General information: The downy birch is a pioneer tree species and colonizes moors and swamp forests from Central Europe to Siberia. It is very undemanding, tolerates nutrient-poor soils and moist to wet locations. It is also extremely frost-hardy and therefore forms the subarctic tree line in northern Scandinavia, for example, as a pure birch forest belt. Under favorable conditions, the moor birch grows into a medium-sized tree (15 m), otherwise it tends to develop into a shrub. Unlike the sand birch, its branches do not hang down. In addition, the young shoots and leaves are typically soft and hairy. The bark turns grayish-white to blackish with age.
Care as a bonsai: The bog birch is very undemanding, fast-growing, and tolerant of pruning. This makes it very well suited to bonsai cultivation, and it quickly develops into an attractive little tree. The bog birch craves light and needs regular watering. In its natural habitat, it also copes very well with nutrient-poor soils. As a bonsai, however, it benefits from regular fertilization. Due to its rapid growth, it must also be pruned regularly, and wired branches should be checked early on to ensure that the wire does not grow into the wood. Since birch bleeds easily, heavy pruning should be done in late summer or spring, together with root pruning. Leaves that have grown too large can be removed continuously or reduced in size by pruning.
