2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Schmidt birch (Latin Betula schmidtii) - a representative of the Birch genus of the Birch family. Another name is iron birch. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the species in question is considered a rare tree species. The culture got its name in honor of the Russian botanist and geologist Fyodor Schmidt. Under natural conditions, it is found in Japan, China, North Korea and the Russian Far East. Typical habitats are rocky areas with stony soils, mountain slopes, less often valleys. Natural allies include linden, maple, oak, solid fir and cedar.
Characteristics of culture
Schmidt birch is a deciduous tree up to 25 m high (in nature there are specimens up to 35 cm high) with a spreading crown and fissured, flaky or flaking bark of beige or grayish-cream color. Young trees have brown bark. The branches are purple-brown or dark cherry, often equipped with resinous glands.
Leaves are short-petiolate, elliptical, oval-elliptical or ovate, up to 8 cm long, with double or irregularly serrated edges, have pronounced pubescent veins in the lower side. Inflorescences are earrings. Flowering begins in the second decade of May, and lasts about 10-12 days. The fruits are wingless, ripen in August - September. The average life span of trees is 300-350 years. Until the age of 50, it grows very slowly.
Application
Schmidt birch is often used in landscape design. Plants look especially impressive in group and single plantings in parks, alleys and intensely lit areas. In tandem with oak trees, the plants are suitable for protective belts. The Schmidt birch is appropriate as part of mixed pictorial groups and in a bouquet planting. Ideal allies are linden, bird cherry, willow, pine, mountain ash, larch and other shrubs and trees.
In small groups, the culture will be interesting in combination with other types of birches, for example, Manchurian, Daurian, Japanese, blue, black and fluffy. Schmidt birch possesses valuable timber. It is unusually hard (1.5 times harder than cast iron) and durable, some sources indicate that even a bullet cannot penetrate it. Wood does not sink, burn or corrode by acid. It is for this reason that it is an excellent raw material for turning and artistic joinery.
The subtleties of growing
Schmidt birch, like other members of the genus, are light-requiring, but put up with shaded areas. In low light, tree trunks tilt strongly, thus the plants are drawn to sunlight. The culture does not impose special requirements on the soil composition. It is desirable that the soils are loose, slightly acidic or neutral, well moistened, with a high humus content. Plants benefit from the close occurrence of groundwater. They develop normally on salt licks, thick chernozems, sands, heavy loams and even on poor podzolic soils, but subject to optimal moisture.
Schmidt birch is propagated by seeds and green cuttings. The germination rate of seeds is 65%, the rooting rate of cuttings is 35%. It is recommended to purchase seedlings of this type only in nurseries. Planting is carried out together with an earthen clod. Planting with an open root system is dangerous, sometimes even large and well-developed seedlings do not take root and eventually die.
The planting pits are filled with a substrate consisting of garden soil, sand, peat and pergola (2: 1: 1: 1). Also, a complex mineral fertilizer is introduced into the earthen mixture. For autumn planting, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are added to the mixture. Planting is better carried out away from buildings, asphalt and paved paths, this is due to the structure of the root system, which over time can damage communications and even the foundation.
The main task of care is to protect against pests. May beetles and their larvae, thrips, silkworms, golden beetles and leaf sawflies are considered the most dangerous. Some of them can eat leaves naked. If pests are found on trees, leaves are removed and treated with chemicals. Most often, uninvited guests settle in old or young trees. For preventive purposes, plants are regularly sprayed with insecticides and fungicides.
Recommended:
Birch
Birch (lat.betula) - a genus of deciduous shrubs and trees of the Birch family. Includes over 100 species. It is considered one of the most widespread and most important forest-forming species in Russia. In nature, it grows in the Northern Hemisphere.
Birch - Spruce Nanny
Summer residents, who are not attracted to work in the beds, try to plant more trees on their site, and not fruit trees, but those that grow freely in the wild, without requiring attention and care. In such cases, it is simply not realistic to ignore the white-trunk birch
Birch Jacquemont
Birch Jacquemont (Latin Betula jacquemontii) - deciduous tree of the genus Birch of the Birch family. It is a useful variety of Birch (Latin Betula utilis). It occurs naturally in Eastern Afghanistan and the Himalayas. Typical habitats are mountain slopes.
Dwarf Birch
Dwarf birch (Latin Betula nana) - a species of low-growing shrubs of the genus Birch of the Birch family. Other names are small birch, dwarf birch, dwarf birch, dwarf birch. In nature, the plant is found in many European countries, in Canada and Russia.
Black Birch
Black birch (lat.betula nigra) - a representative of the Birch genus of the Birch family. Another name is river birch. The homeland of the species in question is the United States of America. In nature, it occurs in wetlands, flood plains, river valleys and other places with damp sandy soils.
