Tree be gone !

[bobm]

Well... I had our Birch tree trimmed at ground level . I purchased this tree as a 3 trunk birch tree that one sees all over the PNW. from a highly recommended large nurser in Portland, Ore.. NOT !!! It turned out to be something else that I had never seen before , ie. a River Birch tree, that can grow to 90' tall and up to that in diameter. It sheds MANY branches in the fall, it's fibrous roots suck all the soil water during dryer parts of the year so that any other plants near it dry up and die. I measured the growth rings at ground level.... the first 4 are 1/8" followed by 1/4", 1/2" ,1/2". 3/4". 1" apart.So you can see how fast it is growing per year.
with the information that I gathered from University Arborists, I decided to cut this potential "widow maker " down before it causes damage to our house, or worse, loss of life or limb to someone.

 

[flowerbug]

Well... I had our Birch tree trimmed at ground level . I purchased this tree as a 3 trunk birch tree that one sees all over the PNW. from a highly recommended large nurser in Portland, Ore.. NOT !!! It turned out to be something else that I had never seen before , ie. a River Birch tree, that can grow to 90' tall and up to that in diameter. It sheds MANY branches in the fall, it's fibrous roots suck all the soil water during dryer parts of the year so that any other plants near it dry up and die. I measured the growth rings at ground level.... the first 4 are 1/8" followed by 1/4", 1/2" ,1/2". 3/4". 1" apart.So you can see how fast it is growing per year.
with the information that I gathered from University Arborists, I decided to cut this potential "widow maker " down before it causes damage to our house, or worse, loss of life or limb to someone.

we had a small birch tree in our yard and it was not very long-lived and ended up being colonized with black ants. for a few summertime afternoon days of entertainment i could get out a metal legged chair (that the black and red ants could not climb up) and sit and watch the wars between the black and red ants. the red ants always raided and took slaves. eventually the tree was removed. birch trees are like willows, best placed further back and along the property line where their debris isn't so much of a bother.

 

[Zeedman]

we had a small birch tree in our yard and it was not very long-lived

That has been my experience as well. We had a medium-sized two-trunk birch tree when we moved into our home. After a few years, it began dying back, to a single trunk... then that trunk began shedding branches. I finally decided to cut it down, and a year later extended a garden into its previous location. But believe it or not, I've considered planting another one in the yard, because the catkins were good early pollen sources for bees.

My Mother had a row of birches lining one side of her yard, which all died over a period of years. DS also had a large 3-trunk birch when he moved into his first home, which was dying back branch-by-branch, and had only 1 trunk left when he moved out. I think of birches less as trees, and more like short-lived perennials.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

We have 2 river birch in a low area near our neighbors garden. They love it. They shed thin branches like the crepe myrtles. Also good leaves for compost. They have not broken like the bradford pears that I am slowly getting rid of because they're not structurally weak like the bradfords. I am always picking up under the maples too. One thing is the more tree you have the more debris it gives.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Many of the birch trees in the Rogue Valley are succumbing to a disease. They are all slowly dying.