Hi I have what I think is a Birch tree of some kind. It used to have 2 huge Leylandi next to it which I chopped down a few years ago as I don't really like them much. The problem is that the Leylandi blocked all the light from one side of the Birch tree and so I now only have growth around one side of the tree. There is some new growth on the side where the Leylandi used to be. I was wondering if it would be beneficial to prune back the the rest of the Birch so that it can grow back more evenly and give the tree a better shape.

If you have a look at the links below you will see that the left hand side has growth and the right does not. I've read conflicting information on pruning birch trees and don't know whether it's a good idea or not.

Please let me know what you think.

DSCN1624 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
DSCN1625 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
DSCN1623 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!