Weeping birch

Weeping Birch (Betula pendula)

The weeping birch is an enormous and magnificent tree from northern Europe, growing upwards of 80 feet. It is one of the most popular trees available to prairie gardeners and there are few trees that can compete with it for hardiness or beauty. Where it grows in the wild, it often forms pure stands and is usually growing on average to poor soil, but always in moist areas. The brilliant white bark is showy in all seasons and the pendant, curtain like branches are stunning in the winter covered in frost. The Autumn show of brilliant gold is also difficult to ignore!

Weeping birch requires moisture but also good drainage. It should be watered heavily in dry spells (whether it is young or old) and they appreciate some pampering. In many cases, they do not start to develop heavily “weeping” branches until they are quite mature but this is not the case in the cultivar called ‘Gracilis’, which “weeps” even from a young age. ‘Laciniata’ has extraordinarily finely cut leaves and is often known as cutleaf weeping birch.

Young’s weeping birch (B. pendula ‘Youngii’) has remained popular. It is usually sold as a grafted specimen and is essentially a large green curtain. Slow growing, 4-10 ft. tall and wide it is sometimes used a specimen plant.

‘Purple Rain’ is an interesting selection that was released from Monrovia Nursery in California in 1987. It was grown from seed and has a unique, semi-weeping habit and leaves that emerge almost burgundy in color, slowly aging to very dark green over the course of the summer. The fall color is slow to develop, but can range from gold through even red. Although it is listed as hardy only to zone 4, it has done well in several gardens in both Edmonton and Saskatoon.

Zone 2.