Help me determine the fate of paper birch

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JA600L

JA600L

Minister of Fire
Nov 30, 2013
1,288
Lancaster Pennsylvania
Hi guys,
Can anything recommend a plan of action to remedy this paper birch growing too tall and close to the house?

I really don't want to take it down if I don't have to. My question is how hard can you cut these trees back without killing them? Can I cut the top part off close to the main branches?

It seems very sturdy yet and is holding up well to the major wind events we are having lately.
 

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Except for dead branches and anything that might brush up against the house causing damage I don't think birches require nor should be pruned very much.


Not a fan of having big trees that can cause damage that close to the house, but I live near the coast where hurricanes have caused some damage.
The shade is nice in the Summer.


Some times you just have to start over.
 
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I would fell that thing as three seperate trees, get it up and stacked, deal with the stump, and then plant something with a single trunk that close to the house. Takign that thing down will never be easier that it is this month.
 
If you decide to keep them, keep a very close eye on the crowns, any sign of lack of buds means the tree is unhealthy. White birches rot while standing and if you wait long after the top starts dying, it will start dumping a lot of branches. In general white birches are nice looking trees but a bit messy as they tend to shed a lot of dead whips.
 
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A standard ol' triple trunk birch. They are generally weak, weed trees in comparison to most. Without warning, they will drop one or more of the trunks to the ground. They don't take real well to heavy pruning.
As the ambassador to many vintage trees in my own yard, I respect wanting to keep a healthy tree in the upright position. That said, this thing would be disappeared with a viable replacement tree taking root in short order. Clump birch don't belong next to structures in my opinion (I have the same opinion of walnut trees).

(Full disclosure - I have two clump birch trees in my own yard and are very familiar with them).

You can see one dead in the middle of this pic. It has one of three trunks left.
alkfirewood3sm.jpg
 
Jags said:
I have the same opinion of walnut trees
Click to expand...
What's wrong with walnut trees?

I just know about the juglone thing and the nuts that stain everything. Is there something else?
 
Not to side track the thread, but walnuts are a beautiful tree...in somebody else's yard. Primarily is has to do with the nuts and the extra labor they cause.
 
Jags said:
Not to side track the thread, but walnuts are a beautiful tree...in somebody else's yard. Primarily is has to do with the nuts and the extra labor they cause.
Click to expand...
When my boys were younger they would collect and process the nuts off our 10
mature trees sell the meat at 35$ a lb. Made some pretty good Christmas money
that way and saved me all the clean up. Now a days the critters get them before I have to
 
Tree.jpg
Had a River Birch very close to my house up until last winter. I called it the giving tree as it was always giving me something to pick up- leaves, tons of buds, oodles of branches year round, cleaning gutters all the time. My wife loved the tree so my attempts to rid myself of this nightmare continued for 10 years, until the fateful day in 2015 when a glorious Ice Storm broke a large section off and it fell harmlessly into the driveway. My wife could not live with how her beautiful tree would look moving on, so in a moment of weakness she agreed to let me get it cut down. Within two days it was gone...The end.
 
As a homeowner that lives in the woods on 8 acres, I have removed all but 2 trees that can drop a single leaf on my roof. It is terrible for your roof to get tree debris..it gets wet, causes moss and a bunch of issues. For me that meant taking down about 60 trees. It might look nice, but if you have an asphalt roof, it's not a good idea.
 
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