How tall would you say these trees are? I don't deal a lot with potted but they seem a bit big for the pot size. I'd be concerned about circling roots if these weren't properly cared for. And wonder how long they have been in these pots.

They look like trees that have had a limited amount of pruning done on them. The low branches are there because no one has limbed the trees up yet. When I buy birch, potted or bare root, they always come in branched right down to the root collar. These don't appear to be suckering from the base of the tree. It's a little difficult to judge tree health without seeing leaves or being able to inspect the buds and branching. The clump in the second pic doesn't look the greatest though. One stem has a big fork and another looks to be broken or cut off up high. Are these straight up river birch? Or a cultivar? Pics aren't showing up the clearest for me. Where are these trees located? Some place where the ground never freezes in the winter, right?

(Deleted this last part since you said you were paying someone to plant the trees and, of course, warranty.)

Wouldn't touch 'em with a barge pole!! Far too large a tree for that size container and they have obviously been in them a while. I'd suspect major root issues....and with trees that size, any issues would be very difficult to correct.

Since going with potted, I'd plant something smaller in size as well. In my experience, young river birch often easily grow 3' to 4' a year with adequate moisture. (Will be slower in drier soils though.) Smaller is easier to handle and plant and often quicker to establish.

thank you all so much for all of your comments. I looked at the 30 gal one and the trunks have not exfoliated yet and they say itll take about 3 years for it to grow to this size. We also wanted something bigger for some privacy screening.

also, my designer is telling me to top dress the bed with basalt gravel...for looks mostly. I’ve read that it can be good to preserve moisture but also be too hot?

There is a point where growing and/or selling a containerized tree achieves a point of diminishing returns. IME, those trees are just far too large and mature to be sold in a tiny nursery pot. They are not anywhere close to ANSI standards for clump or multi-stemmed trees re: rootball size. I can pretty much guarantee root issues.

If you want trees of that size - and that would be pretty far down on my list of requirements for any tree - then look for something of equivalent size that was recently harvested and presented as B&B.

Unless it was spec'd out by some municipal authority, I would not choose to plant a tree of that size and maturity. Too much work to plant, too much required aftercare compared to a smaller specimen and much longer to establish.

mntreegrower - the tree is about 14’ high and in north texas zone 8.

I bought a little spindly Willow Oak in October 2001, from Home Depot. It was about 5 to 6, maybe 10 foot tall. It sat for one year, started growing a little the 2nd year, and by year five, it was leaping. It is a huge, beautiful tree now.

I have always read that the smaller trees transplant better and in a few years will outstrip the larger trees. That has worked that way for me. I paid a fortune for a red oak at a nursery a year or so later. It is very pretty, but has not grown as well as the little one. I know it is a different species, but it has now developed a large root going around the tree on top of the ground. It must have been like that in the pot and I didn't notice.

ETA: I prefer to support my local nurseries, but most of them go for the "super large, soak you for more money" trees and shrubs. There is one in town, that grows their own and have the smaller trees.

The problem with big trees when these are being compared to small ones is when the former come from the production facility with a smaller percentage of retained roots. Buying a recently dug, balled in burlap specimen would not avoid this unless it happened to be dug with a huge root ball, bigger than is usually done.

The problem with potted woody stock of any size is that there is a high likelihood that it has been allowed to become rootbound at some point in the production cycle. With as alluded to above large specimens having bigger, thicker roots that can only be cut back - and not also bent out into the correct orientation. However even with small potted stock often the dominant issue is severe deformity of main roots right in close to the base of the stem, dating from when the plant was left too long in a small, narrow band or liner pot. I've had broadleaf evergreen shrubs that had been in their final planting sites ~25 years topple under snow loads because of this latter circumstance. (When dug out and examined their root crowns looked like turnips).

Unless purchased bare rooted and with a correctly structured root system in full view going with field grown stock does also not automatically grant freedom from poor container production practices because the plants may often have been purchased growing in pots, planted out from these into the field from which they are to be later dug and sold.

At 14' those potted are mostly likely root-bound as others have suggested as well. I think the standard 45 gallon pot is only around 30" in diameter. I won't ball any 14' birch clumps in anything less than a 36" ball with most probably going in 40" - depending on trunk diameters and fullness of the heads.

If the 14' size will give you the immediate privacy screening you desire, then I'd find balled & burlap with a good size root ball under them instead of potted. The wait for them to root in and begin adding significant growth again won't be as big of an issue if they are already accomplishing what you want. However, you'll probably want/need a bobcat to help plant them if you are doing it yourself because the root balls are going to weigh a ton.

And if you still prefer the ease of planting and handling with potted, I'd just recommend sticking to smaller sizes (with appropriately-sized pots) and being patient while you wait for them to grow bigger. River birch for me will often grow like weeds - 3' to 18' tall in only 4 years. Easier to inspect and fix/cut bad roots on a smaller potted birch too than a larger.

They also have some 12’ in a 30 gallon, vs the 18’ in a 45 gal. These will be professionally planted for me, but only 6 months warranty. I think the 12’ 30 gal might work. There’s only a difference in price of $250. I want to make sure these will survive since they’re going in a row of 3, replacing one would be a hassle down the road.

Any thoughts about dressing these trees in a bed of basalt gravel?

I still would not pick or plant these trees. Even the 12 footers have grossly undersized rootballs for their height according to ANSI standards. And this does not take into consideration any of the other root issues previously mentioned. There is also no way you would know in only 6 month of the warranty period whether or not these trees would survive long term.

IMO, a very risky proposition.

Agree with those who say that these trees are too large for their root balls. As far as the gravel goes, most people who actually care for such beds end up regretting that day that the gravel was installed. It's unattractive, it sinks into the soil and disappears, difficult to keep free of fallen leaves, and it ends up where we don't want it.

A big complaint of mine is that, unlike a vegetative material, it won't decompose into beneficial food source for plants and essential microorganisms.

The reason you have such large trees in such small of pots is that this species grows so damn fast. They also have a extremely dense, vigorous and shallow root system meaning that pot is like ya disaster.

Anyone that does a professional install and only provides 6 months warranty - screams we don’t know what we’re doing and/or we don’t trust our plant quality.

Not knowing what part of north TX you’re from I’d say you’d likely have fairy alkaline soil. This species doesn’t do well in soils too far above neutral. Do you know your soils ph? If you don’t fire your designer.