Help Identififying Possible River Birch?

Mugsy1369

Hi Everyone I'm a Newbie. This site is fantastic. Just had to throw that in there. I live in Southern Ontario Canada. This sapling came up in my flower bed & is approx. 4feet tall. I'd like to move it to a more suitable location & need help identifying it so it can reach its optimal growth & be happy in it's new home. My apologies as I am not computer savy & the other pics I had ,like the bark & over-all look of the tree, wouldnt upload as they were to big & I couldnt figure out how to resize them,lol Thank You Kindly for your time.

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Eden Keeper

It appears to be an eastern cottonwood, Populus deltoides Bartram ex Marsh., although it could be one of the other poplars/aspens found in your area. One identification key (for some poplars) is a flattened petiole where attached to the leaf blade, but your thumb is hiding it in the photo; this is what makes quaking aspens quake in the slightest breeze. Other characteristics of true poplars that differ from river birch includes larger leaves, and thicker twigs.

Mugsy1369

Thank You So Much for your timely reply. Sorry about my thumb, it was pretty windy this morning,lol. I appreciate your time. Here are a couple more pics. I just want to be sure how tall they get & etc so I can place it in its forever home. Yup, I'm a treehugger & loved to save them all. Man are you good. I believe your on the money with the Eastern Cottonwood.

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Joey Meister

it looks like the eastern cottonwood i have in the yard, you want to make sure it is dormant like early next spring before you move it, cotton woods are wilters, meaning if you dig them up in the active growing season most of the new growing tips will wilt and die really fast. these trees get huge and are prone to storm damage, but if you want a fast growing shade tree they are perfect, mine i grew from a seed, five years later it is about 15 feet tall. good luck with your tree

Brent Ferris

Eastern cottonwood is likely -- another possibility is Largetooth Aspen (P. grandidentata) .
Eastern cottonwood grows fast, tall, wide - mature height about 100-120 ft, trunk diameter 3-5 feet, crown spread up to 80 feet, life about 80-100 years. Normally grows about 2-3 vertical feet per year, sometimes more,
If it is Largetooth Aspen, height will get to about 80-100 feet, trunk diameter about 1 1/2 to 2 feet, crown spread 40-50 feet, age 80-100 years, annual vertical growth -- at least 2 feet/year.

So put it somewhere where there is lots of room - both to grow, and when the time comes, lots of room to take it down. The flowers of poplars are long spindly things -- that many people call wormy (flexibility) and mature trees produce a lot of them. THe fruit or seed is dispersed with white fluff to help wind dispersal -- many people complain about snow in May and June.

The wood is fairly brittle, and storm damage is common - so keep it well away from the house.

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