If you buy an detail via links on this page , we may take in a commission . Our editorial content is not influenced by commission . record the full disclosure .
Birch trees are one of those works that call forth memories of puerility and capture the imagination . The striking look and delicate strain are distinctive in the American landscape .
Native species grow in most states , and due to the unparalleled look and texture of their barque , they are perhaps one of the most recognized trees , even to the casual percipient .
Although vernacular , birch tree trees are a little fussy about their consideration . They can sometimes be difficult to spring up well . bewilder with us and we ’ll give you a bunch of bakshish and caper to make indisputable you get the best out of your birch tree .
What is a Birch Tree?
TheBetulagenus include about 60 species pass around out across temperate regions of the globe .
Birch trees in the idealistic environmental circumstance can live for well over 100 years , but they generally last up to 50 years in the home garden because they ’re exceptional about their grow weather condition and prone to insect problem .
Birch is a deciduous tree diagram , so loses all its foliage in winter , but the bark makes it digest out even on the most bleak wintertime days .
Native Americans utilized birch for utensils and canoe because it was lightweight and strong at the same time .
Birch choose cooler climates and does n’t do well in dry or live climates . They do n’t care drouth conditions and wo n’t do well if you live somewhere that regularly experience dry spell .
Best Species of Birch Trees for the Home
There are about 18 native North American birches , but we will look at the most vulgar whether they ’re native or not .
Different cultivar have different characteristics from the parent species , including multi - trunked versions , varying sizes , and some with especially attractive yellow leaves in downslope that make a howling picture when everything else is savourless .
Paper Birch
This may be the most recognizable birch thanks to the bark that turn white and peels off in papery layer . The bark of the young Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is brown and turns white when the tree diagram is around a tenner sometime . It ’s the snowy bark that begins to strip down .
Tiny flowers form about May around the same time as the raw leaves appear . Male flowers are yellow , while the female ones are flushed or unripe .
Paper birch ( B. papyrifera ) like cooler clime and summer that do n’t exceed 70ºF on medium . It does n’t enjoy the high temperature and will struggle in polluted area .
‘ Prairie Dream ’ and ‘ Renassaince Oasis ’ show unspoilt impedance to borers .
Gray Birch
This native to the North Western United States can be single or multi - trunked and originate up to 50 foot improbable .
Gray birch ( B. populifolia ) branches maturate low down the trunk almost to the ground . It is usually a bushy tree diagram . The bark originate darker as the tree ages , and the leaves wrench bright yellow during descent .
If you hold out in an domain with heavy snowfalls , gray birch could be for you . The trunks of this tree are very flexible and have been known to bend to the ground without snapping . ‘ Whitespire ’ is a particularly pretty and hardy cultivar .
‘ Crimson Frost ’ has crimson - colour leaves during the summertime and fall .
River Birch
B. nigrais one birch that is okay with heat and humidness . Its suitable environs extends into the southeastern United States . Sometimes the bark forms multiple level of coloring range from grey to lite brownness .
Not only tolerant of heating plant and humidness , but river birch is also large-minded of wet soil . Plant it on the banks of rivers and streams , rainwater gardens , and low - lying area . It is a rapid cultivator and reasonably resistant to birch bore bit .
‘ Heritage ’ is one of the most popular and adaptable cultivars .
Sweet Birch
Also call opprobrious or cherry birch ( B. lenta ) , this tree has a smooth red to brown barque that is very unlike from the white bark potpourri . As mellifluous birch rod geezerhood , the bark turns fateful and disgorge off in tumid plate shapes . This is a particularly attractive birch rod tree diagram , especially when the parting turn gold in the fall , contrasting against the black barque .
Sweet birch grow to around 40 feet marvellous and is live to survive for up to 200 years .
Yellow Birch
Yellow birch rod ( B. alleghaniensis ) needs a large place because it grows up to 75 feet tall . It ’s a unique - looking Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree with fierce rough-textured barque that almost looks like polished memorial tablet . It unclothe off in yellow sliver .
If you have leafminer problems , yellow birch rod is consummate because it is very resistive , unlike many of the blank - bark birch .
Yellow birch has valuable hardwood used in many applications . From floor to furniture , and tool hold , this wood polish up to a high , quality lustre .
Weeping, Silver or European White
B. pendulagoes by many names . This European mintage needs mile summers and dusty winters to be well-chosen . It also needs consistent wet and careful pruning in font any fungal diseases come visiting .
But if you ’re willing to do the work , this metal money is sensational with its graceful , weeping branches covered in soft , terpsichore leaves .
Propagating Birch Trees
There are multiple ways to fetch birch to your thousand . you may take cuttings from an existing tree or purchase one at a glasshouse .
Cuttings
The best style to propagate birch is through greenwood cuttings . This should be using a young branch that can flex easily .
Cut the offshoot about a fourth column inch below a leaf leaf node . Make certain the slashed branch has at least three to four leaf nodes on it . Remove all foliage from the bottom two - thirds of the branch .
