Birches are much loved for bonsai because of their elegant beauty, but as I and other posters can personally attest, they do not take easily to pot culture. Their short lives are also seen as a disadvantage; however, some birches will live as long as 300 years.
Lighting: | Unlike most birches, the river birch prefers partial shade, and may suffer leaf burn if kept in full summer sun. |
Temperature: | River birch thrives in zones 5-8. It may need protection from cold winds to prevent twig die-back. |
Watering: | The river birch thrives in wet areas, and appreciates lots of water. |
Feeding: | Wait one month after leaves open, then feed every two weeks till the end of summer. |
Repotting: | Birches younger than age 10 will need repotting every two-three years. Older trees need repotting as necessary. Repot in spring, before bud burst, using rich, acidic soil mix. Care should be taken to protect the bark when wiring. The tree may sucker from the roots; these should be removed quickly to keep from sapping the vigor of the main trunk. |
Styling: | River birch leaves will reduce significantly, to 1 1/4 inches, perhaps even smaller. Unlike many birch species, river birch does not seem to share the common problem of excessive "bleeding" after pruning, which makes this species easier to work with as a bonsai. Pruning upward branches at the second internode will encourage foliage to extend away from the trunk, opening the branch structure and keeping foliage from massing on branches parallel to the trunk. |
Pests etc.: | Bronze birch boarer, birch leaf miner. Proper watering and a good fertilization in early spring have been reported to help stave off miner attacks. It has been my experience that birch can be sickly in pot culture and shocks easily when root pruned. |
If any one knows where I can find River Birch in the sarasota Florida region or nearby to guy please get in touch with me.
Hi, We purchased three river birch trees and planted them this summer. The root balls are 25 inches deep and 3 foot in dia. We're having a problem with yellow leaves. The soil is clay dirt and we have a sprinkler system that has 4 pulsating heads hitting them. Everywhere I read is saying that river birch loves water. Do you think that the clay dirt is trapp- ing the water in the hole and rotting out the roots? If so, and I re-position the heads away form the trees, how often should we water them. Frustrated in Derby,ks
not a comment; a question: do you know if and where there are any pictures of the River Birch on the net?
================================================================= From: ccochran@freenet.vcu.edu (Chris Cochrane) Betula nigra (literally translated "black" birch, but always identified by local nurseries as River Birch) is commonly available in Virginia. The leaves will reduce from at least 2 3/4" to 1 1/4" and may reduce further. I do not think these are pioneer trees as they flourish in partial shade and mine definitely suffer browning of leaf edges if kept in full summer sun. This tree loves watering. Branches tend to grow in a classic broom style. I choose to prune upward branches at the second internode, which most often encourages an outward growing secondary branch to receive more energy. This tends to open the branch structure so more foliage is extended away from the trunk rather than massing on branches parallel to the trunk. You write, >Styling: Trim back shoots to the first pair of leaves throughout >growth. It is wise to make large pruning cuts late in the >season, as birches "bleed" profusely when the sap begins to run. I have not found bleeding to be a problem on even large cuts. Since the exfoliating Bark is so precious, I would surely have noticed bleeding, but it just is not a problem with the River Birch. I'd check with others before posting this comment (maybe Brent, who is extremely reliable).
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Information Sources:
Information on the river birch is taken from a post by Chris Cochrane supplemented with general birch information from Tomlinson's "Complete Book of Bonsai," Resnick's Bonsai,""The Creative Art of Bonsai," by Isabelle and Remy Samson, "Simon and Schuster's Guide to Bonsai," and species information from Mitchell's "American Nature Guides: Trees," and "The Hearst Garden Guide to Trees and Shrubs."
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