05/09/2026
We have worked at this house for 10 years, through 2 different owners. A landscape architect designed this as a “maintenance free” landscape.
We have significantly pruned these river birches 3 different times through the years with a few minor prunes between. River birches have many positive qualities but are often sold as a “small” tree with 3 separate stems. They are a very fast grower and with the typical planting of 3 stems, the stems tend to grow at an angle away from each other. This makes them particularly susceptible to snow and ice damage. Luckily one of their positive attributes is surviving aggressive pruning at practically any time of year.
While we don’t promote or recommend this, these trees were topped/reduced 4 years ago or so when the owner was at their wit’s end. Take in to consideration that a plant’s description on the tag or internet might not tell the whole story. I would also recommend a single stem river birch vs. the typical 3 stem.
Happy spring!
