Sweet Birch
Betula lenta
Sweet birch has dark cherry-like bark and aromatic wintergreen twigs that were once the source of birch beer. Glowing yellow fall color and adaptability to drier upland sites set it apart.
- Family
- Betulaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 40–75 ft
- Spacing
- 35–40 ft apart
- Light
- part shade, shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- April, May
- Bloom colors
- red, yellow, green, brown
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~411 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen
- Native states
- AL, CT, GA, KY, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV
Related native plants
More Betula species
- Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
- Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)
- River Birch (Betula nigra)
- Gray Birch (Betula populifolia)
- Bog Birch (Betula pumila)
- Water Birch (Betula occidentalis)