Good foliage trees for smaller spaces are always in demand, and this new birch has all the best qualities
Most gardens have space for at least one small tree – but choosing the right variety is important. Elegance and colour across the seasons is vital, as is suitability for a range of garden conditions and easy maintenance.
Birches have always been popular but
Betula pendula ‘Karaca’ is the first of a new type that brings together a number of features for the first time. We’re familiar with the bark of the silver birch as it shines white in winter, but ‘Karaca’ adds extra features.
The foliage is very finely dissected, reminiscent of the Swedish birch,
Betula pendula ‘Laciniata’. It is also golden green in colour in spring and early summer, rather like
‘Golden Beauty’.
The foliage then becomes greener as summer progresses, before it brightens again, turning gold in autumn. Add to that elegant weeping growth, late winter catkins and that familiar white bark and the result is a birch variety with a unique combination of features.
Betula pendula ‘Karaca’ was discovered in the wild in Turkey in 2000 by the Hungarian botanist Dr Laszlo Orloci who noticed that a branch of one wild tree featured this distinctive combination of features. Dr Orloci named it for his friend, the Turkish plant hunter Hayrettin Karaca.
You can order plants of
Betula pendula ‘Karaca’ from these
RHS Plant Finder nurseries, from
Provender Nurseries and from
Waterperry Gardens.
*Please note, the contents of this blog reflect the views of its author and do not constitute an official endorsement by the RHS.
