European Beech

(Fagaceae - Beech Family)

Form

• large shade tree
• maturing at about 60' tall by 40' wide, although it can become much larger under favorable conditions
• upright oval growth habit (for the species form, and many of the cultivars)
• slow growth rate (becoming a medium growth rate by middle age)

Culture

• full sun to partial sun (tolerant of partial shade to full shade in youth)
• performs best in deep, rich, evenly moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soils, but is tolerant (although not especially happy) of neutral to alkaline pH soils, average soils, compacted soils, heat, and drought (once established)
• species form is propagated by seeds, while the cultivars are usually propagated by grafting onto seedling rootstock
• Beech Family, with few disease or pest problems of significance; European Beech adapts much better than American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) to moderate urban stresses, but still struggles with urban stresses (heat, drought, poor soils, and soil compaction), performing best in areas with cool Summers and good, moist soils
• abundantly available in ball and burlap form, including many cultivars
• many specimens are allowed to branch low to the ground, due to their exquisite foliage and graceful horizontal to upswept branching
• European Beech is somewhat sensitive to being transplanted in Autumn, and care should be taken to amend the soil, fertilize, water thoroughly, mulch adequately, and avoid Winter salt spray, to enhance survival chances during the first Winter

Foliage

• the species form and several cultivars are medium to dark green and shiny, but several foliage-color variants exist (mostly purple or variegated)
• alternate, ovate to elliptical, entire to crenate along the margins, often with an undulating margin, and short-petioled; some cultivars are cutleaf or deeply crenate
• fall color for the species form is chartreuse, golden, or yellow-brown

Flowers

• separate staminate (male) and pistillate (female) inflorescences occur on the same tree (monoecious), flowering in late April and early May, ornamentally insignificant and partially obscured by the expanding foliage

Fruits

• three-sided pointed nuts, with one to three nuts per fruit, are exposed as the external bristly husk splits open in September and October
• nuts are quickly devoured by squirrels and larger birds

Twigs

• somewhat thin olive-brown twigs, with prominently long, pointed, tan Winter buds
• twigs and branchlets often lie more or less within the plane of the branch, for an overall layered branching effect, with the horizontal lower branches having upswept twigs and buds at their extremities

Trunk

• usually single-trunked, with the bark being very thin and smooth, medium to light gray, and quite ornamental in Winter (especially if limbed up in youth to yield a scarless smooth trunk)
• the straight trunk of the species form eventually loses its central leader to several upright branches in the upper one-half of the mature canopy
• trunk exhibits a graceful basal flare with age to the shallow root system

ID Summary

• a species with several cultivars exhibiting variation in growth habit (upright oval versus columnar versus pendulous) and foliage color (green versus purple versus variegated)
• in general, foliage is alternate, ovate, wavy-margined, and entire or subtley crenate, on short petioles
• trunks (with basal flare to the shallow root system) have smooth, gray, ornamental bark, while Winter buds are tan and very elongated, on stems that lie within the plane of the branch, for layered branching
• small, husky and prickly fruits dehisce in Autumn to reveal small, three-sided, pointed nuts that are consumed by wildlife

USAGE

Function

• specimen, shade, focal point, or wildlife attraction tree
• although rarely seen, this tree can be planted in a row and pruned into tall hedge form, being especially attractive if one of the purple-leaved cultivars is used

Texture

• medium-textured in foliage and fine-textured when bare
• thick density in foliage and when bare (except in youth, when the branching is sparse, very open, and often asymmetrical)

Assets

• many cultivars are available for alternative foliage color, weeping or columnar habit, or cutleaf character
• graceful or architecturally interesting branching, depending upon cultivar
• smooth medium-gray ornamental bark
• nuts attract wildlife in Autumn
• dense shade at maturity

Liabilities

• slow growth
• surface roots with age
• often awkwardly and sparsely branched when very young
• turf may die out under the dense shade of mature trees
• not especially urban tolerant

Habitat

• zones 5 to 7
• native to Europe

SELECTIONS

Alternates

• large shade or specimen trees with alternative broadleaf foliage colors (Acer platanoides 'Crimson King', 'Crimson Sentry', 'Drummondi', etc., Liriodendron tulipifera 'Aureo-marginatum' or 'Majestic Beauty'; other species of trees exist with this trait, but they are often weakly growing)

Variants

• many more cultivars exist than are listed below, some of which combine two or more ornamental traits (for example, weeping purple-foliaged forms, fastigiate golden-foliaged forms, and dwarf weeping purple-foliaged forms all exist, but are not listed)
• Fagus sylvatica 'Asplenifolia' - Fernleaf European Beech - deeply incised, almost fern-like cutleaf foliage, yielding a very fine-textured specimen tree, definitely underutilized in modern landscapes
• Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyckii' - Dawyck European Beech - a twisting columnar to fastigiate form, yielding an extremely narrow upright focal point, to 80' tall by 10' wide
• Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula' - Weeping European Beech - quickly losing its central leader, the branches continuously arch or hang downward to yield a spreading and pendulous specimen whose branch tips may reach all the way to the ground
• Fagus sylvatica 'Riversii' - Rivers European Beech - representative of the dark purpleleaf forms, holding this color for most of the Summer, but eventually becoming dark bronzed
• Fagus sylvatica 'Tricolor' - Tricolor European Beech - variegated foliage emerges very dark bronzed with a lavender margin, then turns to dark green with a pink margin during the Summer, maturing to light gray-green with a cream margin in early Autumn, and finally becoming somewhat golden in fall color; also known as Roseo-marginata' or 'Purpurea Tricolor'

NOTES

Translation

• Fagus is the Latin name for Beech.
• sylvatica translates as "of forests".

Purpose

• European Beech is a large graceful shade tree, with many cultivars that differ in growth habit, foliage texture, or foliage color.

Summary

• Fagus sylvatica is a graceful, slow-growing, large tree for shade or specimen usage, with many cultivars available for growth habit and foliage variation.