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Snow Queen

Betula utilis

Snow Queen is the most popular of the Himalayan birches, with their distinctive bright white bark. The main stem of Snow Queen turns pure white even from a young age.

The leaves provide dappled shade in the summer, and turn yellow in the autumn.

The tree grows with a pleasing upright form.

Snow Queen birch trees for sale

  • 11-year bare-root tree £32.95
    Very large size (4m-7m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
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  • 22-year pot-grown tree £58.00
    In a 12L pot
    Very large size (4m-7m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
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How to grow

When planting multi-stem birch trees it is a good idea to support the young stems with a cane.

If you purchase a bare-root Snow Queen (not a container-grown one) you can also encourage it to become multi-stemmed by topping it at around 40cm - 50cm from the ground - this will encourage the tree to send out new shoots from near the bottom of the stem.  In the second year after doing this select 3-5 of the strongest shoots to grow on, and remove the rest.

Snow Queen characteristics

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • Attractive featuresAttractive barkAutumn foliage colour
  • Growth habitUpright-spreading / Vase
  • Height after 10 years3m-5m / 10ft-16ft
  • SunlightPrefers full sunSome shade
  • PruningDo not prune
  • Site conditionsOccasional floodingOccasional drought
  • Leaf colourGreen
  • Leaf colour - autumnYellow
  • BarkWhite
  • Annual cycleDeciduous