Struggling river birch

I have a river birch that I planted in fall '03. It did beautifully for two years, including last year, when it doubled in size. It had a perfectly normal fall last year, but when spring came, it didn't bud out much and made very few leaves, and those it did make were sort of curled under at the edges. I looked it up and saw that its native areas are swampish. We'd had a dry summer, and fall, almost no snow, and hte beginning of the spring was rainless. Although it looked hopeless, I LOVE the tree, so I started watering it heavily in May. After a few weeks, some new growth started, so I cut off the wood that looked dead, as it seemed to have spidery things on it and it wasn't contributing anyway. I also sprayed it for aphids and beetles. After watering it continuously, it has filled out, although it's still a bit bare in the middle.

My questions: does anyone think that the water issue was the problem? Having had a hard year this year, can it come back and be normal next year (and WILL the middle fill in?

Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated

If you have acidic soil and can keep it wet and keep the critters off of it, I would expect a full recovery. The lower (middle) branches would have to be removed soon anyway, given the location, so don't worry about them. It will look splendid with that trunk bark exposed as it grows larger.

And welcome to the forum!!!

Guy S.

If you've looked up anything about river birch, you know how big this tree will/can get (70' x 50' is a nice average). You'll not miss any branches or fullness in a couple years, though you may wish it was a little further from important structures.

I think if you keep up with the watering during the most droughty of times in your summers, you'll be fine and you'll have to get out of the way of your birch's rampant growth rate.

Speaking of your summers: my one fond experience of Havre de Grace was staying at a bed-n-breakfast in late July 1991, 105°F (40.5°C) in the shade, and no respite even down by the Bay. And my wife wouldn't let me go to the proving ground at Aberdeen.

Thanks, guys!! Important structures, har har. I'm thinking I should have looked that up BEFORE planting it. Maybe it's just going to have to look like a river birch lollypop. Anyway, thanks for the information and the welcome! This place is a gold mine, huh.

Hi, ndub, I'm just down the freeway in Bel Air. You're right, river birch like tons of water, especially while they're getting established. I have a 12 year old river birch, and the first few years I poured water on that thing like there was no tomorrow. It's about 35 feet tall now. You might consider drip irrigation.

I have planting beds around the tree so it routinely gets water during the dryest parts of the summer (like right now when we're in the 100s), but also has become quite drought tolerant. It will, however, drop its leaves when under stress.

VV is right (of course) about needing to trim the lower branches over time. I've had mine pruned several times by a certified arborist. The wood is quite brittle, and when the canopy gets old and full, you often need to prune back to the main branches to retain only the strongest.

If you're ever at Longwood gardens, notice the elaborate system of cables they have supporting their old river birches. Mine is protected from the worst of the winter winds so I'm hoping to avoid that for quite some time.