Birch, Sweet Birch: New England's Forest Birches 

Imagine what tree will look like if you plant today. Planning

Best time to plant a tree is 250 years ago, second best time is now.

Thats ok there are trees older then when Noah took his boat to save humanity and animals of the world. The giant redwoods are said to have been seedlings 2k years ago. THIS nation is an infant compared to its natural resources like wood. The old growth forest were 1000s of years old, and cut down for profit. The new timbers are not as good in Many species as climents changed.

@@richtomlinson7090 Best time depends on what type of tree and where, aside from the fact anytime is a good time to plant a tree.

Pat, thank you for watching, and commenting. It's rewarding to know these films are helping people enjoy the forest. -Ray

So much for us to learn and relearn. It’s wonderful to find someone offering it up.

.... and thank YOU for watching! -Ray

Hi Tracey, glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for watching.

Hi Michael, thanks for watching and commenting. If you appreciated this one, you'll probably really enjoy "The Lost Forests of New England", which will be finished soon. It's the story of New England old growth forests. Ray

New England Forests I love the work you all are doing, I'm sure I will definitely enjoy that, I can't wait, these are the things that interest me the most, amazing these videos have so few views, I've enjoyed all the videos greatly, especially the tallest tree in New England video.

i'm sad that a nearing 200 year old one in the woods behind my house got killed by the awful drought last year :(

it has really platy peeled off bark

Pete, Few people would recognize those old black birches for what they are. One of them on Mt Tom, only 22 inches in diameter, has been dated to about 270 years old. You wouldn't look twice at it as you pass by it.

Where About was this? I found a decent old yellow birch on bald mountain in goshen

"Black birch" is, as you know, a common name rather than the unique scientific name for a given species. And you've highlighted the problem with common names... the same name can apply to more than one species. You're right, Betula nigra and B. lenta are both known as "black birch". B. lenta is also known as "sweet birch", "cherry birch", and, in the southern Appalachians, as "mountain mahogany". In the film, we used "black birch" for B. lenta, and "river birch" for B. nigra; most people in the region seem to know these trees by their common names more so than their scientific names. And, I'm guilty of preferring common names over scientific, because I find them easier to remember. But yes, the two trees (B. lenta and B. nigra) are different species. B. lenta is more of an upland species, and B. nigra tends to be found near water (eg, river floodplains).

Bob get ahold of the Maine State Forest Service. They have great resources for us.

Have you ever seen the book Forest Trees of Maine? It’s free online, and it’s very helpful! www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/publications/handbooks_guides/forest_trees/pdf/Forest_Trees_of_Maine.pdf

Yes, it does, but not exclusively.. it's doing quite well replacing that and other species that are dying off, or have been otherwise removed.

By “silver” birch I assume you’re referring to yellow birch, Betula alleghaniensis. The oldest known so far was 387 years (ring count, Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada); the oldest black birch (B. lenta) was 361 (cross-dated, New Paltz, NY), so they’re close in maximum lifespan, and I don’t think of them as being significantly different in terms of longevity, although yellow might possibly be a bit longer-lived on average. -Ray

@@NewEnglandForests, oh I didn't know that. Interesting. I was referring to the Betula pendula. I know they can be +-120 years in rare cases, but they mainly live up to 70 and behave like a pioneer species. I was wondering what made them diverge to take these quite different strategies in Eurasia and America.

Ok, different tree. I’ve seen European birches planted here and there in New England, but I don’t really know much about them. One thing to keep in mind though is that many of the statistics we find on the web for tree heights and ages are understated, probably because there’s so little old growth forest left that we’ve lost the memory of what trees are capable of. Eg, many references would have you believe that B. lenta (black birch) grows to anywhere from 40 to 78 feet. But we’re finding them quite often well over 90’, and even over 100’. So, remain skeptical about quoted maximum ages and heights.

Curtis- A Thoreau poem at the end? Oh-- then you want to watch "The Lost Forests of New England" :) Bird droppings? Yes, I suppose they are a good fertilizer source. On the downside, in forests that are too heavily cut (and other open places), they also spread seeds of non-native, invasive species. Few things in life are only good or only bad.

New England Forests, true. But I suspect that nature has it set up that way for a reason. I will check out that documentary! Thanks! 🌳

No... ornamental hybrids, for example, are not.

@@NewEnglandForests im learning alot on this channel...i never knew there wqere so many kinds...its amazing i really cant see the forest for the trees lol