Need a pic and nearest big city.

tj

I was considering placing one on the corner of my house this spring for the same reasons you want one. It’s a beautiful tree and many homes around me have one, but I decided against it after researching and conflicting opinions. I was worried about the roots and the branches growing too far towards my house. I was told to plant it 15’ away from the house. Good luck with your decision! I look forward to reading people’s opinions.

While river birch are consider "small" trees, I have seen some old ones that were 40' high, with a equivalent crown.

I am in zone 6B, southeast Missouri near Cape Girardeau. I have tried several times to upload a pic of the house but can't for some reason. I will work on that some more but wanted to let you know my growing zone.

new house · More Info

Okay- I was finally able to upload one. The red arrow points to the area for the tree, That whole area (from the column to the right of the front porch all the way to the end of the bank of windows to the right of the arrow) will be a large bed approx 33' x 15' My thinking for this bed was to have dwarf yaupon holly, otto luyken laurels, the river birch, maybe some sun loving periennials, etc. I also wanted to put a River birch to the far left corner of the house (where that dirt pile is) The house faces southwest. I will try to find some other pics,

I have seen some old ones that were 40' high

I'm sure on rich bottomland soils in the Potomac and Patuxent river valleys, I've seen plenty of much taller ones than that. In truth, in certain landscape settings, like when they are used as 'gas station plants' in island beds between curbs, they really look unhappy.

My parents had a river birch about that distance from their house, and it was a beautiful tree but they are “messy”. If forget the name of the things they produce but it was always getting on their rooftop and in their gutters. Plus not super strong limbs, so every time it stormed there would be a lot of limbs to pick up. Different varieties may be stronger than what they had though so do some research to see what’s available.

Davidrt28 - thank you for the suggestions and the 'advice for friends'. That was very helpful. I will have irrigation so that should help with watering but your point regarding damage to the gutters and seams is prudent! I will check out your other suggestions - admittedly, I do not recognixe the latin names!

Also, regarding age and patience - we are both 60. Not as patient as we once were but still have time (hopefully) to see the landscaping mature!

Regarding the suggestion of the Pine - How do I achieve the lacey, see through look instead of the full, conical shape of the typical pine? Several pictures I found showed a full, thick evergreen. But, the ones I liked had thinner, airy crowns with spreading upper branches. Is it a case of early pruning/shaping as the tree grows or is this a task that will always be needed?

did cape G get hit with the remnants of one of the more recent hurricanes.... if so.. that is another reason not to have a tree of any real size.. hanging over the house ...tial ...

this is how i look at potential size... just keep scrolling until you understand ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Betula+nigra&iax=images&ia=images

you might want to look into shrubs pruned as trees .... or some real small tree .. like a japanese maple ....

as an aside.... i might not hold out great hope for hat one large pine left in the work area ... lets hope for the best.. but dont bank on it ...

did cape G get hit with the remnants of one of the more recent hurricanes.... if so.. that is another reason not to have a tree of any real size.. hanging over the hosue ...

ken

i planted 'dura heat' several years ago and it is probably 30' tall now. it is a single trunk specimen and i was advised that this cultivar has superior bark characteristics as well as being shorter-growing with more resistance to insect pests than something like 'heritage'. i like the light shade effect that it creates. the soil pile might be a better location for the betula while i would definitely consider the acer griseum that david recommended. i would grow one of those if i thought it was suitable for my hot climate.

I also like River Birch...as long as it's in the right place. I personally wouldn't put the one in front of the house...River Birch simply grows too large and fast and are prone to some breakage later in life. It would overpower the front of your house. Off the corner of your house would be fine...but I would go at least 20 feet from the corner. My neighbor hood is full of homes with a river birch about 10-15 feet off the front corner, and now 20 years later they are taller than the 2 story homes and simply overpowering. I placed mine about 30 feet off the side of my house, in an area that get's little use and it has room to spread. They drop twigs all year, and drop leaves when the weather get's hot and dry. However where I have it they are not a problem...they simply get mulched up when I mow.

Geegees it's really interesting you honed in on the pruning. I'm realizing (after 30+ years of gardening) that good tree pruning is truly a cross of art and science. It even becomes more so when you want to showcase the bark of something.

With the Lacebark pine/Pinus bungeanas they have a tendency to be multi-stemmed when sold, and a lot of people let them stay that way or even try to enhance that. On the theory that "more ornamental bark is better". ON THE OTHER HAND, if you google image search for them, you see a lot of the old picturesque ones in their native Chinese home are single trunked! I think any multistemmed tree is more prone to splitting at the base, particularly in a continental climate like MO or MD, with plenty of downbursting thunderstorms in summer and ice storms in winter. * I have seen several lacebark pines that had suffered such an indignity, even at Longwood Gardens! A place with some of the highest tree care standards in North America, to be sure. So for my Lacebark Pine (which coincidentally is the tree I bought from the nursery, Raemelton Farm, I mention on this thread) I am DEFINITELY aiming for this look: https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/photos/103395/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_bungeana#/media/File:Lacebark_pine_of_Susong-dong.jpg

But you'd have to either hire a really, really good landscaper who could manage that pruning over the years, or learn the intricacies yourself! Here is a thread I started on a related topic: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4977109/we-agree-some-cutting-grown-trees-need-aggressive-waterspout-control

After 16 years of dealing with trees on my land, I am 100% confident I know how to trim mine. I had both a grafted lacebark pine and a seedling one and as I theorize in that thread, it appears that the multistem/lots of water spRouts malformation - that's what it is in my opinion - is a byproduct of asexual reproduction. The seedling lacebark pine seems to be sticking to one stem, so far.

