Melinda Myers

European Beech

Botanical Name

Fagus sylvatica

Hardiness

Zones 4 to 7

Height

50 to 60 feet

Width

35 to 45 feet

Flowers

April or May: Monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same tree), not of ornamental importance

Fruit

Four-lobed husk covered with bristles containing 2 triangular nuts

Fall Color

Golden bronze

Light

Full sun

Soil

Moist, well-drained, slightly acidic

Planting & Care

• Transplant as balled and burlap in early spring

Problems

None serious if sited correctly

Varieties

• Tricolor - variegated leaves of purple, pink and cream; provide some shade to prevent leaf scorch
• Tortuosa - contorted trunk and branches, 15'
• Purple Fountain - weeping, purple foliage, slow growing
• Asplenifolia - lacy leaves, deeply cut lobes
• Purpurea - once called the Copper Beech, dark purple leaf out with leaves maturing to dark green, bronzy-green fall color
• Fastigiata - upright, fastigiate form, green leaves
• Red Obelisk - upright, fastigiate form, red leaves
• Dawyck Gold - upright, fastigiate form, yellow leaves
• Riversii - dark purple leaves, almost black when emerging, holds color all summer
• Rohanii - vigorous grower, reddish purple leaves when emerging, maturing to brownish-purple, crisped margins (kinky hairs on edge of leaf, visible early season)
• Rotundifolia - small 1-inch leaves with 2 to 4 pairs of veins, round to vase-shaped form