The Black Birch, B. lenta, is one source of oil of wintergreen, which is used for medicinal purposes. This tree also yields sap, which is fermented to make Birch beer. The bark can be used for roofing houses and sheds and some is used for canoes. At one time, the bark was used by the North American Indians for making fancy articles and pictures were painted on its surface. Bark has also been used for writing paper.
Birches prefer moist, rich, fairly rocky ground, though they grow in a variety of soils.
Planting can be done in the autumn or early spring. Old Birch trees do not handle pruning very well, therefore any pruning needed to produce a shapely tree should be carried out while the tree is young. When pruning is done in the summer, sap doesn't exude from the wounds. Seeds should be sown in the fall or spring, in containers filled with light, sandy soil and placed in a frame. Varieties that don't come true from seeds should be grafted on stocks on the most closely related kinds.