Garden Design
Blog
Plant of the Month – January – Birch
December 30, 2016 by James Cooper
January can be a dismal month, it seems like warm weather will never be back. What you need is a bold, focal point plant to help you through this time of the year. Our plant of the month is a beautiful birch, Betula sinensis ‘Red Panda’, which needs room to grow, suiting a medium size garden.
The picture below was taken at RHS Wisley during a visit in late December and shows the tree underplanted with Pennisetum alopecuroides.
Red Panda Birch at RHS wisley
This birch forms a conical, upright tree with peeling, coppery-pink bark and oval, tapering leaves turning yellow in the autumn. Catkins open with the new leaves too.
Planting tips
Give this tree plenty of space as it will get to 12 metres, and because of it’s size it can be admired from the indoors.
Likes well drained soil but isn’t too particular about soil type.
Be inspired in our Garden Portfolio.