When landscaping goes bad

The Best Time to Plant This Tree Was Never

It’s out to get us

I think that I shall never see a plant as lethal as our tree. Image by Airgil Daviss from Pixabay

The river birch tree we planted in our yard fifteen years ago has grown beyond our wildest dreams.

It’s a nightmare.

My husband and I remember when it was a lovely, innocent-looking spire just out of its sapling stage. We chose it out of all the other river birches at the tree nursery. We awaited its delivery like anxious parents and watched with bated breath as it was installed in our yard. We supported it with ties and sturdy stakes. We provided it with a special watering system dedicated solely to its nurturance.

Now it towers over our house’s steeply pitched roof. It’s far larger than any other river birch in the neighborhood, even the ones that have been around longer.

And it’s trying to kill us.

Its efforts are indirect and stealthy, but no less murderous than if it came after us with a chainsaw.

We ignored the early signs. For years, once the river birch was fully established and flourishing, we marveled at the vigor of its roots, blaming ourselves for our clumsiness when those roots configured themselves into ideally positioned trip hazards.