Now is a poor time to perform radical work on deciduous trees because they are using most of their photosynthesizing ability to store energy for the winter & spring push. To remove a considerable volume (or all) of the foliage in a chop would severely weaken the tree.

Leaves are an energy SINK until they are about 75% mature. After that, they become net producers, rather than users (of energy). Your tree would expend any energy it already has stored to produce new foliage, which would probably not have time to mature. Then, the weakened tree will be called upon to give up even more of its energy reserves to keep its systems orderly through the winter, leaving it dubious that the tree would have enough left to push a flush of foliage in the spring.

You should add where you live and your USDA zone to your user page if you want the most specific advice.

Al

Keep in mind that although they can be a beautiful tree--foliage reduction is a problem and I've never had one reduce enough to really look proportunate to the tree size. They are always disease magnets as well as short lived.

Bob

say its not bare root and its in a nice size pot,how long of a life span are we talkin,Im 34,will i be dead lol?

Good one, you can expect 20 to 25 years at least. Keep a look out for borers, they will do the most damage in the shortest period of time. You should read up on them and catch the early signs of damage and see what is suggested for treatment. I think I used Malathion but don't remember.

Bob

Ah, birch...

I have a couple nice 25 foot birch trees that I planted in the back yard.
This year, seedlings started to appear in the beds around the birch trees.
I actually dug one up and put it in a container before the deer got to it...
Then, the damned deer got into my garden and ran amok....they
defoliated and topped my birch seedling and my two year-old Chinese
pistache, as well as three pepper plants that I intend to bonsai. Thankfully,
everything's grown back.

We'll see what the future holds for this birch.

Josh