AusBonsai

I have heard birch are pretty easy to strike so i took some cuttings the other day, just had them sitting in a bucket of water and the buds are starting to burst, better do something with them. 2 Questions, what mix to use, i assume an open sandy mix like i use not natives would be fine? What size cuttings will strike? Should i just use the last seasons growth or can larger cuttings (10mm diameter) strike aswell?

John

How did they go? I have a birch out the front and have the same questions as you

Man,
why bother with Birch ? I presume its for bonsai ? They don't take well to wiring and suffer branch dieback. You would be far better to put your efforts into Trident maple cuttings.

Got me thinking...

This is worth a read: http://www.bonsaibasho.com/micromarket/ ... brary/a189

.......Before one goes and throws out all your Birch...

One mans trash is another's treasure.

Thats a great link for learning all about birch bonsai pros and cons, thanks Boics

Still would like to know about the cuttings aspect of birch

Hi mate.
I've found they air layer really easy I layered some suckers at the start of autumn And they already in the ground very established roots fast. I no they are very prone to rot quite easily. I taken about a about a 100 whips once parent is dormant and had about twenty percent take root. I find they really hard to root as cuttings but it not impossible.