Betula alba Pendula 12ltr pot

Betula pendula (syn. Betula alba) — Silver Birch — 12ltr Pot

Few trees capture the essence of an English woodland quite like the silver birch. Betula pendula is instantly recognisable for its brilliant white, peeling bark, which darkens and cracks at the base with age, and its slender, drooping twigs that give the whole tree a light, airy, graceful quality even in winter when bare. Diamond-shaped, toothed leaves emerge fresh green in spring alongside yellow-brown catkins, before turning a clear, bright yellow in autumn for one last show.

An elegant, narrowly conical tree that ultimately reaches a substantial height, silver birch is a superb choice as a specimen tree, in small groups, or for naturalistic and woodland-edge planting, where its light canopy allows plenty of dappled light through for underplanting with bulbs and shade-tolerant perennials. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Grow in full sun or partial shade, in any reasonably fertile, moist but well-drained soil — this species is remarkably adaptable, tolerating chalk, clay, loam and sand alike. It's fully hardy (RHS H7), copes well with both exposed and sheltered sites, and needs only minimal pruning once established, best carried out in late summer or autumn to avoid excessive sap "bleeding."

Each tree is hand-selected before dispatch, supplied in a 12-litre pot ready for planting straight into its final position.