Remove this River Birch???

pburchett · Sep 23, 2017

I have a river birch 6 feet from the corner of my house. Original owners planter it there 10 years ago and was probably 5-6 feet tall when planted. It is over 35 feet tall now.

I was wondering if the roots would undermine the foundation or bricks On the house. I know they have spread greatly but do not know if this species of tree will cause problems?

If it is poses no problem I will just trim it. If it needs to go the wife plant a Japanese maple there. What would you do?

showcrop · Sep 23, 2017

What kind of foundation?

casecollectorsc · Sep 23, 2017

Cut it....it hides the beauty of the home.

pburchett · Sep 23, 2017

Concrete footer with hollow block foundation wall. One half of the crawl space (the end where tree is ) has a concrete floor that we use as a cellar.

pburchett · Sep 23, 2017

That double door in the photo is only about 4 1/2 feet tall.

pburchett · Sep 23, 2017

Thank you for the compliment

grayrider · Sep 23, 2017

I would leave it, cities plant them all the time
around the court squares and up next to buildings

Royse · Sep 23, 2017

"it hides the beauty of the home"

It also shades the home CC, which can be of great value depending on location.

I wish I could answer your question about the roots pburchett.
Unfortunately, I' don't know.
If it were a weeping willow it would be gone!
We had all kinds of well and septic issues with those and they
weren't even close to the house. The nearest about 30 feet.

pete black · Sep 23, 2017

indeed it is a beautiful home and tree. I have a similar tree at the edge of my pond; river birch, white birch, paper bark birch? this tree has roots growing on top of the ground and into the water. unsure of roots growing under a foundation. I do like and enjoy the birch trees.

55 50 Ron · Sep 23, 2017

Let me guess. I'd say that's in Missouri.

rossow (mn) · Sep 23, 2017

Short answer is not much danger to the foundation. Do a Google search for "Do River Birch Tree Roots Damage a House?" There's good information there.

pburchett · Sep 23, 2017

(quoted from post at 17:21:35 09/23/17) Let me guess. I'd say that's in Missouri.

South Central Kentucky. About 15 miles from the Tennessee border.

mtf · Sep 23, 2017

This looks like a dura-heat variety birch because of the smaller
leaves and more dense foliage. The max height will be around 40
feet. The roots will not cause any problems to the foundation.
Keep the branches trimmed that are close enough to rub against
the house. Trim the lower branches up another 6 to 8 feet to
show more of the house. Nice tree and nice house.

I sell hundreds of these birch trees, planted in very similar
settings each year. Nathan

mtf · Sep 23, 2017

This tree more than likely came from my wholesale nursery in
south central ky.

jm. · Sep 23, 2017

So I am north central Tennessee 20 miles from the state line , we must be getting pretty close.

DeltaRed · Sep 23, 2017

Leave it. You never know how wonderful a tree is till it's gone.

Moonlite37 · Sep 23, 2017

I do not want any hardwood tree within 5 feet of MY house but if this is the best location, I would leave it as It is as good as any kind of tree and far superior to ANY maple

pburchett · Sep 23, 2017

I am north of Knoxville and it appears you are to the west of me (Land Between the Lakes area)

jeffcat · Sep 23, 2017

Good rule of thumb, trees have root systems that go out to the edge of
the canopy. In other words ...walk out to the end of the longest
branch and look down at your feet. There is a root there or even a
little further. If there is a water sorce the sky is the limit. Have
found silver maple roots more than 40 feet from a small tree in my
septic.

newhollandnut · Sep 23, 2017

Cut it. Grind the stump. I cut all the trees around my
house a few years ago don't miss them and I
haven't had to clean the gutters since

2x4 · Sep 24, 2017

prolly won't hurt to leave it. Weaker forks will split & fall some of these days. Always happens to trees forked that badly & on a slope too. Dead stumps will get infected & bring the rest of the tree down later. Trees that close to the house should have a single healthy trunk.

Larry EC-OH · Sep 24, 2017

I can't tell which direction this is, but just in case you take the Birch down...

Japanese Maples are subject to leaf scorch, so they do better in the east or north sides rather than the south or west sides of homes.

Food for thought.

I just took down one of our River Birches that had died, Birch Boer.

Larry

Frank 41 · Sep 24, 2017

I am always picking up limbs from my river birch. Almost as bad as an elm. We have a japanse maple closer than that to our front door. It does not grow very large and drops leaves all year. We also have a holly close to a valley on our roof and those leaves plug the eves. So I put covers over the eves. Bag worms are getting my evergreens. Dogwoods are beautiful but the blooms do not last long. I will take red maples any day.

Live in central Illinois.

Remove this River Birch???

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