My New Tree

Our State Representative sent a Facebook message that the local power company was giving away 1000 saplings, divided among three varieties, to 1000 property owners selected by lottery.  I filled out the form and got a picture of my back yard from the power company advising me the best spot to plant the sapling to avoid wires.  Didn't know I had been selected until my River Birch arrived from the USPS along with my other mail.

I planted it in the place suggested, not a big project.  I had never heard of a River Birch and don't even have a good reason for opting for that tree over the other two.  Apparently it's a hardy tree, growing to about 20 meters in height at a rate of about half a meter a year.  It does not do well in alkaline soil.  I don't know the pH of mine.  If it fails to thrive, I can test the adjacent soil and add something acidic.  More likely it's fine, since when I planted roses I had to add bone meal to make the soil more alkaline.  But once established, it seems to thrive with benign neglect.  My kind of tree.