River Birch near house
cajun626
foundation). The Birch if about 9' tall. Am I going to have slab
problems in the near future? Should I try to relocate the tree? It's
a beautiful tree so I'd hate to kill it.
David J. Bockman
and tendency to snap limbs. That's not to say you can't enjoy decades of
this tree's beauty, but you may want to relocate it to a place where danger
of damage to your home is negated should some limbs snap.
--
David J. Bockman, Fairfax, VA (USDA Hardiness Zone 7)
Bunabayashi Bonsai On The World Wide Web: http://www.bunabayashi.com
email: d...@bunabayashi.com
"cajun626" <caju...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:16805bc8.01102...@posting.google.com...
paghat
wonderful tree. Old wild ones have black bark, but the river birches
offered in our local nurseries all have pale orange bark. I love birches a
lot but as there are lots of antique waterpipes running through our
neighborhood dating to the Edwardian era, it's not smart to have them near
water mains & sewers -- though the same could be said of beaches & I've
got a lot of those. I had only one area far enough from where birch roots
might invade water mains & which also met all of a birch's preferred
conditions. I ended up planting a Young's weeping birch close to the
house & I may live long enough to regret it, but I did the research, & am
pretty sure I never will regret it. If time teaches me differently oh
well.
River birch as the name implies sucks up a LOT of water; if your yard is
otherwise apt to become quite damp, a birch or willow can help keep it
from getting spongy, mossy, or too wet to walk on pleasantly. Yet birch
also doesn't like to have its roots drowning. On a riverside the drainage
is excellent but in a yard, unless there's a cliff or a slope or least a
high hump, the lifespan of the tree can be expected to be considerably
shortened. Before it gets so big it's a danger too near a house, it'll
probably be ready to die, that is presuming its very specific needs are
not perfectly met. Yet it can be a very lovely tree during its 15 to 20
years. One reason to move it would be so that it will live a longer
lifespan -- if you can move it to a sloping area with sandy fast-draining
soil, & can manage to shade the ground around the root system, it'll live
two or three times longer & become an increasingly amazingly cool tree.
Everyone seems to think that because they grow near rivers they want to be
swamped, but in fact they will survive droubts much more easily than
they'll survive persistant drowning. It does ideally need a lot of water
but if the water puddles on the ground around it, it'll die.
Birch root systems aren't notoriously harmful & river birch root systems
smaller than most, so I wouldn't worry about the nearby foundation of the
house or anything like that, & if its recent construction even the thick
plastic water pipes will be birch-impervious. Birches have relatively
shallow root systems & another reason they have shortened lifespans in the
typical yard is the sun bakes the roots. Most birches love direct sun in
the leaves, but want almost no sun on the ground within the dripline --
river birch does well if shaded part of the day by taller trees (some
birches wouldn't like any shade at all) & being more shade-tolerant than
most birches means its roots are even MORE fragile to sun-baking. A good
sweep to the branches with lots of leaves, it self-shades its roots, but
depending on how it arranges its limbs, there could be direct sun on the
ground around the base which won't make it happy. Again contributing to
the likelihood that it won't live to ripe old age & seem too big too close
to the house.
Younger trees if they don't die right off the bat from the swings of
drowning & baking, do establish themselves in imperfect conditions & will
not suffer in appearance, just in length of life. Many people believe
birches are difficult trees that always die young, but if its roots are
protected from sun heat, & it isn't being burdened by peoples common
belief that it loves to be deluged with water at all times, it'll outlive
whoever plants it.
The other problem with this specific birch is it can reach its branches
quite wide in a swooping long reach close to the ground, somewhat weeping
willow-like. Some grow much more upright, but the most beautiful ones have
either been trained or naturally become wider than tall. It may want to
spread & fill an area with its branches. If a yard is big enough to bare
it, this is great, but if a house is in the path of its reach, an expert
arborist might be needed to give advance pointers in training it away from
the house & into directions you'll love to see swept across by the limbs.
It will have to be trained while still young to not become troublesome at
maturity (troublesome even if only because it spread "in the way" of where
people need access).
Also because the limbs can sweep wide horizontally, they can suffer under
their own weight. The fastest growing trees can also be the weakest.
Heavily rain-wetted leaves in spring & fall, & especially ice & snow on
limbs in winter, can be too much for a given limb to handle. Since they're
often horizontal limbs or already close to the ground, they fall straight
down rather than tipping over onto a house, but one has to consider the
possibilities of the individual tree & where any one limb might land --
especially if it does live longer because of having ideal conditions &
gets 40+ feet tall & indeed overhangs a house. Correct pruning &
controlling the direction the limbs while still young will limit the
unsightly possibility of a randomly lost limb later on, as well as inhibit
danger to anything under a limb.
I wouldn't move it if it's the roots that primariy worry you. I wouldn't
move it if it's already gotten itself established. If there is a more
ideal location for it on slope or embankment with the required drainage
needs maximized, & it's only recently been planted so not yet well fixed
in its spot, in that case I'd consider the move, but only so it would live
40 to 60 years instead of 20, not for fear it'll harm the house.
-paghat the ratgirl
--
"Here dwell souls that did neither evil nor good."
-Inferno
Pam
cajun626 wrote:
5.5 feet is really too close to any structure for a tree of any size
(mature, not newly planted). Generally, it is recommended that you plant
them no closer than the mature spread of the crown or a minimum of 15
feet. River birches are pretty big trees and can have a sizable canopy
(60'+ x 40'), but unless your house is pretty tall, the canopy should
*spread* over the house rather than run into it. So even though it may not
brush into the structure, there is is still a risk of it dropping limbs on
your roof. I'd go with at least the 15 foot spacing in this case or more,
preferably, if you have room. Additionally, river birches can suffer from
serious chlorosis problems if soil pH is too high - I'd get it away from
the leaching of the concrete slab foundation to avoid this problem.
Birches tend to be shallow rooted and are not known for causing root
disturbance. Neither are they particularly aggressive water seekers, even
the river birch, which is perfectly adaptable to dry soils although will
thrive in moist conditions (not drought tolerant, though - a big
difference) The orangey-tan bark of a young tree will darken with age, but
bark color is variable as most river birches are seedling grown.
Why in the world would a builder put such a large tree so close a new
house?? Rhetorical question, I guess - it's hard to imagine the size they
will get when looking at them in a nursery.
Pam - gardengal
cajun626
Thanks. Why would a builder put such a large tree so close to a new
house? I guess b/c it looks beautiful now, and da builder doesn't
care if I have problems a few years from now.
Marley1372
>house? I guess b/c it looks beautiful now, and da builder doesn't
>care if I have problems a few years from now.
>
Because people have a tough time realizing that just because a #10 Betula nigra
is only 8 feet tall in the nursery, that it will never grow at all or get any
larger. They basically install a disposable landscape, because there is no way
you could sustain it for very long.
toad