need Birch recommendation

15 years ago

I seek recommendations for Birch trees to be placed between mobile homes in a mobile home community. Anything I plant will get babied through the first summer and then it's on its own. I am about 25 miles south of Youngstown and there is a lot of moisture in the soil plus I always mulch heavily.

Ideally, I would like to have a clump of three trees or one tree that splits into three trunks just above the ground. It can get as tall as it likes but it must stay no bigger around than 10' until it gets above the tops of the homes. That would be about 10' above the ground. Colored leaves and/or colored bark would be great. The bark does not have to peel although that would be great. I like the idea of the catkins in winter because now the tree has 4 season interest. The leaves can cast light or dense shade as there would be nothing growing under the tree.

If you know where I can buy anything online that you recommend, that's a big help.

Thanks.

Rolf

Wheat Hill Mobile Home Community

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Comments (12)

wisconsitom
15 years ago
Rolf, overall, I think the River Birch is going to perform best in your situation. It is very commonly used in landscaping, so you should have little trouble finding them locally. The size requirements you list at various stages are a bit arcane, but you should be in the ballpark with these trees. And don't be afraid to do some minor pruning as the trees develop, should that be of benefit.

+oM
dr_andre_phufufnik
15 years ago
Any clump birch will grow outwards and easily push past your ten foot limit. Clumps of three are unnatural; the trunks grow away from each other. You will wind up with a really, really big shrub that will grow as wide as it grows tall.

It was a fashion here in my neighborhood to plant clumps of three (or more!) birches just off the corner of houses an an ornamental. Fifteen years later these houses are removing the trees because they are too big and wide. If you are really stuck on birches, then just plant single stemmed trees and keep them spaced well apart.
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Embothrium
15 years ago
You might be interested in this one. Can probably find retail source looking elsewhere on internet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Betula x Avalzam
arbordave (SE MI)
15 years ago
If you decide to go with River Birch, be sure to get the variety called "Heritage" - it has better bark color and vigor than the straight species.

Here is a link that might be useful: great plant picks
rolf_jacobs
Original Author
15 years ago
These responses have been great and I appreciate the info.

The 'Cully' sounds really interesting but I wonder if I grow it as a singe tree, can I limb it up so that the first limbs start at about 10'-12' off the ground? This would allow it to clear the tops of the adjacent mobile homes.

Thanks.

Rolf
wisconsitom
15 years ago
Rolf, any tree can be raised up over time. The key is to do it gradually. You don't want to be removing too many limbs at the same time. And in any case, these limbs will be small, flexible things at this stage, so not a big obstacle.

After the trees are well established, simply remove a tier or two of branches each year until you have them up high enough. But at the very start of the trees' lives in their new home, let them have all the branches, and hence, foliage possible. This will help them get growing.

+oM
flora_uk
15 years ago
Betula utilis var. 'Jacquemontii' is a popular birch over here for feature planting. It has very white bark and can be grown as a multistemmed specimen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Betul utilis var. 'Jacquemontii'
arbordave (SE MI)
15 years ago
Unfortunately, Betula utilis var. 'Jacquemontii' is susceptible to Bronze Birch Borer here in the eastern US.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
15 years ago
are the others recommended susceptible to borer ...

whitespire is said to be resistant ... link below

i mail ordered 3 foot whips about 6 years ago ... and they are topping 20 feet min ... you do need to be pretty proactive in pruning them up.. as they have a weeping habit ... i got them from either guerney or henry fields or stark brothers [though i doubt this one[ ....

they are on the right side of the pic.. 3 of the 4 ... spaced about 6 by 4 feet apart .... and they are still leaning... but i dont have any structure for them to fall on.. so i dont care ...

{{gwi:244730}}

your biggest concern.. over time is whether birch are an acceptable tree to have hanging over the mobile homes ... and i question such.. they are not the strongest of trees ... but not close the the worst ...

down in mansfield OH ... is a great tree farm.. where i got 6 to 8 foot bare root oaks in april .... oaks.. once established... can grow 3 to 5 feet per year.. and have a tendency to not shed branches like some other stock ... the initial investment would probably be higher .. but they will be there.. when the homes rot into the ground ... or about 200 years ... the birch will not be ... in the pic.. there is one of the oaks on the left.. hard to see ... but it was planted at the same time.. nearly .... as the birch .... is taller.. and the trunk is thicker .... it appears to be next to the green conica in front of the blue spruce ... not the larger behind .. nor the giant way behind ...

if you want a referral .. email me directly ... per my page ... i am hosta friends with the owners .... with no vested interest in the biz ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
rolf_jacobs
Original Author
15 years ago
Ken,

Breaking branches is a big concern in a mobile home park but we don't get a lot of snow here. We do get really high winds on occasion and that is when things break. I did not think birches were all that bad when it came to breaking branches. No?

The 'Cully' Heritage birch really looks good with its peeling bark for winter interest but I'm having a hard time finding it for sale other than at wholesale sites.

Rolf
wisconsitom
15 years ago
Rolf, just to further this discussion a bit: No species of birch will be especially hazardous at maturity. For one, they just do not get the immensity of say, silver maple, and their limbs tend towards the smaller, brushier side of things. Nobody can absolutely state that a given tree will not cause some damage in the event of its failure. But in the whole scheme of things, birch are just not going to cause that much trouble.

Bronze birch borer is indeed a concern. But river birch has good resistance to this insect. BTW, I love the paper birch and yellow birch, like I've got in my N. Wisconsin woods, beyond all others. But I don't think either of those species will tolerate Ohio conditions as well as river birch will. But with paper birch in particular, if you see it growing well in your area, consider giving it a shot. This WILL probably entail your needing to treat for BBB at some point in the trees' lives.

Keep us posted as to what you decide.

+oM
arktrees
15 years ago
I have to say that the birches took a beating in our ice storm. Many many of them are simply broken some distance about the ground. These were previously healthy trees, with a trunk diameter of say 12 inches at the height of the break. Most that I know of, have taken at least mild damage, and severe is at least as common. But to be fair, there is really no species that has not been damaged. i.e. there are some very large sugar maples across the street from where I work that are basically trunks now. Autumn Blaze and Chinese Pistache have weathered the storm comparatively well, but this might simply be due to size, as medium size trees seemed to take the storm better over all (outside of things like Bradford Pears and willows etc.).

need Birch recommendation

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wisconsitom

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