Betula pendula Golden Cloud - Birch

Betula pendula 'Golden Cloud' is a variety of the very popular white birch tree, attractive with its golden and very bright foliage. It forms a small and graceful tree with its narrow cone-shaped habit and upright branches that droop slightly. It has a slow growth rate and reaches a maximum height of 6m (20ft) in 20 years, making it suitable for smaller spaces. Its small triangular leaves with serrated edges emerge yellow-golden, then turn yellow-green-golden in summer before becoming butter-yellow and falling in autumn. In winter, its young bark is cinnamon, then silvery and becoming more white with age, developing deep dark cracks. Its very light foliage prefers non-scorching exposures unlike the species, which prefers full sunlight. It is a hardy species that grows easily in well-drained and moist soils. Use it to create small groves or as a standalone tree in small to medium-sized gardens with a classic or natural style.

Originally mainly from central Europe and temperate Asia, the Betula verrucosa, sometimes called the silver birch, is a tree in the birch family. Extremely cold-resistant, it can thrive in acidic and waterlogged soils as well as sandy, clayey, and limestone soils. It has a naturally pyramidal habit, a more or less straight trunk, and an overall oval, semi-open, airy crown carried by long, almost upright branches with twigs drooping at an acute angle. In nature, some specimens reach a height of 30m (98ft). Its annual growth is about 35cm (13.8in) in height and 20cm (7.9in) in width.

The 'Golden Cloud' variety is a small variety distinguished by its golden foliage, which is more sensitive to intense sunlight. It will reach an average height of 6m (20ft) with a spread of 4m (13ft). The trunk is sometimes multiple and covered with a smooth, cinnamon-coloured bark on young specimens. Over time, it becomes silvery and then white, peeling off in flakes. On older specimens, it develops a black colouration at the base of the trunk, a rough and channelled appearance, and deep crevices. The drooping branches are reddish-brown. The deciduous foliage appears early in spring and consists of triangular leaves, 3 to 6cm (1.2 to 2.4in) long, with double-toothed edges, initially golden and then yellow-green-golden in summer. They take on a beautiful butter-yellow colour before falling. The insignificant flowering in March-April consists of greenish-yellow catkins measuring 1cm (0.4in) long. The root system of this birch is of the taproot type, producing radiating lateral main roots with a very dense network of small surface-feeding roots.

The 'Golden Cloud' white birch is a tree adapted to small semi-shaded spaces. Its white and slightly drooping branches create a striking contrast against the winter sky. In the garden, it requires no maintenance, is extremely cold-resistant, and is not prone to diseases. It deserves a prominent place, either as a standalone tree on the edge of a terrace or in the centre of a low shrub bed. To cover the base of this tree, which dries out the soil from spring to summer, it is advisable to choose plants adapted to these conditions, such as heathers and small grasses like Stipa pennata, Carex, and Ophiopogon. It can also be planted in front of a grove of trees chosen for their foliage or decorative bark, such as the Acer griseum or the Betula albosinensis. Maples, a Nysa sylvatica, a caramel tree, a Chinese mahogany, or a white willow will provide a beautiful backdrop for this lovely tree.