At 05:06 PM 4/15/03 -0400, Nina Shishkoff wrote:
Okay, theres a white birch tree in my front yard, that hasnt been doing
well for the last couple of years, it gets eaten by bugs every year. My
dad is going to chop it down, and pull out the stump. Is there any way I
can take a cutting from this plant? or what?
But that's just information for other people with birches in their
front yards. To answer your question: Birches are generally grafted
or grown from seed; maybe Brent knows more. But I can say this much:
Thanks Nina
My two cents... forget trying to grow them from cuttings. I mentioned them
in the last thing I wrote on propagation. They are difficult and have a
very narrow window of opportunity for striking cuttings in midsummer just
before bud set. It is about a two week period.
Nina is right. Birches are very easy to come by in nurseries (seedlings and
grafts). The seedlings are very inexpensive for species types, but most are
unsuitable or difficult for bonsai. The cultivars are almost always
grafted, expensive and usually not suitable for bonsai. A few are suitable,
but still a lot of work. I think Betula pendula 'Trost's Dwarf' is a
candidate, but very slow growing. For faster results try B.p. 'Youngii', or
Young's weeping birch. It grows moderately for a birch, fast by bonsai
standards, has lots of weeping branches to play with, nice white bark. Very
hard to find cuttings, but they are preferred over grafts for bonsai. BTW,
birches are very easy to graft.
Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14
http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com
************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail
+++++