As soon as you hack the outgrowth and remove the leaves , dip the grow end in rooting hormone . If you let the birch branch dry out out during this process , it will subside your chances of propagating succeeder .
If you ca n’t plant or use root endocrine directly away , store the newspaper clipping in a formative bag with a little moisture . Spray the pocketbook inside with some water .
works in small containers filled with source - arouse dirt . Use a pencil to produce a maw and insert the cut before firming down . Plant a few in each wad . Keep the soil moist .
You will roll in the hay if roots have grown because the cutting will grow new foliage , or there will be resistor when pulled lightly . The process from cutting to replanting should take about eight weeks .
When the roots are strong , plant life in bigger spate or directly in the soil . Be sure to harden them off before planting .
How to Care For Birch Trees
There are birch rod trees that grow really well in USDA Hardiness geographical zone 2 to 9 , though not all species grow in all of these zone . expect around , and you may find a variety that can grow where you are .
Birch Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree love cool , moist soil , with sunshine on their leaf . The trick is to find a touch where the soil is shaded and will stay nerveless , and where the tree get sun for at least three - quarters of the daytime .
Birch have shallow source systems and they are sensitive to hot , dry soils .
You demand slightly acidic soil with a pH of around 5.0 to 6.5 . It pay to try your stain with a pH reader because birch may sprain yellow in soil greater than 6.5 pH.
Because of the shallow root system , avoid field with poor drainage or if the arena floods even on occasion .
Mulch your birch Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree well from day one of being implant in the land . This ensures the soil remain moist in the heat and keep skunk and other works from competing for nutrient .
Give your spring up birch trees unconstipated cryptical waterings rather than infrequent shallow lachrymation .
Fertilizing and Pruning
Birch does n’t really need fecundate unless the soil is deficient and the tree present the signs of stunted development , yellowing leaves , or sickness .
If you do fertilize , apply it in late fountain or early fall . Too late in the season and you may get a rush of emergence that wo n’t harden off before the cold of winter set in .
Slow - release fertilizers are dependable for birch .
Never prune more than 25 percent of birch at one fourth dimension because it will really bear . Do n’t prune between May and August if possible because the leaf stone drill is attracted to fresh pruning cuts at this meter .
At other times . prune to shape and for aesthetics .
Companion Planting for Birch Trees
If you choose to underplant your birch Tree , you have a few choices :
Problems and Solutions for Growing Birch Trees
Birches have a reputation for being fussy . If they ’re planted in the right condition , they ’re quite sound . But give the incorrect precondition , they ’re quite prone to problems . Here are a few :
Birch Leafminer
Although birch leafminer attacks do n’t pour down a birch rod Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , they can really affect the aesthetic . If the infestation is severe , the health of the tree is compromised .
Known asFenusa pusilla , birch leafminers are partial of composition birch , gray birch , and European bloodless birch .
The adult see like trivial black wasps . The larvae overwinter in the soil before pupating around May . Once the female mates , she will pose hundreds of eggs on developing parting , and on the barque in crack .
The larvae mine into the folio between the upper and low level . The leaf looks damaged , droop , and blotchy . Eventually , the leaf dies , so a magnanimous infestation affects the birch tree ’s power to photosynthesize .
Birch Borer
The bronze birch rock drill ( Agrilus anxius ) is a serious insect that has the potential to kill your birch rod Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . This little beetle love to attack step down trees that may be sputter . The female person lie orchis in barque flaps and other discredited parts of the tree .
You will notice stunted growth and thin patches in the upper crown of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Next , the sprig die off , followed by branch dice - off . Another sign of birch rod borer is the bole may have a foul browned stain on it .
The time between the first symptom and death of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can be over several geezerhood , but if the weather is spicy and dry , the death of the tree is accelerated .
Girdling of the limb induce dieback .
The best defense against birch bore bit is to verify the tree is healthy , is plant in the correct placement , and is watered well . You should also keep ugs aside because they leave behind harm in the tree diagram that the borders might take vantage of .
There are chemical treatments that can help . Look toBayer Tree and Shrub ProtectI or II , or Xytect . use from other April to mid - May .
Bacterial Canker Disease
Bacterial canker ( Pseudomonas syringae ) enter the grow birch trees through wounds or from pruning damage , and when the weather condition is cool and blind drunk . The cankers will organise in spring and look like viscid lesion on twig and branches .
If the canker gets too big and covers the circumference of the branchlet or ramification , that part of the tree is probable to expire through a lack of food .
How to Use Birch Trees
Birch trees offer shade and a lovely focal point in the yard , but the folio , wood and bark has many other United States . It ’s worth maturate birch tree just as ornamental , but why not take advantage of their other uses ?
Use the catkins and leaves to make a peppery tea . you could also tap the trees for sap .
Weave basketball hoop or make wattle fencing using the branches .
Birch are also hosts to chaga mushroom .
Was this article helpful?
What went wrong?
This article contains incorrect selective information
This article does not have the info I am looking for
How can we improve it?
We appreciate your helpful feedback!
Your response will be used to amend our content . The more feedback you give us , the better our pageboy can be .
