Leaf growth occurs after snow melt and become red in autumn.

Its northern range limit is on Svalbard, where it is confined to favourable sites.

In the UK Betula nana is at its southern range limit, with many populations having declined significantly in recent decades.

[4] In southern Sweden the occurrence of Betula nana in Sund, Ydre is deemed a glacial relict.

[5] It generally favours wet, but well-drained sites, with a nutrient-poor, acidic soil that can be xeric and rocky.