Betula nigra Heritage® – River Birch

River Birch is valued for its colorful peeling bark and resistance to bronze birch borer, a beetle that kills European and Asian white birches. Although usually found next to water courses in the wild, this tree will perform well on fairly dry sites if watered well until it establishes a deep root system. Cold hardy through zone 4, perhaps even colder, so perfectly happy throughout the Catskills. Heritage® is a form with bark that is closer to white or salmon-white than most seedling grown individuals which tend more toward cinnamon-brown. It also grows faster and has larger, glossier dark green leaves than most seedlings.