Scientific name: Betula pendula ‘Youngii’
Family: BETULACEAE
Common names: “Young’s weeping birch”
Plant Type: Deciduous tree
Conditions:
Zone: 2-6
Light: Full sun – dappled shade
Exposure: Sheltered
Soil: Fertile soil,
Moisture: Moist well drained, can take drier conditions once established
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: H 7-25′ W 10′
Leaf and Stem shape: Arching branches with striking white, pink, or peeling brown bark, weeping to the ground, with ovate leaves turning yellow in autumn
Flower: Separate male and female catkins open before or with the leaves in spring
Pruning: Do not prune in early spring or late fall when sap is flowing, bleeds, prune to maintain natural shape and avoid the typical “bowl cut” look, thin out large awkward shoots, avoid heading back cuts
Maintenance: Tends to have a lot of dead wood, resents root disturbance, should always have a tree circle if planted in a lawn, requires training to form
Landscape use: Pretty garden tree, attractive white bark and nice fall colour, species tree
Propagate: By cuttings
Pests & Disease: Bronze birch borer can lead to dead tops and branch dieback,though not as susceptible as other species, infected trees should be removed and quickly burned to kill the larvae and eggs in the bark and a replacement tree should be selected from a different genus, aphids, black sooty mold
Comments: Don’t underplant with very pale coloured foliage plants as the sooty mold will be very obvious
Cultivars: ~AGM winners: B. p. ‘Tristis’ , B. p. ‘Laciniata’
