Early Budding on Birch
I have some young birch seedlings I've been keeping in the basement cold storage (with no light). I've been watering them a bit once a month to keep the soil a bit moist. My concern is I noticed they have started to bud. This seems really early to me.
Should I bring them out of the basement and into the light or leave them there until late March/April?
posted by Aaron Goldstein at
10:09 AM
4 Comments:
Hi Aaron,
Once your trees or seedlings start to bud out, there's no stopping them! They need light daily. I suggest you bring them up our of the cold and put them into as much light as possible. Once things warm up above zero outside, you could put them out for the day and then bring them in for the night. It's tedious, but what can you do...
If they get too leggy as time goes on, trim them back severely before putting them out permanently.
Native plants Are best overwintered outside or in a cold garage so that they do not break dormancy too early.
I've brought it up out of the basement. Should I start feeding these seedings yet or wait until April/May timeframe?
Hi Aaron,
Have the buds actually opened or are they only swelling? If opened, then the seedlings are growing now, having awakened early, and need food and water.
I assume you've grown these from seed through last year and these are seeing their first winter? The higher temperatures may have woken them up, and since they are growing, you have to pretend it's spring and create spring-like conditions.
I've never grown birch seedlings, but generally feed my tree seedlings when they're growing, in the spring. Some start earlier than others, so you have to watch. 20-20-20 at half-strength, once a week, along with an organic fertilizer like fish emulsion every other week would be a good idea. Feed and water them only when they need it, in the morning of a sunny day. Water them with fresh, clean water that has sat over night in a container at room temperature before feeding, to wash out any salt that has accumulated over time in the pots. Avoid water-logging them, by checking the bottom of the pots for moisture before watering. keep them moist but not wet. Consider using a humidity tray.
If they are a type of Southern Birch then treating them as houseplants is easier: plenty of sunshine in the day (8 hours minimum). Use supplemental lighting, such as tubes or compact fluorescents, for those dark days. A sunny southern window should do.
Low night time temperatures to slow them down.
If you have Northern Birches, be very careful that they do not dry out. Be careful pruning; some birches bleed profusely when growing. They will stop growing in summer; that is a better time for pruning. If you have to, make sure you use some cut sealer.
They should be planted outside this spring, after they have been acclimatized to the sun and the chance of frost has passed (May 24).
Hope this helps!
Thanks. They were just budding and now that I've brought them into the sun some of the buds are opening. I'm feeding with 20-20-20 at half strength. I'm going to plant them outside at the end of May as recommended above. I'm assuming a partial shade/sun environment would be best. The genus-species is Betula Japonica - Japanese white birch grown from seed last spring. I figure plant them in the garden see which ones look like anything decent in 2-3 years. Ahh the patience of bonsai...
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