Content
- Hanging birch - an impressive and rare bonsai
- Location
- design options
- Pouring and fertilizing
- Cutting and wire
- repotting
- overwinter
- Tips
The hanging birch is a particularly beautiful bonsai
Hanging birch - an impressive and rare bonsai
Among bonsai friends, the native mountain birch (Betula pendula) is rather rare to find. This is by no means because the deciduous tree would be so boring. No, on the contrary, because the birch, which is extremely easy to maintain and grow, is difficult to cultivate in planters and can behave quite capriciously under such housing conditions. If you try, you can be rewarded with an impressive bonsai if you take good care of it.
Previous article Hanging birch cut only in winterLocation
Hanging birches love a bright, sunny spot where they are exposed to wind and weather. Too much shadow leads to a milder growth, in addition, can be dying due to the lack of light branches.
design options
With regard to their design possibilities, birch trees are rather limited, since on the one hand they are difficult to cut and on the other hand they quickly cast off twigs and branches. Ergo, the Bonsai must have patience and let the design be more or less defined by the tree's natural growth habit. Hanging birches can be cultivated both as single bonsai and in groups.
Pouring and fertilizing
Hanging birches need a lot of water and should not dry out in midsummer - otherwise it will quickly die of individual branches. However, waterlogging is also not tolerated, which is why you should ensure good drainage. Fertilization is between March and September preferably with organic fertilizer.
Cutting and wire
Never cut your hanging birch bonsai in spring or summer - the juice pressure is just too high during the growing season and the tree is about to bleed to death. Optimally, birch trees are trimmed between November and January, and wounds must always be treated with a wound sealer due to the high risk of infection. Wiring is basically possible, but you must not leave the wires so long on the tree because of the very rapid growth and need to replace them more frequently.
repotting
Also due to the rapid growth is recommended an annual repotting of Hängebirke, which you make best in the fall or in early spring.
overwinter
As the hanging birch is very frost hardy as a native tree, it can also overwinter as bonsai in the open air. To do this, it is best to dig the tree into the ground together with the planter so that the roots do not freeze at very low temperatures.
Tips
As a plant substrate is a mixture of humus soil, peat, lava granules and Akadama, a special clay granules.