This is a hybrid of the (Gray Birch) x (the Szechuan Asian White Birch X the Purple European White Birch), so it is half Gray Birch and one quarter Szechuan Asian White Birch and one quarter the Purple European White Birch. In scientific names it is: Betula populifolia x B. platyphylla szechuanica x B. pendula 'Purpurea'. I believe it was hybridized to take on the greater heat and drought tolerance of the Gray and the Szechuan White Birches to resist the Bronze Birch Borer that attacks European White Birches when about 20 years old in Zones 5 & 6 & 7 in the US. However, I saw one maturing tree that had a lot of dead in it in a very warm and droughty situation, so unless it gets enough water and is sited to not experience significant heat, it will still die early. Most birch suffer when the temperature gets over 85 degrees F, except River Birch. In cooler climates, any cultivar of European White Birch does better, as do all white barked birch species. I've occasionally seen this cultivar for sale in both the Chicago and Philadelphia areas. I am mostly a naturalist, so I don't want to use purple-leaved tree cultivars, unless very rarely.

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