What are the features of the appearance of birch. Downy birch (warty or drooping)

There are many versions of where the name “birch” came from. It is often associated with the word “betulus”, which is translated from Latin as “happy”, “blessed”, i.e. the one who drank the healing juice. Another version suggests its origin from the word “batuere” - to whip, to beat. This is associated with the fact that naughty children were punished with the help of birch twigs.

The emergence of the Slavic word “birch” dates back to the Proto-Slavic era. Then it sounded like “bersa”, from the verb “to protect”. This origin is explained by the fact that the Slavs have long considered the Russian beauty a gift from the Almighty, which protects a person from troubles and misfortunes.

In European languages, the name of the tree comes from the word “bhe”, which translates as “light”, “pure”, “white”.

In total there are about 120 species of birch. Often the white tree is a plant reaching 20–40 meters in height, but biologists also describe various shrubs, even those that spread along the ground.

Birch trees have powerful roots, which can be superficial or deep. It depends on the growing conditions of the tree. The tap root dies off very soon, and the lateral roots develop quite quickly, and a huge number of fibrous roots are formed on them.

Young birch grows very slowly, but after a few years its growth becomes very active.

Birch bark is white in color, which is facilitated by the presence of betulin, a white resinous substance. The outer bark of the trunk, called birch bark, usually comes off easily in strips. The lower part of the trunk is almost always covered with a dark crust, and large cracks appear on it.

Birch has a not very dense pyramidal crown. The leaves of the tree reach 7 cm in length and 4 cm in width. They are smooth, solid, and have small denticles along the edge of the leaf. The shape of the leaves is described as rhombic to triangular, they have a wide wedge-shaped base. IN autumn period, before falling, birch leaves turn yellow.

On the forest beauty, sessile alternating buds are formed, covered with sticky scales.

In summer, male flowers appear in complex inflorescences. At first they are green in color, but gradually turn brown. Their length reaches 2–4 cm. They consist of a large number of fused earrings.

In the spring, the shaft of the male flower lengthens; as a result of the described process, the scales open, encircle the inflorescence, and stamens appear between them, which actively produce pollen.

Female flowers develop and are always located on the side of the branch. The fertilized female flower elongates and very often develops a stalk.

The earring itself (brunka) thickens and gradually turns into a cone, which ripens in late summer - early autumn, after which it falls off.

Male flowers fall off immediately after fertilization.

Fruit white wood, are flattened nuts that are surrounded by a thin-skinned wing. They are located in the axils of fruit scales. The seeds are very light; they are easily carried by the wind over long distances (about 100 m) from the mother tree.

Birches are fairly common trees that are important forest-forming species.

Most trees are frost-resistant; they can easily tolerate spring frosts and even permafrost. Birches living in subtropical climate, require more heat.

Birch trees grow in almost all types of soil. It can be found in wet coastal areas, in swampy areas, in hot steppes, and on rocky slopes.

Birch is often described as a soil-improving species, because they are able to inhabit areas that have been devastated by deforestation or fire.

In forest-steppes, birch trees, as well as aspens and willows, form small forests called kolkas. Most often they are found in Western Siberia.

On average, the lifespan of a birch is about 100 – 150 years, but it happens that trees reach 400 years.

Lives on the surface and under the bark of the trunk large number insects and other living organisms, including one of the largest beetles - the stag beetle.

Many widely described mushrooms grow in birch groves. These are white boletuses birch mushrooms, black milk mushrooms, some types of russula that live exclusively in the community of birch plantings.

The medicinal chaga mushroom also grows on birch trees. It has been used in medicine since ancient times.

Thanks to its dark stripes and lines, white birch can easily withstand both heat and cold. When it gets too hot, they open and let air inside the plant; in cold weather, on the contrary, they close tightly and prevent the plant from freezing. The resilience of the tree still surprises scientists: after its branches were removed from the tree several times freezer, the temperature inside which was -273°C, they thawed and came to life.

