# Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)

> Paper birch, Betula papyrifera: a medium tree of 50 to 75 feet for zones 2 to 7, when it flowers and fruits, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/paper-birch/

![White papery paper birch trunks among yellow and orange autumn leaves in a sunlit wood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/paper-birch-1000.jpg?v=570aacca "Paper birch in fall color at about 1,300 feet on Equinox Mountain in Manchester, Vermont, on October 17, 2020. Most of its seed falls from September through November.")
*Photo: Famartin, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A2020-10-17_15_05_31_Paper_Birch_leaves_in_autumn_at_about_1300_feet_above_sea_level_along_Sky_Line_Drive_on_Equinox_Mountain_in_Manchester%2C_Bennington_County%2C_Vermont.jpg))*

Medium tree, 50 to 75 feet, zones 2 to 7; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.

We do not grow paper birch, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | Paper Birch |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | White birch, canoe birch, paperbark birch |
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 50 to 75 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 2 to 7 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, salt tolerant, winter interest, erosion control |
| Flowers | April to June |
| Fruit | Nutlets, August to November |
| First crop | About 15 years (best from 40 to 70) |
| Pollination | One bears; a second improves the crop. A lone paper birch sets some seed, but selfed seed germinated at 6 to 11 percent against good crosses in a Lake States trial of 1965, so a second tree nearby improves the crop. |
| Lifespan | Typically lives 100 years, and the oldest dated one reached 240. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on paper birch marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Black walnut | Sensitive, on the Morton Arboretum's list as “white birch” |
| Ground | The Appalachians, rich moist slopes, dry uplands, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 31 states |

Paper birch is native in 31 states: [Alaska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AK), [Colorado](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CO), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Idaho](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ID), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Iowa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IA), [Maine](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ME), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Minnesota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MN), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Nebraska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NE), [New Hampshire](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NH), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [North Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ND), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [Rhode Island](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=RI), [South Dakota](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SD), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Vermont](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VT), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV), [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI) and [Wyoming](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WY). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=paper-birch): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=paper-birch): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=paper-birch&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=paper-birch): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=paper-birch): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=paper-birch): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=paper-birch): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=paper-birch:2): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=paper-birch): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=paper-birch): the tree age estimator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=paper-birch): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Sweet Birch (Black Birch)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sweet-birch/index.html.md) (*Betula lenta*): medium tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 3 to 8. Shares the Appalachians, rich moist slopes and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Red Hickory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/red-hickory/index.html.md) (*Carya ovalis*): large tree, 60 to 100 feet, zones 4 to 8. Shares the Appalachians, rich moist slopes and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Yellow Birch](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/yellow-birch/index.html.md) (*Betula alleghaniensis*): large tree, 60 to 75 feet, zones 3 to 7. Shares the Appalachians, rich moist slopes, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Northern Red Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/northern-red-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus rubra*): large tree, 50 to 75 feet, zones 3 to 8. Shares the Appalachians, rich moist slopes and dry uplands in the wild.
- [American Chestnut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-chestnut/index.html.md) (*Castanea dentata*): small tree, 15 to 30 feet, zones 4 to 8. Shares the Appalachians, rich moist slopes and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Slippery Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/slippery-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus rubra*): medium tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 3 to 9. Shares rich moist slopes and dry uplands in the wild.
- [Every companion of paper birch in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=paper-birch)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the US Forest Service and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.