Birch trees

Aaryn

I'm getting a paper birch tree in the next week or two and have been finding conflicting info all over the web as to how to care for them.

One common mistake is that birch trees don't survive in my zone - I'm in the Seattle area and they grow like weeds around here.

But what I'm looking for advice on is how to prune and how hard to cut them back. I've heard they can die back very easily after pruning, hard or soft. My tree is coming as a bare root 3-4 foot "whip," and I've been told I can root prune and hack it down as much as I need to for the pot I have (It's a 4-inch deep, 16-inch diameter round bonsai pot). Is this true? I don't want to kill this tree right away.

I'd love to hear from anyone in a similar zone who actually has worked with birch - mine is a paper birch.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, tho!

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