Lopping/cutting silver birch

Hi, found this forum online and I need advice please.... I'm not green fingered in the slightest but do love my garden to be neat tidy and well maintained... we bought a new place 18 months ago and are coming to the end of full renovation, only job left is front garden and driveway... on the driveway is (I think) a silver birch tree. It's huge, around 70 feet and very "bushy". It sways a lot in the wind and I fear it may fall onto the house in a storm... plus the shedding of the leaves is too much in winter...
while I don't want to get rid of the tree completely, for safety and aesthetics at least 30 feet need to come off it...
Can I do this without killing the tree?? What's the best way to go about this? I believe I may be in the wrong season to lop/trim?? However I don't think it can wait until autumn... any advice is appreciated... thanks

 

Hello and welcome.

The ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao Tze (pronounced lousy), wrote, the tree that bends in the wind won't break.

Philosophy aside, I'm sure a knowledgeable tree person will be along shortly.

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner

You don't want to do it at this time of year when the sap is rising, it could bleed to death

 

Good point Zigs.
We were out walking today and came across a very soggy piece of ground ,thinking it was a drains leak........on further inspection it dripped on the back of my head and couldn't believe the sap was dripping profusely from this heavily lopped Silver Birch.
I had never witnessed this before.

 

All that Birch Sap Wine going to waste.....

 

I've only got reasonably small birch trees, mainly because I do cut them back, but in early autumn.

 

Silver Birch "bleed" more than most trees when cut, especially at this time of year, indeed that's why traditionally some people tap birch trees to collect the sap for making birch sap wine




The best time to prune a birch if its necessary is August/September just before the autumn

 

Snap @Zigs

 

Now that's gotta be a GC first Bilob