Silver Birch (Betula Pendula)

Silver birch (Betula pendula) is a deciduous tree with a slender shape and graceful appearance, which has given rise to its lovely name of the ‘lady of the woods’. Silver birch trees look attractive year-round with white bark, spring catkins and yellow autumn leaf colour. The catkins cand seeds are popular with wildlife such as bees and birds, while several species of moth lay eggs on birch leaves.

Silver birch trees have an open branch structure that casts only light shade, enabling potential for underplanting around them. This makes them appropriate for all but very small gardens. While single-stemmed trees are most usual, multi-stemmed silver birches are available or are easy to create – these make gorgeous garden feature trees and won’t grow as large as a single tree. Multi-stemmed birches can even be grown in a large container or raised bed.



Silver birch has white bark, which becomes marked with rugged dark cracks as it matures. As the tree grows, the bark often peels off in strips. Silver birch leaves are triangular-shaped and green, fading to bright yellow in autumn. In spring, male catkins are 6cm long and brown-yellow, and female catkins are 3cm long and green. If pollinated, female catkins become red-brown in colour and bear masses of tiny, winged seeds.

How to grow silver birch tree

Grow silver birch in any reasonable soil. Ideally plant when dormant, preferably in autumn. Stake your tree and keep well watered during dry spells for the first couple of years. Prune only if necessary, in late summer.

We have a number of saplings available.

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