dwarf birch
Betula nana · Betulaceae
dwarf birch (Betula nana) is a perennial shrub in the Betulaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 2 and warmer, down to about -43°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 3 ft USDA |
| Light | part-shade USDA |
| Water need | low USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 4.9–6.5 USDA |
| Bloom | May–June USDA |
| Flower color | Green USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 2 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
| Nursery availability | Contracting Only USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It grows in partial shade. USDA rates it as having low water needs once established. Its drought tolerance is rated medium. It is recorded on soils from pH 4.9 to 6.5 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 2.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 3 ft, making it roughly waist to chest height. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are green.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, fine in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. Its active growth period is summer. USDA rates its lifespan as moderate.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 14 to 30 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 80 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 18 inches. Fertility requirement: low — no feeding needed on ordinary garden soil.
Propagating it
Propagate it from seed, bare root and container stock. Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It does not spread vegetatively, so it will stay where you put it.
Resilience and wildlife
Browsing animals rate it barely palatable — the sourced basis for calling it deer-resistant. Its fire tolerance is rated medium, and it can resprout after damage. Its growth form is recorded as multiple stem.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Betula
- yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis
- sweet birch Betula lenta
- river birch Betula nigra
- water birch Betula occidentalis
Similar role and hardiness
- silver sagebrush Artemisia cana
- big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata
- mountain big sagebrush Artemisia tridentata
- alderleaf mountain mahogany Cercocarpus montanus
- black crowberry Empetrum nigrum
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol BENA, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, browse palatability, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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