Betula Fox Valley

Bring the beauty of an all-season shrub into your home landscape with Fox Valley, a lovely dwarf River Birch with all the presence of its larger cousins but none of the sprawl! Fox Valley offers spring catkins, fall foliage changes, and winter peeling bark on a very low maintenance multi-stemmed shrub that loves damp, boggy, or downright wet soils!

Fox Valley is perfect for poorly draining soil and waterside settings. Its handsome diamond-shaped green leaves and orangish-brown bark are complemented in spring by 2- to 3-inch brown catkins, which are the male flower of this shrub. (The female flower, a small green catkin, is also present but is so insignificant it's hard to notice!) The growth is dense and irregular, creating a rugged, natural look that works especially well in informal landscapes. No "trimmed park" effect here -- just pure nature, in all its distinctive beauty!

When fall arrives, the leaves on Fox Valley turn a bright shade of yellow and remain for several weeks before dropping into a big golden pool around the shrub. It's hard to mourn their passing, though, because now that the branches are bare, you can get a great look at the fascinating peeling bark of this shrub! It remains interesting all winter, beautifully sculpting the snow.

Fox Valley is a very adaptable and easy to grow shrub. It loves damp soil, but it will tolerate average conditions perfectly well, and once established, it doesn't even mind dry soil. Hard clay is no problem, and it's far more tolerant of heat and humidity than other Birches. It is superbly resistant to birch borer, and demonstrates good leaf spot resistance as well. Find a spot for it in full sun to dappled shade and prepare to enjoy one of nature's best shows! Zones 4-9.