Betula nigra ‘Little King’ FOX VALLEY (River Birch)

Compact, Betula nigra ‘Little King’ or Fox Valley River Birch, is a particularly handsome river birch prized for its attractive peeling bark. Pale salmon and reddish-brown at first, the bark exfoliates to reveal lighter inner bark. Vigorous and fast-growing, this dwarf cultivar forms a dense, deciduous, multi-stemmed tree with a uniform broad-pyramidal to broad-rounded habit. The foliage of leathery, diamond-shaped, bright green leaves deepens to dark green as the season progresses before turning pale yellow in fall. Perfect for wet soils, ‘Little King’ can tolerate locations with drier soils and is noted for its excellent resistance to bronze birch borer.

The birch family, Betulaceae, includes well-known birch trees such as River Birch, Paper Birch, Yellow Birch, and Silver Birch, all prized for their attractive bark, graceful form, and adaptability to various landscapes.

• Winner of the Gold Medal award of The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and of the Cary Award, which recognizes plants that are particularly adequate for New England, offer superior landscape appeal, are winter hardy, and are pest resistant.
• Grows up to 8-10 ft. tall and wide (240-300 cm) in 10 years.
• A full sun or part shade lover, this plant is easily grown in average, wet soils. Adaptable and heat tolerant, this river birch will grow in a wide range of situations, including semi-aquatic conditions, but performs best in moist, slightly acidic soils. Use soaker hoses and bark mulches to keep the root zones cool and moist.
• Perfect as a specimen plant or in borders, along ponds and streams, cottage gardens, and foundation plantings.
• Low maintenance, this plant needs little pruning. If pruning is necessary, prune during the dormant season and avoid pruning in spring when the sap is running.
• May be affected by sawflies, aphids, rust, and leaf spot.
• Propagate by softwood cuttings or grafting
• Native to central and eastern USA