Native plants for wetlands, fields or forests and an eclectic mix of other botanic delights

Betula nigra

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Status
In Stock
River Birch
Single or multi-stemmed with attractive peeling bark
Mature Size:
' Height /
' Spread
Expected Size:
60'-80'
/
40'-50'
Light Preference:
Sun to Part Sun
Soil Preference:
Moist to Wet
Price:
$12.50/1 gal.; $32.50/3 gal. (4'); $75.00/7 gal. (6'-7')

Exfoliating salmon-colored bark in youth developing into orange-brown after 5-7 years. Leaves are diamond shaped with good yellow autumn color. Predominantly upright habit with fast growth rate. Extremely good for wet areas and damp ground. Flowers inconspicuous April thru May, fruits June thru September. Resistant to both birch borer and leaf miner.

Betula nigra (River Birch; also occasionally called Water Birch) is native to the eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and east Texas. It is commonly found in flood plains and/or swamps. It is a deciduous tree growing to 25 m (80 ft), rarely to 30 m (100 ft) high with a trunk up to 50 cm (2 ft), rarely 150 cm (5 ft), diameter, often with multiple trunks. The bark is variable, usually dark gray-brown to pinkish-brown and scaly, but in some individuals, smooth and creamy pinkish-white, exfoliating in curly papery sheets. The twigs are glabrous or thinly hairy, and odorless when scraped. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 4–8 cm (1.5–3 in) long and 3–6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) broad, with a serrated margin and five to twelve pairs of veins. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 3–6 cm (1.2-2.4 in) long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The fruit is unusual among birches in maturing in late spring; it is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.

While its native habitat is wet ground, it will grow nicely on higher land, and its bark is quite distinctive, making it a favored ornamental tree for landscape use. A number of cultivars with much whiter bark than the normal wild type have been selected for garden planting, including 'Heritage' and "Little King"; these are notable as the only native white-barked birches resistant to the bronze birch borer, Agrilus anxius, in warm areas of the southeastern United States of America.

Native Americans used the boiled sap as a sweetener similar to maple syrup, and used the inner bark as a survival food. It is usually too contorted and knotty to be of value as a timber tree.

Source:
250
9" seedlings
$2.95
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Information

Prices listed are subject to change, based upon size change and availability.

We are a small local nursery with limited shipping capability. We will do our best to ship smaller material (usually 1 or 2 gallon), although we can sometimes ship larger plants with the pots removed.

We have some species that are not listed, as we have too few of them to make a full listing plausible. You can always inquire.

We will consider contract growing an order with appropriate advance notice and availability of seed, cuttings or lining out stock.

Fall Business Hours
Monday
10 - 6
Tuesday
10 - 6
Wednesday
By Appointment
Thursday
10- 6
Friday
10- 5
Saturday
10 - 5
Sunday
11- 4
Kollar Nursery | 5200 West Heaps Road, Pylesville, MD 21132 | 410.836.0500
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