Our Birch Trees
The beauty of Birch trees is almost unsurpassed in most landscapes, whether it is in the mountains, or your own back yard.
The white-trunked birches all-in-all are probably the singlemost popular hardwood planted nationwide. Although there are quite a few "white" species and hybrids available, we grow the European White Birch (Betula pendula), our most popular "white" type. We also have the Paper Birch and the Whitespire Birch.
What is really exciting this year, is our crops of the birch trees will vary in size, but average about 16-20 inches, great for shipping, and large enough plant with excellent results. The trees are kept in cold storage, dormant and fresh, so they ship
well. These include the:
Limited or not generally available this season, but you can ask about them...
Whitespire Birch (Betula spp.)
Yellow Birch (Betula allaghaniensis)
Sweet Birch (Betula lenta)
Red-Bark Birch (Betula albo-sinensis)
Water Birch (Betula occidentalis)
Gray Birch (Betula populifolia)
These species we've made available give as broad as introduction to the beautiful birch trees as one can want. There's about 100 species of birches, and here, we have a white-trunked one, a brown one, a reddish kind, a blackish trunk, and a yellowish color type.
We may have limited quantities of other birch trees, like the Paper Birch, Gray Birch, and Whitespire Birch, so we'll see what becomes available in the next crop...
How to grow these. Simply stated, these grow best in moist well-drained fertile soils with full sun. Most soils can be alright, but plenty of water and some added fertilizer will improve their growth and survival. If your soils are rocky, heavy clay, or very sandy, then add compost or other materials mixed into the planting spot. Planting instructions are included with each order, or can be read on the Nursery webpage.
Clumping is both natural and man-made. Typically you see birch and aspen planted as "threes", but plant as many as you want. The trees can be planted very tightly together or spaced apart, it is a "planters choice". Birch and aspen will root-graft to themselves, no problem with that at all, so don't be concerned.
Some birch and aspens are grown as "natural" clumps in the nursery. This is usually because they send up multiple shoots when they are young. Mostly they are trimmed back so only one trunk will form, but they are also cultured to produce the multiple trunks. These multiple trunked trees can be very attractive, but they may also have a lofty price.
European White Birch - Hardy, and can grow up to 60 feet tall, these are very popular to plant in clumps. Plant
these from Zones 2 to 9, prefers full sun, and likes plenty of water. Beautiful white trunks, these are versatile
in clumps, lines, or as individuals.
Whitespire Birch- Growing in popularity, the Whitespire has all of the characterisitics of the classic European White Birch, but is noted to
be more resistant to the Bronze Birch Borer insect. Hardy for Zones 2 to 9, these also prefer the full sun and moist areas, and have that nice white bark with fall golden color. Very limited supply for next season!
Paper Birch - Very popular and spread throughout the northern states, the Paper Birch is the classic "white-trunked"
birch, where the bark peels into "sheets". Plant these in groups or individually, from Zones 2 to 9. Like the others, they prefer full sun with moist soils.
Yellow Birch - Grows to 80 feet tall, and can be planted from Zones 3 to 8 for shade. They like full sun to half shade, good for wet areas,
and has a yellowish peeling trunk.
Sweet Birch - Good for wet areas, these grow up to 60 feet tall, from Zones 3 to 8. Prefers full sun, and makes a nice small shade tree.
Red-Bark Birch - Gets up to 80 feet tall, and can be planted in Zones 4 to 9, they prefer full sun. Cinnamon-red bark makes these a nice
specimen or shade tree.
River Birch- Grows up to 60 feet tall, and is good for Zones 5 to 9. They prefer full sun, these are good for wet areas as specimens or for
shade. This one has white-ish peeling bark, similar to the Paper Birch. 
Water Birch- An attractive small tree
or large shrub which grows up to 30 feet tall, often multiple stems. Best in full sunny areas with plenty of water, from Zones 3 to 8, its grows quickly and often forms thickets. Smooth reddish bark, and is resistant to wood boring insects.
Gray Birch- A small tree
or that can grow up to 30 feet tall, often with several main stems. This is a white-ish to gray trunked tree, popular along borders and limited spaces. Best in full sunny areas with plenty of water, from Zones 3 to 8.
However one plants the birch trees, they are beautiful, and add a nice look to the landscape design!
Last Update: 09/04/2007
Web Author: See the Catalog (http://www.cdr3.com/catalog)
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