Bring color, charm, and seasonal blooms to small gardens, patios, and pots with these gorgeous flowering trees that don't ...

The trees thrive in wet freshwater areas, hence the name river birch or water birch, and can survive periods of flooding. Betula nigra is the most heat-tolerant of the birches.

A fairly fast-growing tree, river birch can reach a height of 70 feet or more. Native throughout the eastern U.S., it is typically found on the banks of rivers and streams as well as in floodplains.

River birch trees, a popular tree for river banks and wet parts of the garden, are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9. They are more heat tolerant than most of their birch relatives and prefer full sun.

Fortunately, several flowering trees, such as black cherry, black willow, tulip poplar, red maple, river birch, live oak, sassafras, eastern redbud, and hackberry, can help. The best part, though?

By George Weigel/The Patriot-News Q: We have a brick planter by our deck that measures 31/2 feet by 4 feet and is 4 feet deep. We previously had a river birch tree in it, but the roots grew under ...

It’s the time of year when yellownecked caterpillars will soon engulf unprotected river birch trees. These pests also feed on blueberry, hickory, maple and oaks, but I have only seen them on ...

My river birch has had some yellow leaves over the past few years but has gotten much worse this year. Is there anything I can do to save my tree? — Joe Knudson, Waukegan, Ill. You should pla… ...