Birch belongs to the genus of deciduous trees and shrubs of the birch family, which includes about 120 species. Sixty-five species grow in Russia. The tree is widespread throughout Northern Hemisphere, and therefore it can be seen not only in Eurasia, but also in the territory North America, V warm countries with sandy soil and even beyond the Arctic Circle.

Such a wide distribution area is explained by the fact that white birch is undemanding, perfectly tolerates both heat and permafrost, and takes root on any soil. These plants, however, are light-loving, but among them there are many shade-tolerant trees.

It is no coincidence that the people called the tree “white birch”: the color that distinguishes the birch trunk so brightly among deciduous plants is due to the organic dye betulin, which contains a large number of silver ions that have an antimicrobial effect (for this reason there are few microbes near plants, and medicines and products it has a medicinal effect). Accordingly, in the soil of the birch grove the number of this chemical element more than in mixed forest lands.

True, not every species of birch bark is white: in some plants it can be yellowish, pinkish, brown, as well as grey, brown and even black.

Description

According to their descriptions, most species have a height of 30 to 45 meters, although very small specimens are often found: the height of the smallest tree in the world is from one to one and a half meters, and some shrubs even spread along the ground. Once a tree sprouts, it grows extremely slowly in the first years, but the older it gets, the faster its growth rate.

Birch roots are powerful and, depending on the type of soil, are either superficial or go at an angle deep into the ground. Birch has very high humidity in the spring: increased movement of sap begins inside the plant when nutrients from the ground along the roots they rush upward.

Many people collect plant sap at this time: they make cuts through which the liquid rushes out and can flow out for several weeks (a tall tree can produce about a bucket of sap in a day). As a result of this, the white birch is greatly depleted, and viruses enter it through wounds, which can cause the death of the plant. Therefore, after collecting the juice, the bark must be covered with clay or resin.

Birch leaves are alternate (arranged in a spiral, with one leaf coming from each node of the stem), whole, jagged along the edge, smooth, have a length of about seven and a width of four centimeters. In spring, young leaves are sticky, then this ability is gradually lost. Birch sheds its leaves in the fall, and before falling, the birch leaves turn yellow.

Wood

White birch has strong, dense, light-colored wood with a slight pink or yellowish tint. The pattern on it is weakly expressed, wavy, the growth rings are almost invisible, and reddish, chaotically scattered spots are characteristic. One of the most beautiful woods is the Karelian birch - a low plant that has a strongly deformed trunk in the form of spherical swellings and tubercles.

Previously, the Karelian birch was considered a separate species, but now biologists have come to the conclusion that it is a warty (silver) birch, the trunk of which is deformed under certain conditions. That’s why the life of the tree is short: the Karelian birch lives for about forty years (some species live up to one hundred and eighty), and therefore does not have time to grow, and its height is about twenty-five meters.

The Karelian birch became famous for its marble-like texture and color: brown spots on a golden background (due to its properties, expensive products have long been made from it: furniture, decorative items, souvenirs). Scientists have not yet come to a common opinion about the reasons for the appearance of such an amazing pattern. Among the main assumptions why Karelian birch has patterned wood, the following versions are put forward:

• violation of mineral nutrition;
• viral infection;
• hereditary disease.

Despite the fact that when crossing two plants of this species, the Karelian birch passes on its amazing structure by inheritance, the decorative characteristics are not always completely transferred, and it is possible to determine whether the wood will have a pattern no earlier than after five years.

Karelian birch is also of particular value because it is very rare, and therefore its cost exceeds 1.5 thousand dollars, and is sold not by cubic meters, but by weight, in kilograms.

Bloom

All types of birch trees are monoecious plants (they have flowers of the same sex, which have both pistils and stamens), flowering occurs in the spring, birch pollen is carried by the wind.

