| Description: |
River birch matures quickly so make sure you plant it where it will have room to grow. If you plant one this year, you won't have a chance to change your mind about where you want it because it will be too big to move! And if fast growth isn't enough to talk you into trying this native beauty, take a look at the bark. Granted a few ignorant (I mean that in a positive way --- this is your opportunity to enlighten them....) people will ask what kind of disease causes the bark to peel off of your tree. The leaves of the river birch make a soft, rustling sound in the slightest wind, making it one of the closest versions we have to an Aspen. Expect a quick flash of yellow before it looses its leaves this month, depending on the nighttime temperatures. But the papery texture of the river birch through the winter, not its fall color, is its greatest asset in my book. Wildlife: Chickadees love the seeds, as do other small birds; several mammals browse the twigs.
|
