birch?

It is a mulberry - Morus sp., not a birch.

Mulberry would be my guess also.

thanks !!!! any idea if the root system is aggressive and damage house foundation ?

no tree .. will damage.. an otherwise intact foundation ...

so.. unless you have some hundred year old farm house.. and your foundation is otherwise breaking down.. this really isnt an issue..

that said.. i would NOT put a fruiting mulberry.. within 50 to 100 feet of a house.. for what the birds will do with purple berries.. as they eat their way into a diarrhetic fit ... i sear they will fly miles to find my car ... idiots ... lol...

and the second problem.. or is the third.. nothing free is ever really good.. if this thing 'popped' up in your garden.. then you already have an answer to its invasive propensities ....

lastly ... i lost count.. lol... their roots are yellow.. and rather shallow ... and if you have any dreams of gardening under this tree.. you will suffer.. as the decades roll by ...

you can do so much better than a common mulberry ..

ken

ps: i hate the berries.. rest of the family adores them... whatever.. lol ... on 5 acres.. i have a couple.. i would not have them in suburbia .... space is too precious.. go buy an heirloom tree at the proper planting time.. which is NOW ..... NEXT FALL ... i would suggest oak ....

thanks ! my tree does not have any fruit, ... just grows REALLY fast, i love the shade it provided , just affraid it might damage the sidewalk , drive way... since the root is shallow, so struggling to decide if i should remove it... thanks

"no tree .. will damage.. an otherwise intact foundation ... "

Ken, what the heck is that supposed to mean??? Foundation damage from tree roots is not all that uncommon. I've even seen examples of where tree roots pushed foundation walls out from under houses!

Here we have no information on which to base even a guess as to whether the tree might damage Jecaca's foundation. Distance from the house, size of the tree, etc would be relevant. In general, large trees planted close to foundations are not a great idea IMO.

Actually, Ken's statement is pretty much on the money. It is a long held myth that tree roots will damage foundations but in most cases they are not the cause but rather a symptom of other problems......the first being a structurally unsound foundation to begin with.

The far more likely cause of foundation damage is subsidence or movement of the subsoil on which foundation is built and often backflled with. Depending on soil types and water movement, this soil can swell or contract resulting in significant pressure that can cause cracking, etc. Some trees may contribute to subsidence but they are seldom the 'root' cause ('scuse the pun!!). The recent droughty periods much of the country has experienced are far more likely to have caused foundation damage than any tree.

This notion is pretty well supported by various authorities including soil engineers, the Association of Home Inspectors, the ISA and the Morton Arboretum.

Anyone who has seen a sidewalk damaged by tree roots can easily extrapolate the problem to a home's foundation. Anyone who has seen a boulder cracked in two by a tree's roots can see the potential for problems. The statement on Morton Arboretum's website that, "Though small roots may penetrate existing cracks in foundations, they are incapable of causing mechanical damage through their growth" is so absurd that it would be laughable if the results weren't so serious.

Most of us here know that the problem with tree roots and foundations, as well as the problem with tree roots and pipes, is often exaggerated and frequently misunderstood. But, saying that the problems don't exist is simply and clearly denying reality. Oversimplification and dismissal of all but "average" conditions doesn't help address this issue!

A few quotes (and this could continue for pages and pages) from ISA papers/articles:

"In fact, tree roots can cause severe damage to sewer or septic lines, storm water drains, water supply lines, building foundations,sidewalks, streets, parking lots, curbs, walls and swimming pools, and each year the repair of this damage is a major cost to cities."

"A typical application of cutoff walls is to exclude roots from soils near the foundations of buildings. This is necessary because root moisture absorption causes soil shrinking and differential settling, which causes significant structural damage to foundations and walls."

"...during dry weather, trees must extract more and more moisture from greater and greater soil volumes to keep their physiological processes functioning. This can contribute to the drying and cracking of clay soil and thus to (soil) subsidence with resultant foundation damage."

Ah yes....there we are. Better not argue with the "expert" regardless of what any other sources might say.

No one made the statement that damage cannot happen, only that it is far less common than most folks think and usually attributable initially to some other causation. And there is a world of difference between a tree root lifting up paving or hardscaping and those penetrating a foundation wall.

If this were near as common a problem as some of us would like you to think, there would be nearly constant insurance claims in my area for damaged foundations due to tree roots, as big trees - heck, even massive trees - abound and in very small yards and in very close proximity to foundations. The key is this area is not prone to soil subsidence, therefore few issues with compromised foundations. You do see lifting of sidewalks and driveways and the odd plumbing issue from some yoyo dumb enough to plant over the sewer lines or septic system but in 30 years of doing this work professionally I have never yet seen an intact foundation damaged by tree roots.

Really a common occurrence, isn't it?

"no tree .. will damage.. an otherwise intact foundation ..."

"No one made the statement that damage cannot happen.."

Oh, really???????????????????????

"And there is a world of difference between a tree root lifting up paving or hardscaping and those penetrating a foundation wall."

Obviously...and they represent two types of problems that could impact a home's foundation.

"If this were near as common a problem as some of us would like you to think, there would be nearly constant insurance claims..."

Yep, there sure are, and, unfortunately, lack of coverage for this issue is sometimes a problem.

"...but in 30 years of doing this work professionally I have never yet seen an intact foundation damaged by tree roots."

I bet a few people wish I could say that.

By the way, based on the appearance of the leaves, I'd say that is the mulberry that is not native to the US.

Good enough reason to remove it for me.

Brandon, for what its worth, I AGREE.

Tree roots might be more of a problem in areas where slab foundations are the norm, still I've seen just as many slab foundation cracks and wall cracks due to subsidence on homes surrounded by trees as on homes located on barren lots. Some soils are just A nightmare to build on due to the swelling and shrinking as moisture levels change.
I wouldn't worry about a mulberry near the foundation. The sidewalk should be safe too assuming the tree trunk isn't closer than 5 feet away...... Unless I lives to be 100 with a fat trunk and huge roots, but if that's the case you'll want a new sidewalk by then anyway.