has also now leafed out and can be sorted out.

 

[Sputnik 184]

Three months later after a little wiring and light pruning the twin trunk birch looks like this.

 

[Sputnik 184]

Both birches have now leafed out and will soon be ready for this years work.