Betula pubescens - Downy Birch

Betula pubescens, commonly known as the Downy Birch, is a species similar to the Warty Birch but distinguished by its smaller size, preference for wetter soils, and duller bark colour. This deciduous tree has an upright, pyramidal habit with a graceful elegance. Its bright green leaves are borne on hairy petioles. In autumn, they turn a warm golden yellow. Fast-growing and not demanding in terms of soil, this hardy birch will thrive particularly well in damp or wet areas of the garden.
 

Native to mainly central and northern Europe, as well as temperate Asia, the Betula pubescens is a tree of the birch family. Extremely cold-hardy, capable of thriving in acidic and wet as well as sandy, clayey, and limestone soils, it naturally has a pyramidal habit, a more or less straight trunk, and an overall oval, semi-open, airy crown carried by long almost upright branches, with twigs drooping at an acute angle. In the wild, some specimens reach a height of 25m (82ft).

It will typically reach a height of 20m (65ft 7in) with a spread of 10m (32ft 10in). The trunk (sometimes multiple) is covered in brown, smooth bark on young trees. Over time, it becomes white-brown with horizontal stripes, and peels off in flakes. The drooping branches are reddish-brown. The deciduous foliage appears early in spring and is borne on hairy petioles. It consists of diamond-shaped, tender green leaves, 2 to 5cm (0.8 to 2in) long, with simple toothed edges. They turn a beautiful yellow before falling. The inconspicuous flowering in April-May consists of pendulous, yellow-green catkins. The root system of this birch is taproot type, producing radiating lateral main roots with a very dense network of small surface-feeding roots.

The Downy Birch is a tree made for open spaces and light. Superbly structured, its white and slightly drooping branches stand out beautifully against a winter sky. In the garden, it requires no maintenance, is extremely hardy, and not very susceptible to diseases. It deserves a prominent place, either as a solitary tree at the edge of a large garden or at the centre of low shrub borders. It is also well-suited for wet and soggy areas of the garden. To cover the base of this tree, which dries out the soil from spring to summer, it is advisable to choose plants adapted to these conditions like heathers, small grasses like Stipa pennata, Carex, Ophiopogon. It can also be placed in front of a grove of trees chosen for their foliage or decorative bark, such as Acer griseum or Betula albosinensis. Maples, Nysa sylvatica, Chinese mahogany, or white willows will form a superb backdrop for this beautiful tree.