(and note: China doesn't have ice and freak snow storms like we do, by and large. the only snow parts of China tend to have long lasting wispy flurries, not big storms, because of the Siberian high pressure system. So another reason they can 'get away' with letting theirs grow in a more uncontrolled manner)

If you want a smaller river birch check out Little King aka Fox Valley. I have no experience growing it but have seen it in a field at a tree farm. Maybe someone with hands on experience can weigh in.

davidrt, last time I visited the DC National Arb (20 yrs ago), the lacebark pines looked bad -- foliage on all I saw very sparse.

Interesting! I think they tend to have rather open, thin crowns anyhow. Part of their "look". Maybe something about the arboretum site didn't suit them. I have seen good looking ones at various east coast gardens such as Grounds for Sculpture: https://www.gfsmap.org/lacebark-pine

Nice site -- they also have limber pines. There's a pair of very handsome, planted limber pines, guessing 60 -70 ft tall, along the Juniata River in Bedford, PA on the grounds of the original fort.

Thank you so much! I think Dura Heat is a contender as is the Paperbark Maple for the space. I have also considered a Ginkgo but think I will plant that to the far right of the house, between us and our neighbor. We had to take down a tree on our lot that provided shade for them and, I think the narrow but tall nature of the gingko will be a good replacement for that tree without overcrowding either of us. Again, thanks so much for the input!

If you plant a ginkgo tree get a male tree that doesn’t bear the fruit. Otherwise you and your neighbor will have a messy “stinko” tree.

Thank you, Emily! I had seen that advice during my Gingko research, but had forgotten to make note of it on my 'landscape list.' Done!

Yes! I was collecting gingko fruit at the library garden yesterday, picking it out of a flower bed. Not only does it stink, but it also removes a layer of skin from my fingertips unless I wear gloves. If I don't collect the fruit, it germinates readily. Never buy a cheap seedling gingko and don't accept seedlings as a gift.

I love my River birches, but they are messy. They drop a lot of branches. And mine are HUGE. I would never plant one close to a house. I also have a ginkgo which is slow growing.

@geegess - what a gorgeous home! Love the prairie style & my imagination fills the interior with Stckley & Arts & Crafts era furnishings! But, about your tree choice - I was pleased to read the recommendation for Acer Griseum / Paper Bark Maple & that it made it on your list to consder. My all time favorite tree! i had four of them in my last yard in Seattle area and am sorry not to have at least one in my current Vancouver (WA) area. But there are many planted as street trees here. The bark is truly beautiful year round - a giant cinamon stick. They are late in leafing out in spring & one of last maples to color up in fall which makes their show all the more spectacular. The leaves are more oak leaf shaped (to me) & the fall color is a rich red. The Paper Bark isn’t really fast growing but does need some space & I think is considered a ”small” tree as trees go. Some are low branched, some are higher so they can be walked under so consider that as you choose one or two for your setting. I hope you do plant one. FWIW, i am familiar with River Birch - interesting looking but I would not have one in my yard unless i had ”property” -lots of space. There is one in a back yard in my neighborhood & it is considerably taller than the one story house it’s too close to.. It suffered in high wind storm & it’s top was cut off - not a good look!

Here is an Acer griseum on a trying site in Lancaster County, PA. SW facing slope with a gravel drive at its base.

I definitely bristle at multi-stemmed done wrong, but I think the owners of this one have done it right. (they are horticulturalists) Grow it in full sun and maybe prune once in a while to help it keep a slightly more compact shape than it otherwise would. Those stocky trucks at narrow angles will be much less likely to split in a storm than some of the paperbark maples you see. (FWIW I still plan to keep the paperbark maple I have to a single trunk, but that's as much a planning decision of how I want to use space in that part of the garden)

Only caveat for our OP is that SE PA soils are often very high quality, deep, rich soils. It's doubtful this tree was ever struggling with poor soil quality...so YMMV. But property established, these are tough trees. (As is generally true of genus Acer)

Gosh that’s a beautiful tree! Thanks for sharing the photo. All of my Paper Barks were single trunked, even the one low branched one that was my first.

12 feet from the house is too close for a river birch planting.

We moved into an older home with two massive three-trunked river birch, that have branches overhanging the roof. After a couple of gutter-clogging episodes we're having those overhanging branches trimmed off.

Nice trees, but not for planting right by a house.

A species-type River Birch would be problematic, but the dwarf variety, as mentioned by NHBabs, could work. While it doesn't get tall, it will get quite wide. This one is about ten years old and roughly 10' tall x 15' wide.

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.