River Birch
Betula nigranative · Central Texassold locally
River Birch is a tree native to Central Texas that grows 30–50 ft tall and 30 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and high water, and handles clay soil. Blooms brown in mid spring. Good for birds.
Wet ground only. Usually found in wetlands and creek bottoms. It wants reliably moist ground and struggles in a dry upland bed.
Will it grow in your yard?
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The facts
6 sources- Type
- Tree
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade (3–7 hrs of direct sun)
- Water
- High
- Height
- 30–50 ft
- Spread
- 30 ft
- Bloom
- Mid Spring · brown
- Foliage
- Deciduous or dies back in winter
- Soil
- Takes clay · recorded on clay, loam, moist, poor drainage, sand, silt
- Wildlife
- Supports birds
Where it grows
Recorded in this EPA Level IV ecoregion in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:
Floodplains and Low Terraces
Can you buy it?
Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:
15, 95 gallon
From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.
also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.