Question
I recently bought two 6' River Birches to plant in/on my berm. I noticed all the birches I saw, at every location were heat stressed and losing some leaves.  Each and every seller assured me that it would be ok to plant them now while it is so hot. I trusted one man's opinion over the others as I have watched him plant,successfully, many trees at many different times of the year.  So holes were carefully readied and the trees were planted.  They were immediately watered in. It was an overcast day. Later in the afternoon when it was cooler they were given a long drink as they have ever since. The trees look pitiful. They immediately lost all but about 15(if that really) of their leaves. My gut says to keep watering as I am and they probably will be ok. But when I called the seller to ask his opinion he was all over the place and rude: first it was water more, then I watered too much, then I "baked" the roots....Please tell me what you think. I moved here from New Orleans and things always did well for me there but the heat seems harsher on the plants here. Thanks in advance for your opinion. Donna

Answer
In the forest, birch trees thrive on cool, moist soils. Their very shallow root system makes them sensitive to even short periods of drought or heating of the soil, thus they grow poorly on hot, dry soils. Therefore, homeowners should attempt to place birch trees in locations where the soil will be shaded, cool, and moist. However, birch trees require full to partial sunshine on their leaves to grow well. The challenge is to select a growing site where the soil will remain cool and moist, but where the tree will also receive full sunshine on its leaves for much of the day.

Excellent locations for placement of birch trees in the landscape generally are found on the east and north sides of a home where the building provides afternoon shade . Avoid southern and western exposures where the afternoon sun heats and dries the soil. There are other tree species available that are well adapted to hot, dry locations. Remember that existing trees and structures can often provide the necessary shading. An excellent time to evaluate your landscape for a proper site would be mid to late afternoon. At that time, look for locations where the ground is shaded.

Birch trees do best on slightly acidic soils (pH 5.0 - 6.5), though the white-barked birches especially our native paper birch-are capable of growing well on alkaline soils. River birch often develops iron chlorosis (yellow foliage) in alkaline soils and should be avoided as a tree selection in most cases where the pH is greater than 6.5. Slightly alkaline soils can be made more acidic if you add soil amendments, though it can be difficult to maintain the soil pH over the life span of a tree (discuss this with your county extension agent). Soil tests can be obtained at many county extension offices and some nurseries.

Most birch trees prefer moist but not wet soils. If your planting location is in an area that is poorly drained or that may occasionally flood for short periods of time, you should limit your selection to river or Heritage river birch both of these can also be grown on drier soils).

Mulching - Aside from aesthetic benefits, mulching moderates soil temperatures (keeps soil cool during summer heat), conserves water in the soil, reduces competition from other plants, adds organic matter to the soil as it decomposes, and reduces soil compaction. Also, the decomposition process helps build new layers of soil with improved structure which aids in better water retention and oxygen exchange. Finally, placing mulch around the base of a tree reduces the likelihood of damaging the stem with a lawnmower or weed trimmer. All these benefits create a healthy environment for tree roots, and help promote tree growth and survival.

It needs at least 1 inch of water per week. For new trees I recommend 1 inch every third day. place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Do this if it does not rain good.

Mulch around the tree with not more than 3 inches deep of organic mulch not piled up on the trunk. about 3 feet wide.

You were a little late in planting BUT this only means the trees will be more stressed by the temperature and water. Most trees when they are stressed will drop their leaves, hardwoods will re leaf when conditions are better. Check the tree and see if it is still alive--start near the end of a branch and scrape a small bit of bark off and if the color under the bark is green the branch is still alive at this point on the branch. If the color is not green -Brown- the the branch is dead at this point on the branch . If brown continue down the branch scraping at intervals until you find green or reach the trunk. If it is green (which is what I would expect) continue the watering every third day and it should recover.

All this is assuming the tree was properly planted hole about twice the size of the root ball-hole filled with good top soil-burlap and wire removed from the root ball-not planted too deep.

The berm will cause drier conditions so watering and mulching are important.