Illustration
Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera
Also called canoe birch and paperbark birch
Paper Birch blooms from March through April.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Paper Birch
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 2–7. Expect it to reach about 32 ft tall and 12 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 20 years (checked).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Paper Birch. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Paper Birch
Plant Paper Birch in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 5, the middle of its hardy zones 2 to 7, spring means April to June and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from March to April.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Paper Birch get?
32 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult12 ftwideSee Paper Birch in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Paper Birch
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Paper Birch about 12 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Paper Birch to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Paper Birch's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, years to mature size and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on October 20, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
- nurserytrees.comattributed USDA NRCS plant guideheight, sun, water, years to mature size and trait tags
- The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- futureforests.ieFuture Forestsheight, bloom months and color and trait tags
- hedging.co.ukBuckingham Nurseriesheight, spread and years to mature size
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societybloom months and color and trait tags
- woodyplants.cals.cornell.eduCornell University Woody Plants Databaseheight, spread and hardiness zones
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 28 states and 13 provinces
United States: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and 16 more
Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon and 1 more
Recorded growing wild in 412 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.