First, two or three male flowers up to four centimeters long appear in complex inflorescences (birch catkins) in the summer. They consist of a huge number of thyroid scales fused with the main stalk-shaped rod. These plates expand closer to the top, at the bottom they have two small scales, each of which has three flowers on the inside, where the stamens are located.

The outside of the male catkin is covered with a resinous substance, which prevents moisture from penetrating inside and allows it to overwinter peacefully. The birch tree wakes up in the spring, the male catkin lengthens, the scales of the flower open and stamens appear, from which the birch begins to dust in all directions. After this, men's earrings, which were previously absolutely straight, bend and hang.

Female birch catkins are not so noticeable: they are much smaller, thinner, more inconspicuous, and look like small greenish mouse tails. They develop from last year's lateral buds and are always located on the side of the branch. They bloom together with male earrings and during flowering contain a large number of flowers, each containing two ovules.

Pollination of birch occurs with the help of the wind, when birch pollen falls on a flower, one ovule dries out, and the second develops: the female catkin begins to lengthen and, due to the increase in the size of the scales, begins to resemble an oblong cone, which crumbles after the fruits in them ripen.

Seeds, having fallen from the tree (since they are very light, the wind can carry them a hundred meters from the mother tree), are able to immediately begin to germinate, and if conditions are unfavorable, they go into a dormant state and, on occasion, can hatch over the course of several years.

Medicinal characteristics of the tree

White birch has long been famous for its healing properties, and people have long learned to use various parts of the plant (wood, bark, sap, buds, leaves) for their own benefit. Moreover, they are used both in medicine and in other fields of activity.
The medicinal properties of birch can hardly be overestimated: the bark and branches of birch contain betulin, which colors them white and contains a high percentage of silver. Betulin, entering the blood, improves liver function and reduces joint pain.

Birch sap and decoctions strengthen the immune system, and the plant itself has a beneficial effect on health. Scientists have found that people living near a birch grove are much less likely to suffer from colds, since the volatile phytoncides released by the tree suppress the growth and development of bacteria. Therefore, products using a birch branch are especially valuable. For example, manufactured brooms under the influence of hot air release phytoncides, which sterilize the air and fill it with antiseptics.

In its buds, white birch contains about five percent essential oil, ascorbic acid, higher fatty acids, various resinous substances. Birch leaves have medicinal properties, which also contain tannins, as well as flamanoids, which improve the elasticity of blood vessels and prevent sclerotic diseases.

Tar is obtained from the bark of the plant, which has long been used in medicine as an antiseptic. From the top layer of tree bark, birch bark, which is highly durable, an excellent material is obtained for various crafts: baskets, bast shoes, various kitchen utensils. Peoples Far East they made boats from it, and in Rus' it served as paper (birch bark letter): scribes wrote on it with writing and sharp bone sticks.

Cherry tomatoes differ from their larger counterparts not only in the small size of their berries. Many cherry varieties are characterized by a unique sweet taste, which is very different from the classic tomato one. Anyone who has never tried such cherry tomatoes, with eyes closed may well decide that he is tasting some unusual exotic fruits. In this article I will talk about five different cherry tomatoes that have the sweetest fruits with unusual colors.

Salad with spicy chicken, mushrooms, cheese and grapes - aromatic and satisfying. This dish can be served as a main dish if you are preparing a cold dinner. Cheese, nuts, mayonnaise are high-calorie foods; in combination with spicy fried chicken and mushrooms, you get a very nutritious snack, which is refreshed by sweet and sour grapes. The chicken in this recipe is marinated in a spicy mixture of ground cinnamon, turmeric and chili powder. If you like food with fire, use hot chili.

All summer residents are concerned about the question of how to grow healthy seedlings. early spring. It seems that there are no secrets here - the main thing for fast and strong seedlings is to provide them with warmth, moisture and light. But in practice, in a city apartment or private house, this is not so easy to do. Of course, every experienced gardener has his own proven method of growing seedlings. But today we will talk about a relatively new assistant in this matter - the propagator.

