Birch (Betula alba) is a graceful native tree that will refresh your life and fill it with excitement and passion. The bark of a tree will become whiter with age. However, the green summer foliage turns golden in autumn. The tree species is suitable for most well-drained soils though not shallow chalk. The Common Silver Birch, also known as “The Lady of the Woods”, is a graceful, slender tree that provides all-year-round interest and care.
The Plant: – The bark on Birch trees is generally white and the leaves flutter gently in the wind, making gentle noises that are very soothing. Birch trees grow throughout northern Europe and North America. The variable, silver peeling bark develops with age as well as pendulous branches. Diamond-shaped green leaves turn buttery yellow in the autumn.
Yellowish-brown catkins develop over winter and look stunning in the spring. Native birch trees make excellent windbreaks and specimen trees. The birch tree has an open canopy which allows plenty of light to reach the ground. This allows a variety of mosses, grasses, and flowering plants to grow beneath, which in turn attract insects.
Magical properties: – Birch leaves are a sign of spring and vibrate with the energy of new beginnings. You can use a broom made of birch to sweep your life free from all limitations.
To make a broom, gather a handful of Birch branches and tie them together with a piece of your favorite-colored ribbon. Slowly walk through each room of your house, mentally cleaning it clean.
During this process, be sure to sweep away any negativity that resides with the people, places, and things in your life. Doing this will not only clear out negativity but will allow you to invite abundance and fill your life with newness, purity, and limitless possibilities.
You can also use birch sticks to create a circle of protection by putting a circle of them on the ground around anything you’d like to protect. Burning the dried leaves as incense will release trapped spirits and help you attract love.
Superstitions: – Traditionally, a couple was considered married if they jumped over a broom made from Birch.
Growing Tips: – They will succeed on most soils with certain species happy even in wet sites. Although tolerant of chalk soils they will not reach a maximum size in these conditions.
It is best planted in a full-sun position. Birch trees are often used to create living art in the form of bonsai. Their interesting bark and small leaves make them ideally suited to creating nature in miniature.
Medicinal Uses: – Various parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine and the bark contains triterpenes, which have been shown to have medicinal properties. Birch tea is made out of two tablespoons of dried leaves simmered in a pint of boiling water and steeped for minutes. It can also be used to treat gout and rheumatism and to dissolve kidney stones.
Oil made from the bark of the Birch tree is effective for treating skin problems, including eczema and acne. The combination of Betula pendula/Betula pubescens is applied to alleviate epidermolysis bullosa.
Standardized allergen extract, white birch, sold under the brand name Itulatek, is indicated for the treatment of allergy to tree pollen from birch, alder, and/or hazel and allergic rhinitis (with or without conjunctivitis).
It contains around 1% sugar and can be consumed in a similar way to maple syrup, being drunk fresh, concentrated by evaporation, or fermented into a “wine”.
Birch Wood: – Birchwood is pale in color with light reddish-brown heartwood and is suitable for the manufacture of furniture, plywood, veneers, parquet blocks, skis, kitchen utensils, and in turnery. Although you can make suitable firewood from this wood, it is quickly consumed by the flames. Bark slabs are used for roofing and strips are used for handicrafts such as sandals and small containers.
Cultivation: – This tree is popular for securing love, inviting abundance, and protecting your home. Successful birch cultivation requires a climate cool enough temperature at least the occasional winter snowfall. As they are shallow-rooted, they may require water during dry periods.
Height and Spread: – The Birch (Betula alba) is 6m tall and 4m wide after 10 years.
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