BlueBell Arboretum & Nursery

Growers of rare trees & shrubs

Description

A fantastic tree and one of our most popular Birch, Betula utilis 'Doorenbos' is a slender, fast growing birch with particularly fine peeling white bark, even on quite young specimens. It can be grown as a single stemmed tree, but also makes an excellent multi-stemmed specimen (as shown in the photos).

Growing it in a multi-stemmed fashion also reduces the vigour and end size, making it an ideal tree for smaller gardens. One of the very best Himalayan white birches, this is delightful as a single plant and even more striking when planted in groups.

Features

• Common name: Himalayan Birch or Silver Birch.
• Position: Full sun.
• Soil: Any fertile soil.
• Hardiness: Hardy.
• Rate of Growth: Vigorous (moderate if grown as a multi-stemmed tree)
• Habit: Medium sized tree with a slender habit.
• Height: 15 m (50 ft)
• Spread: 10 m (32 ft)
• Notes: The birch trees listed here are usually available from our nursery with a strong main leader. If you would like to buy a birch with some young low branches which has been freshly pruned by us to adopt a multi stemmed, vase-shaped habit as it grows, please let us know in the 'Notes' section of the online order form.
• Supplied Size: 160 - 180 cm in 3L containers

Plant Video

An informal short video clip taken of a specimen plant in our own gardens. This tree is around 15 years old and was pruned back hard when young to encourage the side branches to grow and make an attractive multi-stemmed, vase-like shape.

Further Information

The lovely white barked birches of the Himalayas are found from Afghanistan, through Northern Pakistan, Kashmir, Nepal Bhutan and into Western China.

Plants may be grown with single trunks, or pruned hard as young plants to produce a multi stemmed effect. Alternatively three plants are sometimes planted in the same hole.

The specific name 'utilis' refers to the usefulness of this species, which in the wild is used as fuel and for the manufacture of everyday items, such as buttons.

On an expedition to the Eastern Himalayas in 2007 we noticed white Betula utilis stems just stuck into the side of tracks & roads being used as simple bollards to warn motorists of precipitous falls if they went off the road!