Identified by their unique bark, birch trees look lovely in the landscape.
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
Thinking aboutplanting a birch treein your yard?
Birch trees belong to the genusBetulaand are classified as part of theBetulaceaefamily of plants.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
Most birch trees grow best in moist soil and they love full sun.
Birches are fast-growing trees that can quickly provide benefits to your yard.
However, do note that birch tree pollen can cause allergies during the spring.
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Insect pests are most likely to strike a birch tree in areas where it is wounded or diseased.
Tips
Birch trees are often mistaken for quaking aspen trees (apoplartree).
That’s probably because sometimes the bark looks similar.
Western Arctic National Parklands/Flickr/CC 2.0
Birch leaves are longer and more oval-shaped vs.quaking aspen’sround, somewhat heart-shaped leaves.
It can grow either as a single-trunk tree or in small clumps with multiple trunks.
The paper bark birch demonstrates some resistance to the bronze birch borer.
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Bog birch is a good choice forrain gardens.
Other common names include swamp birch, glandular birch, dwarf birch, and resin birch.
It may grow either as a single-trunk tree or a multi-trunk clumping tree.
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River birch may also be known as red birch, black birch, or water birch.
Dark green foliage turns a beautiful buttery yellow in the fall.
River birch has good resistance to the bronze birch borer.It is one of the only truly heat-tolerant birches.
MAKY_OREL / Pixabay / CC By 0
Shiny, red-brown bark and yellow foliage make this an attractive tree for lawns and naturalized areas.
The tree is native to the eastern U.S., from Maine to northern Georgia.
It will grow in a variety of conditions, though it favors a wet but well-drained site.
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It does not tolerate shade well.
The tree is native to Greenland, Iceland, northern Europe, northern Asia, and northern North America.
Other names for this tree include bog birch and arctic birch.
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Silver Birch
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The silver birch (Betula pendulaorB.
Himalayan Birch
The ornamental interest of Himalayan birch (Betula utilis var.
jacquemontii) includes pretty spring flowers, rich yellow fall color, and bright white papery bark.
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It is a medium-sized tree with a single trunk that quickly branches out into a pyramid shape.
It is a heartier and longer-lived tree in cooler climates.
This tree is native to West Himalayas and Nepal.
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It has other common names, including white-barked Himalayan birch and jacquemonti birch.
The main requirement is consistently moist soil.
It’s native to Manchuria, Korea, and Japan.
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Weeping Birch
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Trees known asweeping birches(Betula pendula var.)
generally are different naturally occurring or cultivated varieties of silver birch,described above.
The bark is dark red-brown to blackish, and smooth.
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Unlike other birch trees, its bark does not peel.
This tree is a source of food and lodge material for the common North American beaver.
It is a single-stemmed tree with yellow-bronze bark that peels in narrow horizontal strips.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
This birch species produces beautiful green leaves that take on a gorgeous yellow hue in the fall.
There are two types of birch trees that are the most common: river birch and white birch.
The most expensive birch tree is the yellow birch.
The river birch is the fastest-growing variety of birch tree.
It grows up to 24 inches every year.
Paper birch is also a fast-growing birch tree.
The Bronze Birch Borer and Its Management, University of Minnesota Extension Service
Bog Birch, The Morton Arboretum
