Birch longshot..

I was outside a couple days ago and gathered a birch. I dont have any pictures atm, so its just a quick question. I have sawn of most of the roots, because it was stuck in the mountain.. It barelly has any feeder roots, and I just cut the trunk of, leaving no branches.. I put it in a bucket with a flowersoil mix (which was in there from before) and added alott of water. Could this actually stand a chance or is it a tough long-shot?

Make sure it has good drainage; protect it from the wind, and only water it when it needs it. A coarser soil than flower soil (grit, small gravel, etc) would be better. Typical flower soil retains too much moisture, and doesn't drain fast enough increasing the chance of root rot. Yes it is a long shot, but that is part of the challenge/fun. Good Luck.

Thanks for a good answer! Im just a newbie at this so any advice is taken with gratitude! I guess I have to change the mixture for it then.

Nothing wrong with being a newbie. This is a good place to learn. I've been using it for more than five years, and with bonsai one never stops learning.

Hey, I too had a long shot birch that was crudely ripped from the ground by a homeowner. It was a landscape tree that I had noticed before so I decided to try and see if I could keep it alive. I stuck it in a sand pile and so far it seems to be ok. It is in the shade and we have had regular rains and cooler weather so I think it has a good chance. Best of luck with yours, I will try and get some photos of mine before too long, it's a real ugly duckling, I would be interested to see what others think.

Hi thanks.
I look forward to see it Jim. I think the long shots are the projects that is the most fun!

Birch are good to experiment with but (it has been noted before) a frustrating tree. They tend to abort important branches regularly. I lost one that I a styled from a seedling, after 12 years. I have another very large one that I'm working on and it has survived being hit by a car, dug up roughly, planting out in my garden for a couple of years and being boxed up last spring. So far, so good, but I won'r be commissioning a good pot for it anytime soon!

Thanks Kev. I have one other birch in a pot. I actually had it inside after I dug it up, standing in the window sill for a few months, growing like never before. Then some damn bugs came on it and I had to hose it.. I put it outside and it ended up getting alott of brown leaves.. It doesnt look great, but I dont want to have it inside either..

I checked my birch today.. It has rained for several days, before some high temperatures came.. It stood in full sun all day, and I had more or less forgot about it. It is still standing in flowersoil and I didnt really expect much. To my suprise I saw leaves starting to emerge through the bark.. I think its amazing. Ill try to ad some pictures tonight. I then have a question. I have put it in shade, and letting it stand there, but should I try to change the soil, so it will grow better and dont rot so easilly? Or should I let it stand there so I dont rip of the new feeder roots?

I'd leave itnow and if it survives the year, change the soil next spring, just as the buds start to swell.

Here are 2 quick shots from the tree. Its not much, but as said, Im amazed it survived..

Hi Storm,
We have Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) here (West Coast of BC Canada) and I've found them to be very hardy and tolerant of very crude collection measures. I collected a fairly large one this spring and had to cut off some large roots and main branches. I slipped it into an old rose bed and it has flourished with some great growth both in foliage and root mass.
Good luck with yours.
Cheers Gman

Okay! So there has been some time, and I've taken som new photos of the tree, this is how far it has come:








Seems like the problem with the uploading is still at hand. Just have to try later on