yellow birch
Betula alleghaniensis
USDA zones3 to 7
SunHandles full sun to full shade
WaterHandles moderate to wet soil
Size60 to 75 feet tall60 to 75 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- Female catkins green, male catkins mature from green to purple-yellow
- Foliage color
- Green.
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) is a tree for specimen planting, woodland gardens, and shade gardens. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full sun to full shade and average to wet soil of most types. The curly, golden-yellow bark peels in thin, papery shreds. Crushed twigs smell slightly of wintergreen, and the leaves turn blaze yellow in fall. Give it cool, moist soil, because bronze birch borer troubles trees in drier spots.
Pairs well with Cinnamon fern, Red elderberry, and Dutchman's breeches.
Native range
Eastern North America.