IDg the newest.. and the best ... is far from finding them in mass quantities locally ...

convert to the latin.. and use the web to see if any specialty mail order nurseries have them ...

also talk with the manager of the local nurseries.. and see if they can be ordered in for fall.. or next spring ...

my whitepire are pretty darn white.. and those should be readily available ...

ken

Because they get devoured by Bronze Birch Borer over here. Grayswood Hill is Himalayan Birch, which is particularly vulnerable. Also, I'm not sure it could take the summer heat in New York City.

The heat would not account for it not being available ANYWHERE in the USA at any online nurseries even the specialty ones. But the Borer reason make sense. They do sell them over in the UK though. Are they less of a problem over there?

I don't know if they have Bronze Birch Borer in the UK...I know they are native to the US. US species of birch (and unfortunately the less white ones) tend to be more resistant. White Old World species have no defenses.

Afaik we don't have the borer yet. But we are preparing for it.

Jacquemontii (Himalayan white) birch are pretty commonly planted here and have very white bark......often startlingly so! But I have never seen them sold under any specific cultivar name. And we do not have the same issues with BBB here in the PNW as they do elsewhere in the country. They ARE present but not in epidemic proportions and that may be because our moisture levels keep the trees from becoming overly stressed (and more susceptible to BBB) and because sapsuckers and woodpeckers keep the BBB populations under control. It's hard to find an established birch that is not routinely visited by these birds!

However, these trees are not recommended for other parts of the country where BBB are active. If birch is not a strong contender.......and most white barked birch will not be suitable in your area due to BBB - perhaps consider one of the striped bark maples. While not the blindingly white bark of the birches, Acer tegmentosum 'White Tigress' or 'Valley Phantom' do produce very noticeably white striped bark.

The whitest birch I've ever seen was in a backyard in SLC. It was at a low elevation probably below 5000 feet. It may or may not have been native, but, if one is really keen on finding a really white birch one might scour sites on Utah native trees.

In addition to Renaissance Reflection, Forestfarm also lists Prairie Dream and Whitespire, both of which are resistant to BBB. Not sure if FF's Whitespire is "Whitespire Sr" (propagated directly from the original BBB resistant tree).

White Satin (sometimes listed as B. utilis, but apparently is B. platphylia var. szechuanica x populifolia) is also BBB resistant, and may have the whitest bark of the resistant varieties. http://www.chicagolandgrows.org/trees/satinbirch.php

But probably more important than the specific resistant variety are the cultural practices. Here's a quote from a leading researcher:

"North American (native) birches planted in sites to which they are at least reasonably adapted will be inherently resistant. Irrigation during severe drought is the single most important cultural practice for maintaining borer resistance. Trees stressed by defoliation, drought, or transplanting can be protected with insecticides until they regain their vigor. However, research has shown that paper birch does not become susceptible to bronze birch borer until it is severely stressed; even moderately-stressed trees are resistant."

European birch on local properties often look like they want it moister, even when well established and long present. Native stands of Paper birch I drive through nearly weekly are the southern tip of large numbers growing together near Puget Sound. And it seems we have started moving into climate change effects where although springs are colder and darker summers are hotter. With associated beetle outbreaks being seen in stands of conifers in nearby mountains.

Wow great info everyone, thanks a lot.

Arbordave, if cultural practices are more important than specific cultivars - is it worth trying to get a hold of one of these super white cultivars and babying it - Or is it likely an exercise in futility?

The quote in my post above was referring specifically to native birch species. Grayswood Hill and Polar Bear are both Asian in origin (B. ermanii, as Embo noted above) and my assumption would be that they would not have any resistance to BBB, regardless of the cultural practices. In my area, BBB is basically lethal to B. pendula and B. platyphylla even under good growing conditions. B. jacquemontii hasn't been planted here for as long as pendula and platyphylla, but it also appears to be highly sussceptible to BBB.

You could give the tree systemic insecticides regularly. The problem with keeping a tree alive on life support is it means the tree will die as soon as you have a budget set back, get too busy to focus on your yard, or the house is bought by someone who isn't that interested. I like the idea of a tree being a lasting legacy.

You could plant American Paper birch...it's a bit more resistant and pretty white. I think some aspen have white bark? You could plant River Birch, which is immune.

Thanks. I have been bit by a bug to get the whitest cleanest magnificent birch cultivar but it seems it is a pipe dream. The regular white cultivars are nice but tend to get blackish as they age and I don't find them attractive.

Conspicuous basal blackening is primarily characteristic of B. pendula specifically. If you look at the forest farm depiction of the Paper birch selection I linked to it says the bark does not peel. So that should leave the gardener looking at a smooth white stem. In cold climates Paper birch can be very white. The same party that developed and named the one forest farm is listing at this time also came out with at least a few others, in a sort of series awhile back.

Another way to pursue this interest, if you haven't done so already would be to visit local collections such as, say, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and see if they have any kinds of birches there that look acceptable. There's nothing like the results of preexisting local trials to show you what you might be able to do yourself. And seeing a kind of tree in person, with some time behind it. Including enough time for you to experience up close how big it really gets.

Any luck finding a tree? I live in the boston area and I am also looking for the same thing! Would love to have that white bark stay white.