Selecting Landscape Plants: Shade Trees

River birch (Betula nigra)

Medium-sized trees

• Maximum height
  60 feet
• Relative growth rate
  Good
• Freedom from insect pests
  Good
• Freedom from disease problems
  Excellent
• Resistance to storm damage
  Good
• Will grow on poorly drained soil
  Excellent
• Will grow in hot, dry areas
  Poor
• Easy to transplant
  Good
• Withstands city conditions
  Good

The most interesting characteristic of the river birch is its salmon-colored bark that peels off in paper-thin layers. The tree is noted for its ability to grow in wet soils, but it will grow in drier situations. The river birch has been greatly ignored in favor of the more showy white-barked birches, but it is a fine ornamental and should be planted more. It is not as susceptible to stem-boring insects as the white-barked birches.