madmblue's Purple Birch x 2

Two clumps of birch, planted now so they get some size before my ancient-and-decaying spruce tree has to come down. It was an adventure finding a spot for the trees that won’t eventually interfere with power/phone/cable lines crossing over the backyard.
These birch are supposed to be a hybrid resistant to borers. Sure hope so— they have dark leaves and a red bark that is quite striking.

" ROYAL FROST® RED-LEAVED BIRCH

Betula hybrid

This is an improved red-leaved birch developed by crossing the hybrid Crimson Frost cultivar to B. populifolia ‘Whitespire’. The chief attribute of this birch is better apical dominance and straighter growth in the nursery row. From its red-leafed parent it has acquired the desirable burgundy leaf color that holds well through the summer. Fall color is a good yellow orange/red. The ultimate height of this tree should be a bit taller than ‘Crimson Frost’ (topping out at about 40’) with a spread of about 20’. The bark color is similar to Crimson Frost, white with cinnamon hues. Hardy to USDA zone 4."