River water trees. The river birch is a popular tree for river banks and wet parts of the garden. As a rule newly planted and young trees require more frequent watering than older well established trees. All of the trees listed below will flourish in wet areas even standing water. The river birch is a fast growing water loving deciduous tree native to much of the united states.
Betula nigra the black birch river birch or water birch is a species of birch native to the eastern united states from new hampshire west to southern minnesota and south to northern florida and west to texas. The amount of water a tree needs depends on many factors including the age and species of the tree the time of year weather and soil type. Its attractive bark is especially striking in the winter when the rest of the tree is bare. Riverside plantings give habitat to native wildlife furnishing not only food and shelter but a corridor for wildlife movement.
Sweetbay can also handle well drained soil and makes a great specimen tree and will be the focal point in any landscape. The river water carries chemicals and other substances to and from the area being planted. Hardy in united states department of agriculture zones 4 to 9. That means that while the amazon which pours 17 billion tons of water into the atlantic ocean a day may be the largest river on earth its still exceeded by the airborne river drifting above the canopy of the trees.
This tree can handle extensive flooding or damp conditions. Its scientific name is betula nigra. Unlike other birches that have white barks the river birchs bark is reddish brown and curls and peels naturally adding visual interest to the plant. The airborne river turns into rain which replenishes the forest.
Soil preference the river birch grows well in acidic loamy moist sandy well drained wet and clay soils. It is one of the few heat tolerant birches in a family of mostly cold weather trees which do not thrive in usda zone 6 and up. The best trees for river bank planting are native species that have good root systems. Learn more river birch tree facts and how to use them in the landscape of your home right here.
River birch betula nigra also known as red birch black birch or water birch is native to the southeastern united states where the trees typically grow in thickets along rivers and lakeshores as well as on floodplains sandbars and islands in streams.