Betula pendula Karaca - Birch

Betula pendula 'Karaca', selected in Hungary, is an extraordinary dwarf form of the weeping birch. Graceful, airy, and elegant are the words that spring to mind when you see its light weeping habit and its laciniate, almost transparent foliage. A little ghostly, this small deciduous tree looks like a Japanese maple but is much easier to grow. It will be very beautiful feature when placed prominently in a small Japanese or romantic-style garden. Its small size also makes it suitable for growing in containers.  

Native to mainly central Europe and temperate Asia, Betula pendula (syn. B. verrucosa), or weeping birch, is a large-growing tree from the birch family. This extremely cold-resistant species has a naturally pyramidal habit, a more or less straight trunk and, usually, an oval canopy of long branches with trailing branchlets. Its annual growth is about 35 cm (13.8 in) in height and 20 cm (7.9 in) in spread. 'Karaca' stands out because of its small size and its leaves which are particularly fine and deeply divided into thread-like segments. 

This 'Karaca' weeping birch will reach approximately 3 m (9 ft 10 in) in height and 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in spread by the age of 15. The trunk (sometimes multiple) supports an irregular, airy canopy of trailing branches. With time, the bark on the trunks or older branches becomes almost black, very rough in texture, and develops deep cracks. The reddish-brown branchlets have white wart-like lenticels. The deciduous foliage is light green and turns yellow in the autumn before falling. At this point, the Karaca birch looks like it has a fine head of blond hair. The inconspicuous flowers appear in March-April in the form of greenish-yellow catkins. 

The 'Karaca' Weeping Birch is a very hardy tree that is resistant to diseases. It tolerates all types of soil, as long as it is not too dry and not too chalky, and requires a sunny or semi-shaded exposure. It looks great as a free-standing specimen, but also in a shrub bed with other plants chosen for their decorative foliage or bark, such as the Paperbark Maple, large ferns, a Black Lace Elder, or a Purple Hazel. There is no shortage of ideas for combinations, depending on the individual taste of the gardener: with Japanese maples, sacred bamboo, etc.