Betula Alba Pendula (Silver Birch Tree) Click The Link For Cheaper Bare Root Silver Birch Trees
Silver Birch is well-known native British tree and one of our top-selling trees as a result! Its name makes it an ideal gift for Silver Wedding Anniversaries.
Silver Birch is distinguished by its diamond-shaped, vivid green leaves which hang gracefully from arching branches. It is a fast-growing tree with white, peeling bark that becomes marked with rugged, black cracks as it ages. As the tree becomes much older, the base of the trunk becomes blackened. If you find the bark is not as white as you would like, it can be cleaned in the Autumn with a stiff brush and water or with a pressure washer with the pressure turned down.
In the springtime, delightful, yellow-brown fluffy catkins appear and in late autumn the foliage becomes yellow before falling off. Silver Birch is suitable for almost every kind of soil and situation. Expect Betula Alba Pendula to reach 6m tall at 10 years old but could go on to grown a lot more, typically 15-25 metres although pruning can determine ultimate height. Local weather and soil conditions will dictate final height although a well aimed chainsaw probably has the final vote.
Flowers of the Silver Birch are cylindrical catkins that are pollinated by the wind and make an appearance before the leaves in Spring.
For whatever reasons, the Silver Birch tree got the attention of the RHS and they decided to give it an award. You know you have made it when the RHS gives you the nod of approval.
Our Silver Birch is particularly suited for planting in public spaces and on the roadside due to it's upright shape. They are long lived, have a real presence (not the Luke Skywalker type or under the Christmas tree one) and make a great addition to any space needing an ornamental touch. Another benefit of the Silver Birch tree is that they are very low maintenance which is definitely a plus point for cash strapped local authorities or bone idle gardeners. The only pruning required will be to cut out dead, diseased or crossing over branches.
Our Silver Birch Tree (Betula pendula) is supplied at of height of between 1.2m and 2.20m and in a 5-20 litre container, which means that the tree can be planted any time of the year. The size range is so broad because it depends what time of year you buy them and what the weather has been doing.
Options usually available are as follows:
90-120 cm : 1-2 years old, 3L pot
120-180 cm : 2-3 years old, 7-9L pot
180-240 cm : 3-4 years old, 9-12L pot
Message card included at no additional cost if required. Just add the information required on the card at checkout.
Planting Betula Alba Pendula (Common Silver Birch)
With the weather patterns changing more times than politicians excuses for failing, Silver Birch will be a good choice for sites that suffer wet and/or drought conditions. Also tolerant of clay and chalk soils but prefers acid, you can soon see why Silver Birch is a popular choice. Ideally plant in full sun and deep, well drained soil.
Silver Birch Facts
Betula Alba Penduala is also known by several other common names. These include Weeping Birch, White Birch, Lady Of The Woods, Warty Birch, European White Birch, Lady Birch, Birk, Common Birch and Bed Wen.
Should your local Ikea stop trading for any reason and you find yourself lacking some wooden kitchen utensils, then Silver Birch wood is ideal. Just go hack a branch off and carve yourself a spoon!
If you had any aspirations for starting your own paper mill then there are places in Northern Europe that use the Silver Birch specifically for this purpose. They are also good for pioneer species whereby they are planted on particularly poor sites with thin top soil so that they can establish, provide regular leaf fall and thereby improve the quality.
Should you find yourself in the woods and wanting to start a fire, then the bark of the Silver Birch is excellent for kindling. Other particularly excellent uses for the Silver Birch are windbreaks and specimen trees, the sap can be brewed into wine, bark for tanning purposes and heated bark resin makes a very good waterproof glue.
See What Our Customers Are Saying About Our Silver Birch Trees
We’ve received our silver birch. It’s beautiful. Thank you Lisa Knotman 0520
Hi Alan, I received my trees (Betula Alba Pendula Silver Birch Tree) and got them planted. They were in great condition and just what I wanted. Going forward I would suggest that you try to give delivery detail with the order, there are other companies that do this and it gives a much better feeling when ordering (Editors note: We scream this to our couriers regularly...they seem deaf or fearful of technology!) Anyway, thanks for everything your product is great. Regards Andrew 0914
Hi Alan, Silver Birch Tree arrived at Gnoll Park, Neath in fine condition. The park rangers there have planted it in a beautiful spot where we hope it will flourish.Very impressed with the tree as well as your company - to the extent we are hoping to find room in our garden next spring for one or two "smaller" trees to encourage birds and other wildlife hopefully. Thanks again Dawn Gray 1013
Just to let you know all 4 trees have now arrived and look great. Looking forward to watching hubby dig 4 big holes!! Many thanks, Teresa Morse 0913
Order received on time and two wonderful tree specimens. First rate service yet again. Peter D 0813
Multiple Order Discount
Orders over £300 can be discounted by contacting us on 0800 043 1057
Ornamental Tree Roots In The Shade e.g. Behind A Fence
It is more important that that foliage (posh term for leaves) receives the sunlight than the roots. So if the canopy of your ornamental tree can sunbathe but the bottom of your tree thinks there has been a nuclear winter then that is ok. You might want to ensure you have good drainage as water and no sun is the start of algae and other such issues.
Early Autumn Leaf Fall
Heat stress, being potted, lack of water, being boxed up for a few days etc can cause early Autumn leaf fall. Once planted, normal service will resume next season.
Do I Need To Stake My Ornamental Tree?
9 out of 10 times the answer will be no, especially if under 200cm tall. However our article on Tree Staking should help guide you.
UK Grown Ornamental Trees
All our trees are banned from overseas travel so that we can state they are all UK grown. We have removed Internet access from the nursery so they cannot book any flights.
Climate Change
Warm and wet conditions from Climate Change have increased aesthetic foliage issues such as Powdery Mildew, Shothole, Rust etc These are not terminal issues and will usually last a season. All trees are inspected before being sent out to ensure they are fundamentally healthy.
Planting In The Corner Of A GardenAir and light is reduced in this location which could promote fungus and bacterial issues. If the corner is of the house and a fence then you also have leeching issues to contend with from cement and wood preservatives. Also when it rains, that area would experience higher water levels so we advise against it unless the plant is very hardy. 