Task indoor plants in the house - to decorate the home with your own appearance, to create a special atmosphere of comfort. For this reason, we are ready to take care of them regularly. Care is not only about watering on time, although this is important. It is also necessary to create other conditions: suitable lighting, humidity and air temperature, and make a correct and timely transplant. For experienced flower growers there is nothing supernatural about this. But beginners often face certain difficulties.

Tender cutlets from chicken breast It’s easy to prepare with champignons according to this recipe with step by step photos. There is an opinion that it is difficult to make juicy and tender cutlets from chicken breast, but this is not so! Chicken meat contains virtually no fat, which is why it is a bit dry. But, if you add to chicken fillet cream, white bread and mushrooms with onions will turn out amazing delicious cutlets, which will appeal to both children and adults. IN mushroom season try adding wild mushrooms to the minced meat.

Beautiful garden, blooming throughout the season, it is impossible to imagine without perennials. These flowers do not require as much attention as annuals, they are frost-resistant, and only sometimes need a little shelter for the winter. Different types perennials do not bloom at the same time, and the duration of their flowering can vary from one week to 1.5–2 months. In this article we suggest recalling the most beautiful and unpretentious perennial flowers.

All gardeners strive to obtain fresh, environmentally friendly and aromatic vegetables from their gardens. Relatives happily accept home-cooked meals from their own potatoes, tomatoes and salads. But there is a way to show off your culinary skills to even greater effect. To do this, it’s worth trying to grow several aromatic plants, which will give your dishes new tastes and aromas. What greens in the garden can be considered the best from a culinary point of view?

Radish salad with egg and mayonnaise, which I made from Chinese radish. This radish is often called Loba radish in our stores. The outside of the vegetable is covered with a light green peel, and when cut open there is pink flesh that looks exotic. When preparing, it was decided to focus on the smell and taste of the vegetable and make a traditional salad. It turned out very tasty, we didn’t detect any “nutty” notes, but it was nice to eat a light spring salad in winter.

The graceful perfection of shining white flowers on tall stalks and huge shiny dark leaves of Eucharis give it the appearance of a classic star. In indoor culture, this is one of the most famous bulbous plants. Few plants cause so much controversy. For some, eucharis bloom and delight completely effortlessly, for others for many years do not produce more than two leaves and appear stunted. It is very difficult to classify the Amazon lily as an unpretentious plant.

Kefir pizza pancakes - delicious pancakes with mushrooms, olives and mortadella, easy to prepare in less than half an hour. You don't always have time to cook yeast dough and turn on the oven, and sometimes you want to eat a slice of pizza without leaving home. In order not to go to the nearest pizzeria, wise housewives came up with this recipe. Pancakes like pizza - great idea For quick dinner or breakfast. We use sausage, cheese, olives, tomatoes, and mushrooms as filling.

Growing vegetables at home is quite a feasible task. The main thing is desire and a little patience. Most greens and vegetables can be successfully grown on a city balcony or kitchen windowsill. There are advantages here compared to growing in open ground: in such conditions, your plants are protected from low temperatures, many diseases and pests. And if your loggia or balcony is glazed and insulated, then you can practically grow vegetables all year round

We grow many vegetable and flower crops using seedlings, which allows us to get an earlier harvest. But create ideal conditions very difficult: lack of plants sunlight, dry air, drafts, untimely watering, soil and seeds may initially contain pathogenic microorganisms. These and other reasons often lead to depletion and sometimes to the death of young seedlings, because they are the most sensitive to adverse factors

Thanks to the efforts of breeders in lately The range of coniferous perennials has been replenished with a number of unusual varieties with yellow needles. It seems that the most original ideas, which landscape designers have not yet been able to bring to life, were just waiting in the wings. And from all this variety of yellow-coniferous plants, you can always choose the species and varieties that in the best possible way suitable for the site. We will talk about the most interesting of them in the article.

