White barked birch trees have long been among the most graceful and eye catching landscape trees, and Renaissance Oasis Paper Birch ranks among the best choices for use in the upper Midwest. Oasis Paper Birch grows quickly, tolerating a fairly wide range of soil types, and as stems increase to a diameter of 2″ to 3″ and more, a very pure white bark develops with nice accents of reddish brown that add a lively appearance and a subtle color counter point.
Renaissance Oasis Paper Birch is a result of a 40 year breeding program at Evergreen Nurseries in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin that set a goal to develop paper birches with increased resistance to bronze birch borer. Oasis took it’s name from its demonstrated ability in test plots to survive in drought, excessively drained soils, but Oasis Paper Birch really grows its very best in soils with good, but not excessive moisture levels. Avoid water logged soils. Happily, Oasis can tolerate soils with moderate alkalinity that can cause the more widely planted River Birches to gradually turn yellow and die. If you have alkaline soils, you may want to give Oasis Paper Birch a try.
Renaissance Oasis Paper Birch is most often seen in the landscape as a clump form, but you may want to consider using 5 or 7 single stem trees in a staggered layout that imitates the thickets of birch commonly found in the wild.
In the right place in the landscape, a small thicket of single stem Oasis Paper Birch can provide a striking frame or backdrop for other landscape elements. Oasis grows to a mature size of 60′ tall by 30′ wide, and like it’s close cousin Reflection Paper Birch, is able to produce a fairly straight tree, even in pretty windy locations.
Renaissance Reflection Paper Birch offers homeowners, landscape designers, and landscapers a white barked birch variety with very nice characteristics. Part of the Renaissance series of birch hybrids, Reflection Paper Birch is most recognizable for its’ very straight stems and nice white bark that develops as stems increase to 2″ to 3″ in diameter. Reflection will go to 50′ tall and also 20′-30′ wide.
