Keystone Value: The genus Betula (Birch) supports over 400 species of butterfly and moth caterpillars, providing food for a variety of birds and mammals.

Sweet Birch (Betula lenta) is a medium to large sized deciduous tree that grows naturally in woodlands, preferring north-facing slopes and moist soils. The flowers attract native pollinators, and the foliage turns a showy golden-yellow in the fall. Sweet Birch twigs have a strong sent of wintergreen when scratched. It was once harvested extensively to produce oil of wintergreen, and was borderline endangered until the 1950s-60s when synthetic oil of wintergreen was developed. Its sap can be used to make birch beer as well as a strong syrup that resembles molasses. Sweet Birch is a larval host plant for the Mourning Cloak Butterfly (shown above), among others.

We ship from two locations:

• Maryland – Our nursery in Maryland is perfectly located to serve the Eastern United States within a 2-3 day shipping window. You will receive the most reasonable shipping rates from our Maryland location if you live east of Ohio.

• Illinois – Our nursery in Illinois is perfectly located to serve the Midwestern United states within a 2-3 day shipping window. You will receive the most reasonable shipping rates from our Illinois location if you live west of West Virginia.