(Question)
I am looking to plant a clumped birch in my front yard that faces west. I would like to know which is better a paper birch or river birch.
(Answer)
Thank you for addressing your question to the Toronto Master Gardeners on choice of birch trees.
I will provide you qualities, features and care requirements to enable you to decide which is best suited to meet your own environment and personalized criteria.
Paper Birch (Betula Papyrifera)
Habit and Form
- 50′ to 70′ tall
- more or less pyramidal when young
- older trees become oval to rounded, with increasing irregularity in shape
- nurseries often grow them in groups of 3 or 4 (“clump birches”)
- fast growing, especially when young
- typically branched to a few feet above the ground in open exposures
- texture is medium
Summer Foliage
- alternate, ovate, simple leaves, 2″ to 4″ long and 1.5″ to 3″ wide
- often with an acuminate or pointed tip
- leaf base either acute or heart-shaped
- color is a dull, dark green above and paler on the underside
Autumn Foliage
- clear bright yellow
- typically dependable and showy
Flowers
- 2″ to 4″ long catkins, usually in 3’s and some in pairs (male). Female catkins 1″ to 1.5″ long
- blooming in early spring
- little ornamental value
Bark
- young branches show smooth, reddish-brown bark with horizontal lenticels
- bark becoming papery, chalky white after about 4 seasons
- bark exfoliates or peels in strips to expose orange inner bark
- on very mature trunks, the white is mixed with rough, black patches
- probably the best white bark birch. The bark remains white longer than B. pendula and turns white relatively quickly on young branches.
Culture
- best adapted to cooler climates
- does poorly in high summer heat, especially root zone heat
- fairly soil adaptable, often found growing in sandy, gravely soils. Prefers well-drained, slightly acid sandy loam soils
- easy to transplant and establish from container or B&B
- not tolerant of pollution or difficult sites
- full sun
- avoid spring pruning to prevent bleeding
Liabilities
- bronze birch borer can be a serious problem and often hits trees just as they enter their peak in the landscape. Not as bad as B. pendula
- can get leaf miner, but not as badly as B. populifolia
- not tolerant of harsh conditions or heat
- bark can be slow to turn white for the impatient
River Birch (Betula nigra)
Habitat
- zone 4
- in the wild, limited to moist areas and is most commonly found along stream banks and areas that flood
Habit and Form
- medium sized tree, 50′ to 70′ or larger
- oval or pyramidal when young
- mature specimens exhibit a rounded to irregular crown
- many times grows as a multistemmed plant
- texture is medium
- medium to fast growth rate
- Has intense scent of peppermint in the sap
Summer Foliage
- lustrous medium or dark green
- alternate, simple leaves
- somewhat diamond-shaped with a wedge-shaped leaf base
- doubly serrate margin
Autumn Foliage
- yellow
- leaves drop quickly
- not the best birch for fall color
Flowers
- catkins
- male flowers are 2″ to 3″ in bloom, 0.75″ prior to bloom
- female flowers are 1″ to 1.5″ long
- male catkins usually in 3’s
Fruit
- catkins of small nutlets
Bark
- young trunk and branches have thin, shiny red-brown bark
- older portions develop creamy orange bark; reminds me of a “creamsicle” that exfoliates in large thin sheet
- bark is showy
- on very old trunks and branches bark turn brown and develops ridges and furrows in a somewhat platy fashion
Culture
- makes best growth on moist river bottom soil, but has proven to be adaptable to dried sites
- develops chlorosis (iron) on soils above pH 6.5
- better adapted to heat than other birches
- easily transplanted and established from B&B or container
- full sun
Liabilities
- chlorosis on high pH soil
- bark not white, for those expecting white bark on birch
- leaf spot in wet years
- relatively trouble-free