Chocolate whiskey truffles - homemade dark chocolate truffles. In my opinion, this is one of the simplest and most delicious homemade desserts for adults, unfortunately, the younger generation can only lick their lips on the sidelines, these candies are not for kids. Truffles are made with different fillings, filled with nuts, candied fruits or dried fruits. Roll in biscuit, shortbread or nut crumbs. You can make a whole box of homemade assorted chocolates based on this recipe!

Silver birch, white, common, scientific Latin name, like international classification Betula pendula ( brief description in Latin Betula) is a tree, the botanical structure and characteristics are deciduous, and the fruits are called catkins, with which the plant reproduces and spreads, and the bark looks like a picture. Average height 14 m. Adult age – 15 years. Birch trees grow in many countries, and the benefits and medicinal properties buds and leaves are known all over the world. Birch sap They do it for children and schoolchildren in the spring, when its content is at its maximum.

Description of silver birch

Silver birch, in Latin: Betula pendula, belongs to the birch family. Pendulus, as the species name in Latin, means "pendling". This is a monoecious tree, deciduous, with a straight trunk and a sparse crown. irregular shape, drooping branches. The tree reaches a height of 25 meters, and a diameter of up to 85 cm. Birch lives up to 140 years, and can reach a height of 55 meters. This tree also has a number of other names.

Alternative names for silver birch:

• Weeping birch;
• Hanging birch;
• Warty birch.

Birch has bare shoots, reddish-brown in color, and glossy warts. Birch root is highly branched and taprooted. The root system is well developed, but does not penetrate deeply into the soil. Young trees have brown bark. She turns white from about 9 years old. What gives the bark its whiteness is betulin, a white powdery substance. Mature trees have white and smooth bark that peels off in horizontal stripes. With age, in the lower part of the trunk, it becomes deeply cracked, black-gray or black in color. Birch bark, located deeper, is a very thin plug. Birch wood is dense, yellowish-white and heavy.

Betulin gives the white color to birch bark.

Birch buds reach 7 mm in length and 3 mm in width. They are pointed, elongated-conical in shape, covered with scales closely spaced to each other. The buds are brownish-brownish in color, slightly greenish at the base, have a resinous taste, their balsamic smell intensifies when rubbed. Birch has smooth, bare, shiny petiolate leaves, with a truncated wedge-shaped base. They are dark green in color and have double-toothed edges. In autumn the leaves turn yellow, and in spring, young leaves are fragrant, resinous and sticky.

Nut-shaped birch fruits

Birch flowers are inconspicuous, small, regular and unisexual. On short pedicels, in the reddish-brown axils of the covering scales, male flowers are located. They form 3 oblong-cylindrical hanging staminate earrings, which are first brownish in color and then light yellow. A simple bifoliate or unifoliate perianth with 3-4 stamens. Without perianth with lower ovary, 5 pieces are collected on short lateral branches female flowers. They form cylindrical, short and thin, erect pistillate (female) catkins that fade from green to brownish with age. Usually the birch tree blooms at the same time, or before the leaves bloom, this is approximately April-May, and at the end of summer, beginning of autumn, the fruits ripen.

Advantages of warty birch:

• Frost-resistant;
• Grows quickly;
• Drought-resistant;
• Undemanding to soils: dry loamy, chernozem, sandy, acidic, rocky and chippy;
• Photophilous.

The birch fruit is a rather single-seeded, rather small, laterally compressed oblong-elliptical nut with 2 membranous wings. One earring contains up to 500 nuts. This type of birch tree free state, bears fruit every year after reaching the age of ten. The fruits are dispersed in winter and autumn. Birch cuttings take root poorly, but seed germination is high.

One birch catkin contains up to five hundred nut seeds.

