Its one of my favourite trees and as my new house has none i am keen to plant a few trees. The garden is only 13x15m and so a tree more than 8m will become a bit big.
I'd dearly love to plant 3 jacquemontii along the rear boundary but was wondering if anyone has had success keeping them in check.
I see so many situations where the leader has been brutally topped and it looks awful in winter but bearing in mind these will be in my own garden and can receive regular careful pruning can they be kept to a 6-8m height and still look and grow well?
What would be the mature height of a multi-stem variety?
Many thanks
Simon
P.S please feel free to tell me to wise up. Right plant, Right place and all that...
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Betula Utilis coppices well, you could coppice to 3-5 stems and remove one stem every 3rd/5th year to ensure you always have 2-4 white stems on show while other younger ones are up and coming to replace them.
Thanks for the reply. I think though that coppicing in that manner would detract from the desired effect of the clear white stems as there would be a few younger brown ones in amongst them.
I would just do a very light crown reduction every winter.
Chris Auld said:
Has anyone tried doing this routinely to a silver birch? Just wondering how it looks longer term?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Personally, I think that if you want a specimen white-stemmed birch in a garden that size just go for it.
Let it grow to a size that's too big, perhaps 20 years, then rip it out and replant? Better than constant pruning if it's a central feature.
They are a tree that creates less shade than most, so you can underplant for extra interest. I'd go single-stem, possibly even a weeping variety that will be restricted to 3M or so, although that will spread sideways more.
Snow Queen is a less vigorous form and doesn't get as large
http://www.ornamental-trees.co.uk/ornamental-trees-c18/birch-trees-...
I used 3 sets of 3 Jacquemontii under planted with Allium and Hosta's. I always tipped pruned on leader, so that pruning was not noticeable but allowed them to grow almost to full size - then pruned out lower branches to give me head clearance - they look stunning - just go for it. The Allium Purple Sensations flowered before the hostas, which covered the ground below them and then when the Alliums had finished, the hosta's then provided later flowering. Great colour contrast against the white trunks.
Thanks again for your thoughts.
Paul, thats one thing i had considered and may just go with that.
Trish many thanks for your thoughts. I actually plan to have them on a slight mound which will be underplanted so good to see that working well.
I had a look this week at one I planted in 2000, a three-stemmed plant from Tendercare that was about 3 mtrs IIRC.
They've not touched it in that time. It's now about 6 mtrs high, with a total spread of about 5 mtrs, and still pretty light and feathery.
Crown-lifted to clear the white stems a bit (as in Trish's photo), and with a bit of tidying up, and it would still be a stunning tree with at least 20 years life in it before it needs replacing, or more dramatic pruning.
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