How much water do established white birch trees need?

Question

I just bought a house that has a drip system set up for all the plants. There are two large (~15' tall, ~6 year old) birch trees along the side yard. I noticed that they plugged up the drips for these two trees. They are in the flower bed right next to the lawn, but not actually on the lawn. They are not being directly watered. Is the water from the lawn good enough at this stage? Maybe because the roots are so deep? They look good, maybe a little thirsty (some leaves are kinda saggy), but I live in Sacramento and it's been over 100 for a while now. Thanks for the help!!

Answer 1

Hi, White Birch trees or Betula alba are native to swamps. That is why most people plant them in lawns. Lawns usually get the most water. You'll have to watch when the sprinklers are on to see if the lawn sprinklers get the Birch trees. I would say that more is better with Birch(not many others can take so much water).

But beware, if the trees are planted within the flower beds and not the lawn you will have a VERY difficult time ever planting annuals or anything else near the trees. I had a client(I am a landscaper) who planted her Birches in the flower beds. It was a nightmare trying to plant anything near them, The roots go sideways and are as dense as mats.

Good luck :-)