Plant Patch
Bark
Planted By A Path
There are trees to complement any season of the year and generally they are grown for their flower, foliage, shape and perhaps suitability to a particular site. There is however a group of trees whose outstanding feature is their bark. These trees come into their own during the winter when their leaves have fallen and the shiny wet bark glows and glistens. Planted next to a path they demand to be stroked.
Ornamental Cherry
There are a number of trees that fall into this category and some are ideal for small gardens. Prunus Serrula or Birchbark Cherry is a small tree growing 5metres high after 10 years and being happy in any type of soil. The bark is shiny mahogany interspersed with brown rings. The glossy area spreads into the branches with age. It is a beautiful site on a sunny winter’s day.
Acer
Acer Griseum or Paperbark Maple is Chinese in origin and quite different from it’s more well known and widely planted Japanese Acers.It is a slow growing tree attaining only 4 metres in 10 years it will also grow in most soils. The cinnamon coloured bark peels away to reveal a golden brown under bark, which glistens on a wet winter day.In autumn the leaves, turn a brilliant colour of red and orange. This tree is grown from seed, the germination of which is very poor and it then takes several years to make anything that looks like a tree.
Birch
Betula or Birch family contains a number of species with stunning bark. Our native Betula Pendula [silver or weeping birch] is too big for small gardens. There are two cultivars Tristis and Youngii which are small weeping trees ideal for small gardens. The bare black hanging branches contrast with the silvery trunk in the winter. In the autumn the leaves turn yellow before falling. The spring sees the emergence of small bright green leaves much loved by aphids, which are a rich source of bird food.
Chocolate Bark
Colour of bark in birches vary from pure white as in Jacquemonti, white with a pink blush as in Ermanii, light copper colour as in Hergest, plain chocolate bark as in Utilis Wakehurst Chocolate with a peeling bark as in Betula Nigra. One feature that Birches have in common is that they have small leaves and an open canopy and therefore create only dappled shade. Some varieties will grow to 6metres in 10 years, but why worry cut it down and start again.
Plant Patch 08 November 2005