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.

The instructions in Ken's April 5 12:15 post are generally very good. Only thing different from those instructions that you, dhi1971, will need to consider is the fact that you should not try to rootball the birches roots you dig up on the side of the oak tree. I mean if you follow those general instructions exactly you could end up damaging too many of the fine feeder roots on your nicely maturing oak tree that is growing only three feet away from your Birch. That is why I think it best you dig the tree immediately before it breaks dormancy. That way you can carefully remove the Birch tree's roots that you find have been invaded by the oak tree's feeder roots. Do that in a careful manner and that way any untangled oak feeder roots that you manage to prevent being damaged, and the roots that you damage which can still be saved with a little correction pruning, can also be repostitioned and filled back over with the dirt you had to remove to get out the Birch tree's bare roots on that side. Ken gave very good instructions for digging lots of trees in lots of conditons, but in your case you will be the only one who can tell how to handle getting the birch roots out that are on the oak tree's side. As long as your birch and oak trees are still dormant, be bold and do the best you can and make it your priority to do it now, if you have not already done the transplanting. Once your Birch tree is relocated and your oak's exposed feeder roots are respread and covered; simply, watch these two trees carefully in the summer and test the soil to make certain neither of them suffer from either too much water or too dry of conditons. Other than that, as long as the trees are planted in proper lighting exposure areas, then they should recover nicely in the growing season. You might find it beneficial to keep taking these watering precautions during the next 3 years of growing seasons, so they each have the chance to nicely re-establish both tree's roots that you will be disturbing this time when you dig and replant the Birch.

There is a 30 year old double trunked river birch which is growing in my neighbor's yard. It is planted in slightly acidic clay soil on the southern exposure front yard of the house. I do not see the owners watering that yard, but am also not sure how often, over the tree's lifespan, the yard was watered during the dry seasons. The tree has experienced several branch failures and now does not present a very good appearance. If it were my tree, I would have it taken down, or at least plant a new tree beneath it so the new tree would have a head start toward reaching maturity before the Birch dies or otherwise must be removed. I consider that 30 years is this tree's reasonable lifespan. The clay soil, which the tree has grown in, helps to retain moisture for longer periods, along with our changing seasons, which allows the tree to rest over each winter, is most likely why the tree survived so well for its first 25 years. Those factors, though, are not benficial enough to help the tree prosper much longer; especially with no nearby stream, river, bog, or other such water source.

This first sentence is the answer: "If it is really hot, then watering, and spraying the leaves, every day may well be necessary." I'd simply add that you're dealing with transplant shock and that it is very normal under your current conditions for the entire tree to defoliate but to also, come back. It is entirely possible the tree may re-foliate this year even. Or, it may send most of it's energy to the rootball at this time. It's the tree's choice basically. I believe that keeping up on water will keep it alive on both top and bottom. When, or if you notice the buds dying, then expect the birch to sucker and as mentioned above, you'll need to remove any portions that do not re-foliate next spring and select new emerging growth for the style you wish for (clump or single trunk). If you have a cultivar of River Birch, then the new suckers that come up may not be be true to cultivar form but since you did not mention this, I won't assume. And this only applies for grafted trees. Trees produced from cuttings (I'd have to look River Birch propagation up to know for sure) - will produce suckers true to form. Yes, they are produced from cuttings. Dirr and Heuser (2006) confirm this. Dax Dirr, Michael A and Heuser, Charles, Jr. ÂThe Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation: From Seed to Tissue CultureÂ; (Second Edition 2006); Varsity Press, Inc. ISBN: 0942375092 or ISBN: 13: 978-0-942375-09-1