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IF YOUR YARD MUST HAVE A BIRCH TREE, PLANT A RIVER BIRCH
Rarely a week goes by that doesn't include two or three phone calls from people worried about their birch trees. If you think of the trees in your yard as your kids, birch are the "problem children." Why all the problems?
Each summer, thousands of folks from here in southern Minnesota travel "Up North" and are captivated by the striking white bark and glistening leaves of birch. "If only we had one of those in our front yard," they reason, "life would be peachy." So they dig a clump out of the shady, cool, damp forest and plunk it down in the middle of their sunny, dry front yard. And guess what? The tree doesn't do so well. The reason is simple: Birch prefer cool, moist sites. That's why so many of them grow in the cool, moist, boggy northern forest. I've hiked many miles in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and it's not uncommon to sink ankle-deep in the wet soil and moss found at the base of paper birch.
I agree that a clump of birch does look nice in a front yard. The thing to remember, however, is that a sunny front yard is not their first-choice for growing sites and they may show their displeasure by growing in that spot for a relatively short time span - say 10 to 15 years.
Birch trees planted in landscapes where conditions are different from their native habitat suffer stress. And stressed birch trees succumb to two serious insect pests - the bronze birch borer and birch leaf miners. Bronze birch borers can kill a stressed birch tree within a few years of planting.
If you have your heart set on a birch, there are some things you can do to improve your chances of growing a healthy tree.
Birch trees should be fertilized in the spring, watered throughout the summer, and mulched with an organic mulch to keep the soil cool beneath the trees. Keeping birches in good condition minimizes birch borer problems.
The most common species of birch planted in Minnesota are white (paper) birch (Betula papyrifera), European birch (Betula pendula), and river birch (Betula nigra). Of the three, river birch is the best bet for a front or back yard. True, it doesn't have the white paper bark that people like so much, but its bark is unique - it, too, is loose and papery, with a reddish-brown coloring that darkens as the tree becomes older.
River birch are much more resistant to the bronze birch borer than either European or paper birch. All the birch can be planted as a single stem or as a clump tree.
Two other birch species that are more resistant to bronze birch borers than the white-barked birches are sweet birch (Betula lenta) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis). Sweet birch can grow to 50 feet and has outstanding yellow fall color. Its bark is smooth and dark reddish-brown. Yellow birch can grow to 75 feet and also have terrific yellow fall color. Oil of wintergreen can be extracted from the stem and bark of sweet and yellow birch.
Here's the bottom line: If you have your heart set on a birch tree, plant a river birch with 3 to 5 stems. Select a planting site in the coolest, moistest area of your yard, give the tree plenty of water and mulch, and avoid compacting the soil surrounding the tree. Good luck!
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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS:
A Delightful Blend of
Gardening Wisdom, Wit
and Whimsy
$10 + $2 for shipping
by Cliff Johnson |
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