RIVER BIRCH IS A NATIVE TREE!
AN EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR A HEDGEROW
Fine-textured birches are wonderful additions to home landscapes. In the many parts of the country the perfect choice is the native river birch, because it is not susceptible to the bronze birch borer which plagues the classic white-barked birches.
River birches are fast-growing under preferred conditions--up to 5 feet in 1 year, 30 to 40 feet in 20 years. Columnar when young, their shape becomes more rounded as they age.
Their toothed leaves are dark green with tiny hairs on the midrib beneath. Young trees have thin bark that peels to reveal variously reddish or tan and brown underneath.
Heritage is a special type of river birch, because its bark color is paler, more closely resembling the classic white barked birches of New England or Europe.
Winner of Gold Medal Plant Award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1990, it has slightly pendulous branches, and larger leaves. It is listed among the top 10 trees for American landscapes and gardens and is amazingly adaptable to clay soils and intense summer heat. Use Heritage as a specimen, naturalized along stream banks, or in groves.
WILDLIFE OF RIVER BIRCH (Think Hedgerow)
Tent caterpillars can be found in silken 'tents' among the foliage in the spring. They do not harm the tree and actually provide an important food source for many birds and their nestlings
