I know most of these comments are from a while back, but I would love any advice. I have 3 clumps of 3 river birch trees. A landscaper (16 years ago) suggested these (and I didn't argue since I love the bark and look) and planted them about 10 feet from our screened porch and patio on a small hillside. They love it where they are, but in the last few years they have become HUGE. They provide great shade, but the clean-up of the debris they produce is not worth it. My husband and I want to take out at least 1 (there is one in each grouping that is really leaning over our roof and huge) from each clump. Would this be okay? Would we take it down to the stump? Can we cut the others back significantly, too? I would love any and all suggestions except to leave them as is. I am sweeping and picking up tons of small branches off of our patio every single afternoon.

On a Lowe's employee recommendation, I planted it in a mix of the original clay soil, Clay Breaker mix, and Miracle Grow Tree and Shrub soil. ==>>> see link on planting .. amending soil.. and clay soil ... and PROPER WATERING .. which is your job for the next two years .... https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub next time ... avoid instant gratification ... and go at least half smaller ... smaller trees take less stresses.. recover faster.. and usually end up overtaking the larger transplant in a few years ... its extremely stressed.. not hungry.. fert is not a proper response ... no matter what your hardware store says.. they will gladly sell it to you ... btw ... how did you get that thing home .. lol .. im picturing it hanging out the back of a Prius.. lol ... all that said ... it doesnt look that bad .. based on these pix.. just stop scratching it ... its hard to tell because the leaves arent full size yet ... in another month or so.. you can get a tree saw and/or hand shears.. and start removing the dead stuff ... could you give us a location ... these are bullet proof when established [of which yours wont be for a few more years] in my z5 MI ... so i doubt winter had much to do with this ... its all the stress .. digging.. potting.. shipping.. care at the store.. delivery to your lot.. planting.. etc ... do focus on PROPER WATERING at that link.. and perfect such... no one can tell you how to water in your soil.. so you will probably be digging some holes in the root mass planted.. and the surrounding soil.. to figure out when the soil is properly watered ...a good deep drink.. then NEAR drying before another deep drink ... have you ever perked your soil??? ... thats the key to proper watering in your soil ... it defines what the clay is doing to the drainage .... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=perk+garden+soil&t=ffcm&ia=web ken

We have a ginormous mature river birch up here in our yard in Maine and it’s gorgeous, but aside from issues of placement etc, I’d fear as it grows it may not give you the screening you require for your first floor deck — ours has three main trunks and branches out at maybe 15-20 feet and gives privacy to our second and third stories but not the first (!). It’s a gorgous, mobile tree, perhaps best down closer to your waterfront? My parents in the upper Midwest just put in a thornless locust in a similar position next to their patio, with vey similar desires for privacy and lacy shade — you might take a look at that species? edit: argh, didn’t check date on original post, sorry. got houzzed!

Still seems to me like even the 'dwarf' river birch might be too unruly for this spot. I wouldn't rule out a smaller cultivar of japanese maple. There is one with supposedly corky bark although I've never seen a mature one, and mine is years away from being mature ;-) Note to Geegess - please feel free to bump the thread in a year or so and update it. Remember my golden rule of 'foundation' plantings - less is more. Would love to see the finished pruduct. You have a beautiful new house and scads of plantings of perennials, grasses, trees and shrubs in layers upon layers is not going to 'enhance' it. That being said a small ornamental tree in that alcove seems appropriate. I have at times taken to humorous citing examples like this of how important the European aristocracy and landed gentry think "foundation" planting is LOL. That is Mount Stuart House in Scotland. Or at example familiar to US public television viewers of the last decade: Of course this is all in good fun and none of us live in places like that. It's just to say, whatever your house looks like, don't let the plantings become so elaborate that they detract from it. Nobody surrounds their UK castle with their collection of Nothofagus and Eucryphia trees (and for the latter house, Highclere hollies presumably LOL) because it won't leave the castle very visible! Even though it's in a different part of the country I would love to know your architect. You can either post it here or send me a private message. I have a mid-century modern house and if I ever win the lottery and can completely rehabilitate it, I would want the renovations to be in this spirit.