Silver birch forms small-leaved pure forests throughout climatic zones except for the tundra. It is part of coniferous, broad-leaved and mixed forests Altai, the European part of Russia, Europe, the Caucasus, Western Siberia, Central and Western Asia, Africa, North America. Birch usually lives in light and dry forests, overgrown fields and pastures, on the edges, fires, clearings, and steppe. In mountainous areas it can be found at an altitude of 2000-2400 meters above sea level. Planted in gardens, parks, along roads.

Birch tree and medicinal raw materials

Birch is such a unique plant, rich in useful and healing substances, that almost the entire tree can be used for medicinal purposes. Here is a list of what can be used in birch.

Birch buds are collected at the end of winter, beginning of spring, from clearings. When dried, the buds should smell pleasant, have a bitter taste and a shiny dark brown surface. Birch sap is collected during sap flow in early spring, before the leaves bloom. Birch stumps provide good sap, the sap of which can be collected without restrictions.

Sap from birch stumps can be collected without any restrictions.

Birch leaves are collected in May. Leaves that are not completely dried can become moldy, so they need to be dried well. Birch bark is the outer layer of birch bark that is harvested from recently felled trees. The best birch bark is obtained from the middle part of the trunk. If you use dry distillation on birch wood, you can get birch charcoal.

Useful medical properties: information about birch

Birch leaves and buds contain saponins, essential oils, flavonoids, resins, tannins, glycosides, ascorbic and nicotinic acids, pyrocatechins, carotene, coumarins, alkaloids, sugars, bitterness. In addition to this, birch buds contain anthocyanins, palmitic acid, and the leaves contain vitamins PP and E. Phytoncides, which have an antibactericidal effect, are released by fresh leaves. These substances will be able to neutralize pathogenic microorganisms in 2.5 hours.

Composition of birch tar:

• Phenol;
• Guaiacol;
• Cresols;
• Dioxybenzenes.

Birch bark contains essential oil, tannins, phenolic glycosides, saponins, sesquiterpenoids, ursolic, behenic and oleanolic acids, phytosterols, fatty acids, catechins, alkaloids, betulin, suberin.

After just 2.5 hours, the phytoncides contained in fresh birch leaves can kill microorganisms that cause diseases.

Birch sap contains glutamic and malic acids, glycine, sugars (glucose, fructose), protein, iron compounds, potassium, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, group of B vitamins, essential oils, saponins, tannins and aromatic substances.

Young birch: use in medicine and more

Birch finds wide application not only for medical purposes. There are also a number of areas where birch and its derivatives are happily used, for example, as a landscaping park tree.

Areas of application of birch and its derivatives:

• Medicine;
• Cooking;
• Construction;
• Military affairs;
• Decorative business;
• Souvenir products.

Birch sap and birch sapwood are used for food, and buds and leaves are used to make side dishes, salads, tea and soups. Wood, branches and bark are used as ornamental and building materials.

Birch charcoal is used in the production of gunpowder, and tar is used in perfumery and medicine.

In medicine, preparations from the buds and leaves manifest themselves as diaphoretic, diuretic, bactericidal, choleretic, antifungal, anticonvulsant, expectorant, tonic, antiseptic, for rheumatism, arthritis and gout, for diseases respiratory organs(bronchitis, tracheitis), wound healing for abscesses and cuts, antipyretic.

Medical benefits: silver birch (video)

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Family: birch (Betulaceae).

Homeland: Northern Hemisphere.

Form: tree or shrub.

Description

Birch is the most commonly found hardwood species in the Northern Hemisphere. Various types birches (there are about 120 of them) are distributed from the subtropics to the tundra. Birch is a beautiful tree 30-45 m high or a shrub with an openwork crown. Home distinctive feature birch - a white, yellowish or pinkish trunk covered with birch bark. Birch leaves are petiolate, round or lanceolate, entire (rarely lobed), serrated. Birch leaves turn yellow in autumn. Birch blossoms begin before the leaves bloom. Birch flowers are collected in earrings. Birch fruits are single-seeded nuts 1-5 mm long with two membranous wings. Birch trees have a fairly large root system that takes moisture and nutrients from upper layers soil Therefore, the vegetation under the birches is sparse.

