Dwarf Birch - world's smallest... mistake?

[AppleBonsai]

These actually thrive in full sun. I was lucky enough acquire an older one at a club sale a few years back and have not used shade cloth even in 100 degree temperatures. Styling seems to best as a broom, but still getting to know the species. Beautiful fall colors.

 

[Bnana]

This is the same plant as in the photo from October.
It is far from a decent bonsai but it does show how fast this species can grow.
The alu-foil is to cover an air-layer. i want to remove the trunk on the right. I made it about 4 weeks ago and it is full of roots now.

Thickening of the trunk might take long but growth rate and ramification seem very good and leaves are always small.

 

[Clorgan]

Any updates on this one? I just got one, interested to see how yours is doing?

 

[Tycoss]

I'm watching this with interest. There are lots of betula nana and betula pumilia near me. I have a small bit that came in with a collected spruce that seems to be doing well after two years in a pot. It's under the snow right now. I think these would be great material for forests or mame trees, and the small leaves and fall colour are very appealing.

 

[Cable]

Any updates on this one? I just got one, interested to see how yours is doing?

Not yet. I'll have to see if it survived the winter.

 

[Mikecheck123]

Zone 2 Birch in zone 6? Wanna bet it doesn't like high temps and humidity?

Impossible to say since zones are about minimum temperatures and say nothing at all about anything else.

 

[Vance Wood]

Impossible to say since zones are about minimum temperatures and say nothing at all about anything else.

Don't kid yourself. Zones are also about high temperatures. Temperate, arctic, sub Alpine, sub tropical and tropical.. These areas are as much about hight temperatures as they are about low ones. Try growing a Japanese White Pine long term in Florida and see what happens.

 

[AppleBonsai]

Mine did great for years in Zone 8 without shade. They are pretty tough. I am in a zone 6 now. And yes still doing well

 

[leatherback]

Don't kid yourself. Zones are also about high temperatures.

Sorry, but no. The USDA climate zone system is based entirely on average annual extreme minimum temperature in an area

 

[Potawatomi13]

Sorry, but no. The USDA climate zone system is based entirely on average annual extreme minimum temperature in an area

Just one reason it is flawed. Locally by your definition local Zone way too warm compared to reality. Min root freeze, max temps tree tolerates also needed.

 

[leatherback]

Just one reason it is flawed.

I disagree. It was designed with frost-damage in mind. It is not flawed, it was just not designed to describe the climate. If that is what you would like to do, use the Koppen system, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Köppen_climate_classification

 

[Clorgan]

I'm watching this with interest. There are lots of betula nana and betula pumilia near me. I have a small bit that came in with a collected spruce that seems to be doing well after two years in a pot. It's under the snow right now. I think these would be great material for forests or mame trees, and the small leaves and fall colour are very appealing.

Nice, I love the bark colour. Yeah I was thinking about a small tree with mine, but I think I red that chops can be tricky with die back?

 

[Mikecheck123]

Don't kid yourself. Zones are also about high temperatures. Temperate, arctic, sub Alpine, sub tropical and tropical.. These areas are as much about hight temperatures as they are about low ones. Try growing a Japanese White Pine long term in Florida and see what happens.

This is a vast oversimplification. Zones are a total incomplete climate picture.

In fact, zone 2 plants can grow fine in Zone 10 under certain circumstances.

Examples:

Betula pendula is both hardy to zone 2 and also ubiquitous in the Bay Area's zone 10 for its drought tolerance.

More obscure but equally valid is that salix arctica (which grows in the arctic tundra) grows perfectly fine in zone 10 here.

 

[Cable]

 

[Bonsai Nut]

This is a vast oversimplification. Zones are a total incomplete climate picture.

In fact, zone 2 plants can grow fine in Zone 10 under certain circumstances.

Examples:

Betula pendula is both hardy to zone 2 and also ubiquitous in the Bay Area's zone 10 for its drought tolerance.

More obscure but equally valid is that salix arctica (which grows in the arctic tundra) grows perfectly fine in zone 10 here.

I agree to the extent that zones are a helpful quick guide, but just that. Anyone who has ever lived in California knows about micro-climates, and how one side of a hill might be a completely different zone than the other side of the same hill (a fact that the California wine industry is based upon). I happen to live on a large body of water, and my yard is several degrees warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer, than property a couple of miles down the road.

Just because you live in one zone doesn't mean that you might not get completely different weather one year versus the next. For example I supposedly live in zone 7b/8a, but this winter (assuming we don't get a late blast of frigid weather) we had a 8b winter. The coldest temp I saw was a single morning at 16 degrees. No other day even got to 20 degrees - which itself is the definition of the winter lows of a 9a zone. This winter was unusual in a different aspect as well; the lows might have been warmer than the long term average, but the highs were colder.

I know this is the difference between weather (annual variable conditions) and climate (long term averages). However if you have the ability to shelter trees from cold, or protect them from sun or heat, you can often create conditions where you can "cheat" a couple of zones in one direction or the other, and maintain trees that would not generally survive long-term in your backyard without care.

 

[Bnana]

If there is one tree I do not worry about in winter it's dwarf birch. If they can survive in the high Arctic growing on permafrost soils they can handle the mild frost in my garden.
Summer is a bit more tricky but last summer we had >35C quite a few times and they were happy in full sun in front of a south facing wall. These guys are tough. The only thing is that they like it wet.

The tree in the last photo is now three trees. This is the largest part, starting to form more branches, truck still needs to thicken quite a bit. There is a start is a nebari in the soil.


I air layered a side trunk. That's this now:

One branch I put in some water and it started to grow roots, so I potted it. Might make a tiny tree from it.


So climate is easy, leaves are already small, air layering and cuttings are very easy. It seems to ramify well and grows very fast when heavily fertilised. Downside is slow thickening of the trunk. Obviously it's not suitable for large bonsai as it doesn't get large.

 

[Bnana]

To clarify, I'm not saying these are good trees or even on their way to become good bonsai. I just happened to have a dwarf birch and started to play with it.

 

[SC1989]

Funny running into this. I've on the border of zone 3/4 -40 F winter low.. I can see lake superior off my deck. High winds off the lake. Tomorrow is supposed to be 75 F ! Also two nights in the next week are forecasted to be 32 for a night low. My collected silver birch about 2 weeks ago needs minimal protection. I love it. Don't love that I have Japanese maple leafing out along side my amur maples. I scratch my head about Temps though. I feel like like high elevation leads to higher uv. It was almost 60 F in Duluth, MN today. I have to use a shade cloth. My north northeast side of the house gets 6 hours of sun. 48 trees in my yard, ether too much shade or too much sun. Every one has different extremes

 

[Cable]

Any updates on this one? I just got one, interested to see how yours is doing?

Looks like barely alive. Only two leaves so far.

 

[Clorgan]

Looks like barely alive. Only two leaves so far.

Fingers crossed it picks up! Mine isn't doing bad so far