Some are more shrubby, others are small trees. All have attractive white flowers in April-May, edible blue fruit, and attractive fall foliage color, ranging from yellows to scarlet. Cultivars include Autumn Brilliance, Cole, Cumulus, Regent, Robin Hill and Princess Diana. This birch is resistant to bronze birch borer damage, a frequent problem on some other birches. It prefers acidic to neutral soil and tolerates wet, poorly drained soil.
Leaves turn yellow in fall.
The interesting tan-cream color bark peels away from the trunk with age. Usually a multistem shrub, it can be pruned to a singlestem tree. It is resistant to bronze birch borer. Leaves become yellow in fall. Plant in well amended soil on north or east exposures.