Advice needed: Newly planted Himalayan Birch (Betula Utilis - jacquemontii)

[jspash]

I'm in London where the weather has been a bit erratic lately. This tree was planted about 5 weeks ago when the weather was around 5-10 degrees. All buds, good looking root ball and quality supplier.

Since then we've had temperatures all the way up to mid 20's and back down to 1 (and possibly 0).

Here we are with overnight temps hovering around 5 degrees and I'm wondering about a few things. Some blurry snaps: https://imgur.com/a/HZMhlCA

1. the leaf size seem quite large for such a small tree. is this perhaps due to fertiliser used at the nursery? or is this normal?
2. as of this morning i've noticed some leaves now have a tinge of bronze as though the tree thinks it's autumn (i haven't asked ). or is this due to something else? over/under watering? transplant shock?
3. any tips on pruning at this stage? my understanding is that you shouldn't prune birch in the spring due to rising sap. but does this also apply to saplings & newly planted trees? i realise there is a very low branch almost touching the ground, but i almost prefer that "look".

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[nickdub]

First off your tree looks healthy to me - possibly the bronzing is down to a bit of sun scorch with the hot weather. Obviously keep it watered during dry spells - I doubt you can overdo this, as you seem to have a free draining soil.

I've no idea if the tree is "right " for the type you wanted - obviously ordinary birch trees can get mega large, so you definitely need somebody to tell you if you have the correct sort or not.

As for pruning, assuming it will grow to be a smallish tree, the world is your lobster - personally I'd leave it to grow for now and prune it this coming winter - obviously if you want a clean trunk then cut any low branches back with a sharp knife or small saw flush to the bark ( pruning large branches in the Spring is generally a bad idea, but you can more or less do what you want with ones up to the thickness of a sausage)

[Scarlet]

It looks really healthy to me. Birch trees are fully hardy so night time low temperatures won't hurt it at all.
As for pruning, I would leave it alone for now.
Those trees grow fairly big though so I hope it's not too close to your living room window

[jspash]

Thanks for the quick replies. Glad to hear it hasn't gotten frost-bitten or something!

The tag on the tree from the grower shows "6m height with 2m spread after 10 years.". Perhaps I naively assumed that meant full size when mature!

I suppose these aren't like fruit trees that are grafted on to different rootstocks?

It was planted specifically for a bit of dappled shade. And also to be seen from our 1st floor windows. With maybe a bit of privacy screening thrown in for good measure. If it does grow to 12m x 4m it will still "fit" in the area but maybe will be overwhelming.

So I suppose at this point I'll have to make a decision whether or not to move it.

[Martin H]

Hi. I grew a Jacquemontii in a previous garden. It's a really nice tree. Compared to our native silver birch (pendula), it's got much whiter bark, much larger leaves (as you've noticed!) and a much more upright growing habit. The shade isn't as heavy as a lot of trees, although probably a bit more than pendula.

Yours sounds fine and healthy, I'd let it settle in for this year before doing anything to it except watering when it gets dry. In subsequent years if it's getting a bit big you could keep removing lower branches to raise the crown and give you space and light underneath?

[nickdub]

I'd recommend moving it on to someone with a larger garden - may be via Ebay ?

How about Amelanchier canadensis as an alternative ? - pretty Spring flowers, the birds love the fruit and the leaves go a reddish colour in the Autumn - casts a nice dappled shade but not too dense - I've no idea why it is planted more often.

eg :-

https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/261742...n-Form/Details -