White birch

Succeeds in a well-drained light loamy soil in a sunny position[11, 200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Tolerates a wet position[11, 24], succeeding in poorly drained soils. Fairly wind tolerant. Prefers an acid soil. A very ornamental tree and fast growing, capable of growing 1 metre a year but it is short-lived. It is one of the first trees to colonize open land and it creates a suitable environment for other woodland trees to follow. These trees eventually shade out the birch trees. Trees take about 15 years from seed to produce their own seed. Although closely related, it does not usually hybridize with B. pendula. It hybridizes freely with B. pendula according to another report. A superb tree for encouraging wildlife, it has over 200 associated insect species[24, 30]. A good plant to grow near the compost heap, aiding the fermentation process[14, 20]. It is also a good companion plant, its root activity working to improve the soil. Trees are notably susceptible to honey fungus. References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information Temperature Converter Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit: Celsius Fahrenheit: The PFAF Bookshop Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants , Edible Perennials , Edible Trees , Edible Shrubs , Woodland Gardening , and Temperate Food Forest Plants . Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical) . Shop Now

Edible Parts: Flowers Inner bark Leaves Sap Edible Uses: Tea Inner bark - cooked or dried, ground into a powder then used with cereals for making bread etc[2, 15, 46]. Inner bark is generally only seen as a famine food, used when other forms of starch are not available or are in short supply[177, K]. Sap - raw or cooked. A sweet flavour[2, 15, 177]. Harvested in early spring, before the leaves unfurl, by tapping the trunk. The flow is best on sunny days following a heavy frost. The sap is often concentrated into a sugar by boiling off the water. Between 4 and 7 litres can be drawn off a mature tree in a day and this will not kill the tree so long as the tap hole is filled up afterwards. However, prolonged or heavy tapping will kill the tree. A beer can be fermented from the sap. An old English recipe for the beer is as follows:- "To every Gallon of Birch-water put a quart of Honey, well stirr'd together; then boil it almost an hour with a few Cloves, and a little Limon-peel, keeping it well scumm'd. When it is sufficiently boil'd, and become cold, add to it three or four Spoonfuls of good Ale to make it work...and when the Test begins to settle, bottle it up . . . it is gentle, and very harmless in operation within the body, and exceedingly sharpens the Appetite, being drunk ante pastum.". Young leaves - raw or cooked[15, 177]. Young catkins. No more details are given. A tea is made from the leaves and another tea is made from the essential oil in the inner bark. References More on Edible Uses

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a light position in a cold frame[78, 80, 113, 134]. Only just cover the seed and place the pot in a sunny position[78, 80, 134]. Spring sown seed should be surface sown in a sunny position in a cold frame[113, 134]. If the germination is poor, raising the temperature by covering the seed with glass can help. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. If you have sufficient seed, it can be sown in an outdoor seedbed, either as soon as it is ripe or in the early spring - do not cover the spring sown seed. Grow the plants on in the seedbed for 2 years before planting them out into their permanent positions in the winter[78, 80, 113, 134].