The lifespan of a birch is 100-150 years.

In the European part of our country, two types of birch trees are widespread: downy birch and silver birch.

Downy birch (curly birch) (B. pubescens), or birch warty(B. verrucosa) - a tree up to 15 m tall, with a pure white trunk that does not form a dark, rough crust at the base, for which it received another name - white-trunked birch. The crown of the curly birch (warty birch) is widely branched and ovoid. The branches are directed upwards. The bark of young branches is smooth, reddish-brown, later pure white. The leaves of downy birch are shiny, ovate or rhombic, up to 6 cm, sticky and fragrant after blooming.

Silver birch has several forms, of which the most decorative: pyramidal(f. fastigiata) - with a narrow pyramidal crown; mourning(f. tristis) - distinguished by very thin weeping branches and a rounded crown; Jung(f. Youngii) - with an irregular, graceful crown, with thin drooping branches; purple(f. purpurea) - with purple leaves.

(B. pendula) - a tree with an openwork, irregular crown. The height of silver birch can reach 20 m. The trunk of silver birch is white. In mature trees, the lower part of the trunk is covered with a rough, blackish crust in deep cracks. The branches are mostly drooping, for which the silver birch has received another name among the people - weeping birch. The leaves of silver birch are rhombic, glabrous, up to 7 cm, resinous and sticky for some time after blooming. The fruits of silver birch have drooping catkins. Silver birch grows quickly and is frost-resistant.

The following types of birch shrubs are popular.

(B. nana) is an elegant bush up to 1 m high with small round leaves characteristic of birch. In autumn, the leaves of dwarf birch are colored yellow. To grow dwarf birch, it is recommended to buy cultivated specimens.

Ferruginous birch (B. glandulosa) is similar to dwarf birch, but taller (up to 3 m) and has larger leaves.

Birch is low (B. humilis) is a highly branched shrub with a straight crown. The leaves of low birch are oblong and up to 3 cm long.

Birch Medvedeva (B. medwediewii) is a large shrub that becomes tree-like with age. Medvedev's birch is distinguished by its very large, compared to other types of birch, buds and leaves (up to 10 cm long!).

Growing conditions

Birch is an undemanding tree when it comes to soil, but downy birch prefers moister soils and a humid climate. Birch bushes are also not picky about soil, but prefer light sandy loam.

Birch trees need good lighting. With a lack of light, birches become frail and depressed.

Application

Due to their unpretentiousness, birch trees are used in groups, as well as for creating small forest plantations, protective stripes and so on. Birch is indispensable in the garden for landscaping recreation areas. It is possible to plant birch trees, but it should be borne in mind that they lose leaves and branches throughout the summer, so the area around them requires periodic maintenance.

Downy birch is good for planting in swampy and damp places: the root system of downy birch is able to cope with waterlogging of the soil.

But in urban landscaping, birch trees are not so popular due to the transparency of their crowns and are found mainly in parks and squares.

Dwarf birch trees are suitable for.

Planting and care

Birch tree care is minimal. During drought, watering is required.

Birch replanting is best done in early spring. Birch trees are transplanted before the age of 5-7 years, since older specimens are not well accepted. Autumn replanting of birch trees is not recommended, as it has a higher mortality rate. When planting birch seedlings, it is not recommended to bury the root collar. Birch roots lie shallow, so they require watering during drought.

Reproduction

Birch propagation is carried out mainly by seeds. Some types of birch (usually cultivated) are taken from cuttings.

Birch seeds are collected during the period of browning of catkins. It is recommended to sow seeds immediately after collection, in late autumn.

Birch seedlings of cultivated species can be found in garden centers and nurseries. Birch seedlings of wild species can be taken from the forest.

Diseases and pests

Dangerous pests of birch are the May beetle and the gypsy moth.