Silver Birch, European White Birch

Scientific Name: Betula pendula Roth
Synonym: Betula verrucosa
Family: Betulaceae

Recommended Temperature Zone:
Sunset®: 1-12,14-24
USDA: 2-10

Heat Tolerance: Questionable in the low deserts

Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun

Origin: Europe and Asia Minor

Growth Habits: Deciduous short-lived shade tree, rapid growth to 50 to 80 feet tall (15-24 m) or more by 33 feet wide (10 m); pyramidal shape when young; pendulous branches; white bark, developing black blotches as it ages; glabrous, serrated, bright green leaves, 1 to 3 inches long (2.5-7.5 cm), yellow in the fall

Flowers: Yellow flowers

Watering Needs: Prefers moist, slightly acidic soils

Propagation: Seed, cuttings

Propagation: Seed or occasionally cutting, grafting/budding

• by softwood stem tip cuttings, in early summer. Apply IBA TALC 8000 PPM. Use intermittent mist.
• by grafts.
• by seeds, in spring. Germinates at 70-85 degrees F. The seeds can be harvested in late summer. The seeds need 40F for 2mo.. The usual germination temperature is 70-85 degrees F.

The species epithet 'pendula' comes from the Latin, referring to the pendulous habit of its branches.
The sap of the white birch was once brewed into a wine credited for medicinal properties. The bark was also used in a tanning process.

Culture:
Attacked by the birch leaf miners that destroy the leaves and birch borers, that destroy the inner bark of the trees, eventually killing them.