Q: I purchased a piece of land last year with three silver birch trees on it. The largest is about 30 feet tall and had a low branch removed many years ago. The inside of the stub rotted and was ...

The birch trees in this photo appear to have been infested with bronze birch borer, as indicated by the dead upper branches where larvae have disrupted the flow of water and nutrients.

After seeing my article last week on the efficacy of systemic insecticides for bark beetles and borers in pines, a reader, Ken, wondered whether a product he was using against bronze birch borers was ...

Q. (My) birch tree, planted many years ago, has never really grown full. In the spring, it will get tiny green leaves but (it’s) still very airy and not full foliage. We’ve been told not to prune it.