Betula Utilis Grayswood Ghost Tree

Betula utilis jacquemontii more commonly known as the Grayswood Ghost or Himalayan Birch Tree is a small deciduous tree, so it will lose all its leaves in Autumn, then fresh foliage appears again in Spring. This foliage makes an ovate or conical crown, with glossy green leaves which turn yellow in Autumn. The Grayswood Ghost as the name suggests produces ghostly white bark, which fully develops when the tree is around 8 years old.

The Grayswood Ghost is an ideal specimen tree with great Winter interest and is of a hardy variety that will tolerate most soils types and weather conditions.

The Betula utilis jacquemontii is one of the smaller and slower growing birch trees. With a slightly upright and curved form. This variety of birch was discovered in a garden in Grayswood Hill, Haslemere, Surrey in 1956.

Established Grayswood Ghost trees do not require pruning and do not cope well with excessive or hard pruning. Simply remove the lateral shoots to preserve a clear trunk. Pruning should only be carried out in the late Summer as Birch trees bleed heavily at all other times of the year.