Sweet Birch
Betula lenta
Scratch a twig and smell wintergreen. Dark cherry-like bark, weeks of golden fall color, and seed catkins that feed goldfinches through winter.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
Scratch a twig. that wintergreen scent is the most memorable thing about this tree, and the golden fall color stays for weeks on a mountain slope.
Scratch a twig of sweet birch and smell it: wintergreen, clean, unmistakable. The scent comes from methyl salicylate in the bark and twigs, the same compound that flavored birch beer and root beer before synthetic wintergreen replaced it. It's one of those sensory experiences that makes you stop and smell something twice. Every time someone encounters sweet birch in the field, they're surprised by it. Dark, cherry-like bark when young, more dramatic than the white birches, developing plates with age. Golden yellow fall color runs two to three weeks. Goldfinches and chickadees work the seed catkins through fall and winter. Well suited to cool, moist woodland slopes and stream edges in the northern part of the region. Less heat-tolerant than river birch, but more graceful in mountain and upper Piedmont conditions.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown sweet birch propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 30–50 ft · 20–30 ft wide
- USDA zones
- 3–7
- Family
- Betulaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America
Care notes for sweet birch.
Full sun to part shade, moist well-drained soil. Prefers cool conditions. does better in mountain and upper Piedmont settings than in hot coastal plain summers. Water during dry periods, especially in summer. No regular pruning. Mulch to maintain soil moisture and coolness.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside sweet birch.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.