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Garden Forward

tree

Silver birch

Betula pendula

Native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Full sun

Soil moisture

free-draining, average, moisture-retentive

Heat tolerance

Up to about 34°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -35°C

Waterlogging tolerance

4/5

Drought tolerance

3/5

Mature size

8–18 m tall, 6 m spread

Seasonal interest

Spring catkins, autumn gold · White bark

Maintenance

low

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 5/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

Known risks or warnings

Shallow roots compete strongly with nearby planting.

Toxicity: none

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name
Betula pendula Roth
Family
Betulaceae (Fagales)
Rank and status
species · accepted
GBIF record
Taxon 5331916

Recorded native range: Belgium, Brussels-Capital Region, Flanders, Flemish Region, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Walloon Region

Recorded as introduced in: Argentina Northeast, Azores, Colorado, Connecticut, Cyprus, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Ohio and 6 further regions

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Betula pendula, the silver birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae It is native to Europe, Morocco, temperate Asia, Canada, and Alaska, although in southern Europe and Morocco it is only found at higher elevations. Its range extends into Siberia, China, and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus, and northern Iran. It has also been called warty birch from the warty twigs, and (particularly for selected strongly pendulous cultivars) weeping birch; in Korea it has been cited as East Asian white birch, though this can also refer to Betula platyphylla. It has been introduced into North America, where it is sometimes known as European white birch, and is considered invasive in some states in the United States and parts of Canada.

Description from Wikipedia — Betula pendula (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

  • United Kingdom: native
  • United States: climate-suitable
  • Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.