River Birches

Hello!

I will greatly appreciate your help. I recently purchased two river birches. One a heritage the other a Dura Heat. Not exactly sure I know the difference between the two (leaves are different), they look similar, one currently is taller than the other. The Dura Heat was a lot cheaper than the Heritage, so I bought it as well.

My question relates to a landscaping design where a river birch heritage is to be planted near my deck in my back yard, about 10 feet away from the deck and about 6 or 7 away from the property line that divides my neighbor's property from mine. I love the tree, but not sure it would be wise to plant it there. Also, unsure about the heritage or the dura heat near the deck, not sure what is the difference in size. Will the Dura Heat get bigger than the Heritage? I also considered planting the second tree at the corner of my house in the front yard near a Sweetbay Magnolia currently planted about 6 or 7 feet from the corner and away from the Sweetbay. Would there be enough space and if so, will it look good with the sweetbay. I'm in zone 6. Trying to make this work..but feeling overwhelmed and confused. Please help!!

The difference between Heritage and Dura Heat is that Heritage is a water hog and Dura Heat can take hotter and drier conditions. Both are cultivators of Betula nigra so the leaves should look alike.

Size wise, they will both get 40 - 50 feet tall and 20 - 30 feet wide. They are fast growers, up to 10 or 12 feet a year if the conditions are optimum.

I think the biggest problem is that they have that wonderful shreddy bark that could be a nuisance if over a deck or patio. They also drop twigs relentlessly tend to grow surface roots - that can be annoying in the middle of the lawn.

I had 3 in California. I planted them near a natural pond in a woodland setting. No lawn or decks to worry about. I was never sorry I planted them at I think they are beautiful trees and under-utilized in landscaping.

But that may be because of the problems I mentioned.

Daisy

Around here, Birches tend to get aphids, and so underneath there is a sticky 'honeydew'. I think you might check if this is a problem in your area, because it could make the deck too icky to use.

I put a river birch just a few feet from my property line, but it's a tree that both my neighbor and I like. I have another neighbor who is bothered when any tree branches cross over into the space above his yard. So in part, it depends on your neighbor's attitude! Figure the tree will have at least a 20 foot diameter (like in the drawing you posted) and realize that it could be half again as wide as that.

How much space do you have at that front corner of your house? Downslope from the magnolia might be a great location, but you have to allow space for the magnolia (15'-20' wide, I think? not sure it's far enough away from your foundation) as well as for the river birch. You could bring the output of your corner downspout past the magnolia (with that buried, perforated PVC pipe) and out to the base of the "water hog" river birch.

Another way to think about mature tree sizes is to think of measuring "on center" for the space they'll need. A tree 20 feet across needs a space that's 10 feet "on center" (eg, radius of 20 foot diameter circle). If you have a tree that needs a 10 foot center and another that needs, say, a 6 foot center, you'll want to plant them so their trunks are at least 16 feet apart.

I looked for more info on the sweetbay magnolia... see http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e110 Looks like you might want to mulch it this fall, maybe even put some burlap around it the first winter or two if it's on the windy side of the house. I'm pretty sure that's the tree my neighbors have by their back patio, and it took a couple years with winter protection before it got established.

Thanks everyone! Feeling a bit overwhelmed. Haven't planted the trees yet. To answer your questions.

Front yard. I have 6 feet on each side of the house (yeah kinda narrow). But in that corner, although I have about 6 feet, there is open space in that area as well (no neighbor or house), which I LOVE. I'm trying to decide if I could plant a river birch there (where the sweetbay is). I planted the sweetbay last year, this is its second winter, it survived last winter without any burlap. Not sure if it will get that big here in zone 6, I have it 6 feet away from the foundation, just in case.

Back yard. I'm a little annoyed (at myself to be honest), I paid for a DIY landscape design plan for my back yard and I'm not sure about a birch in that space. I wonder what the designer would have recommended had I not said I like river birches and magnolia sweetbay trees. As far as my neighbor, not sure if they would be picky in regards to the canopy of the tree. They're friendly, but I don't really know them and I want to avoid future issues if possible. So I'll plant something smaller.

River birches are beautiful. Not sure if they are for my lot. So confused. Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply! If you know of beautiful trees to plant there instead, zone 6, please let me know. Again, thank you!!!

This message was edited Oct 18, 2015 7:46 PM

I tend to "think out loud" when I write, sometimes -- sorry, I didn't mean for you to feel overwhelmed! I know what you mean about the landscape design. Sometimes other people's designs are perfect, and other times they are more of a jumping-off point, good for getting your own creative juices flowing.

I don't think the river birch is a *bad* choice for that spot in back, but the spacing could be a bit tight when the tree matures. If you've seen other river birches in your area, you might try to figure out how big they really are. Like the sweetbay magnolia, they might not get to maximum size in your area anyway.

6 feet from the foundation should do it for the magnolia... from the photo, I was afraid it might be more like 3 or 4 feet away. You can always do a little judicious pruning if it starts hitting the house!

With regard to your 2 river birches... Maybe there's another location for them, where it's OK for them to get 20 or even 30 feet across. Can you put them closer to the rear of your lot?

I have a crepe myrtle next to my deck that I love. It provides nice shade, flowers off & on much of the summer, and the goldfinches love the seeds in fall. I don't think it would exceed 20 feet and would probably be less than that. In our area (zone 6b), only Natchez White seems reliably winter hardy, so you might want to check around and see if they do well in your town.

In fact, "check around" is probably my best advice... keep an eye out for small to medium size trees that you think are attractive, snap photos if possible, and try to figure out what would work well for you. You might even decide an evergreen is more your cup of tea for that spot... I recently discovered there's a "columnar" cultivar of Norway Spruce, and now I'm searching for one to plant in a tight corner of my yard, in my front foundation bed. :-)

Thanks so much critterologist! I might take a loot at the crepe myrtle you mentioned, might be a good fit.

And yes, I might be better off planting them closer to the back of my lot, versus the house. Again, thanks!!

Just keep having fun with your new place! :-)

Always glad to help people plant trees, as long as I'm not digging the holes. LOL

If you're not a subscriber yet, I hope you will be. I love the community spirit here! Stop by the mid-Altantic forum sometime. We're a chatty, enthusiastic bunch. We get together in person every so often, too... spring and fall plant swaps, a mid-winter seed swap at a buffet restaurant in Frederick (organized by yours truly), random meetups at garden shows and other get togethers... in fact, this Saturday we're getting together at my place to pick up amaryllis bulbs and oriental lilies we ordered in recent group buys. :-)

Sounds awesome! Thanks critterologist!! :)

Hope to see you 'round the forum! Active threads at the moment include "Your neck of the woods" (look for Ric's giraffe thumbnails) and "Plant Addicts." :-)

Hello, I found this very old post and am curious if you still have the 2 birches and wondering how you like them? I am considering both Heritage and Dura Heat but can't find too many differences. I'm not sure which one to get.