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In the Fagaceae family, there are ten species of elegant, deciduous trees that are considered "true" beeches. They
can be found in temperate regions around the world, ranging from Asia to North America to Europe. In the
landscape, they can attain heights above 130 ft (40m). Characterized by thin, smooth, silver grey back, glossy leaves
in light to medium green, and even purple in ovate or elliptic shapes with wavy or toothed edges. Leaves are often
lighter on the underside, some species having small, soft hairs that persist past juvenile development. Small yellow
(male) and green (female) flowers are borne separately, but on the same plant in spring. Many carry small prickly
fruit, called "masts" containing two to three triangular nuts through the autumn, and retain their leaves (first yellow
in autumn, then drying out into a copper colour) though winter. These winter leaves will fall just before buds open
in spring. In nature, older trees will often loose this habit (as the leaves are kept primarily to protect buds through
the winter), but in bonsai cultivation, is seldom seems to matter how venerable the tree gets, they will usually
retain that foliage. Beech are naturally shallow rooted trees, and thus have the capacity for beautifully spread
nebari. When grown in the open with plenty of room and light to spare, beech will develop wide, spreading
canopies, though if crowded tend toward a more oval silhouette.
Hardiness: Zone 4 with winter protection from prolonged freezes.
Light: Full sun to partial shade. Provide shade during the height of summer days, as leaves are prone to scorch.
Soil: Neutral to mildly acidic.
Watering: Water thoroughly, never allowing to dry out completely. They are prone to leaf burn, not only due to
sun, but also wind and overly dry or hot soil. Shade to protect and retain moisture, rather than excessively
watering. Less in winter, though never allow to dry out.
Fertilizer: Wait a month after buds open to begin fertilizing with a balanced feed. Top off with a nitrogen free
fertilizer in late summer and early autumn, until leaves turn yellow.
Pests and Diseases: Aphids, borers and scale. Powdery mildew can occur due to poor ventilation.
Repotting: Every 2 to 5 years before leaves open in spring. Can be repotted successfully in autumn, if protection
can be provided against below freezing temperatures.
Pruning and Styling: Cut shoots back to two leaves in early summer. Shape by pruning, clip and grow, whenever
possible. Beech can tolerate heavy pruning, and pruning wounds heal quickly. New buds will often form even on
old wood after pruning, and unwanted buds can be rubbed off before they grow too much.
Wire with care in midsummer, but watch carefully, as wire can begin to bite into the bark in a very short period of
time. As the bark of a beech is so thin, extra care when wiring must be taken. Remove and rewire after a few
months if necessary, but branches will often set very quickly.
While you can leaf prune beech, resulting in smaller leaves, the second crop of leaves don't always look the same as
the first. They can be rounder, often twisted, and frequently just flat ugly. Remove old, over sized leaves on
occasion as needed. If some defoliation is necessary, never completely defoliate, only removing the largest
unnecessary leaves from the tree.
Propagation: Seeds, sown fresh. Cuttings.
Styles and Forms: Extremely well suited for forest plantings.
Species and Cultivars: F. crenata Japanese Beech or Siebold's Beech. Often called Siebold's after the German doctor
who was the physician to the Governor of the Dutch East India Company's Deshima trading post, who first
identified the tree in Japan. Introduced to the went in 1892. Smaller and more obovate leaf structure and blunt,
crimped teeth. Leaves turn a burnished, antique gold colour in autumn. Lighter coloured bark.
F. engleriana Engler Beech or Chinese Beech. Sea-green leaves, rounded at the base, pointed at the tip.
F. grandifolia American Beech. Native to Easter North America. Vigorous growth, prone to suckering. Rebounds
and regenerates quickly from damage. Leaves are glossy, medium green with sharp teeth and a pointed taper to
the tip with a pale green underside.
F. japonica Japanese Beech or Japanese Blue Beech. Though the same name is given to both this and J. crenata, J.
crenata is more common in Japan and the few are seldom confused. F. japonica is a smaller tree with a shrubbier
habit, putting out multiple stems, as well as having broader, more oval leaves, which taper abruptly at both ends.
F. ludica Chinese Beech. Discovered in the province of Hubei, China in 1887. Very distinct leaf surface, being a deep,
glossy green on both the upper and undersides. Wavy, not heavily toothed foliage.
F. orientalis Oriental Beech. Native to the forests of the Caspian Sea, the Caucus, Asia Minor, Bulgaria and Iran.
Slightly large leaf size. Golden colour in autumn.
F. sylvatica European Beech or Common Beech. Wavy, but usually untoothed leaves, blunt tip. Juvenile leaves have
a covering of hairs (and are edible, with a mild, nutty flavour).
'Aspleniifolia' Fern-leafed Beech or Cut Leaf Beech. Longer, narrow, deeply lobed foliage.
'Dawyck' Dawyck Beech. Narrow columnar habit.
'Pendula' Pendulous Beech. Cultivar with a heavy, weeping foliage.
'Purpurea' Copper Beech. One in 1000 F.sylvatica seedlings collected may occur with coppery-purple foliage. Slightly
more oval foliage.
'Purpurea Tricolor' Small habit. Purple leaves blotched with cream and a purple-pink margin.
'Rohanii' Rohan's Beech. Cutleaf, purple brown foliage. There is also a 'Rohan Gold', with golden yellow juvenile
foliage, turning to green in summer.
'Rotundifolia' Smaller than species (around 1 inch) with shiny, dark foliage. Rounder leaves and short internodes.
'Zlatia' Cultivated in Serbia, its name is from the serbian wod, zlato, meaning gold. Slow growing, but with juvenile
leaves of soft, yellow gold, gradually turning green in summer.
Other Information:
can be found in temperate regions around the world, ranging from Asia to North America to Europe. In the
landscape, they can attain heights above 130 ft (40m). Characterized by thin, smooth, silver grey back, glossy leaves
in light to medium green, and even purple in ovate or elliptic shapes with wavy or toothed edges. Leaves are often
lighter on the underside, some species having small, soft hairs that persist past juvenile development. Small yellow
(male) and green (female) flowers are borne separately, but on the same plant in spring. Many carry small prickly
fruit, called "masts" containing two to three triangular nuts through the autumn, and retain their leaves (first yellow
in autumn, then drying out into a copper colour) though winter. These winter leaves will fall just before buds open
in spring. In nature, older trees will often loose this habit (as the leaves are kept primarily to protect buds through
the winter), but in bonsai cultivation, is seldom seems to matter how venerable the tree gets, they will usually
retain that foliage. Beech are naturally shallow rooted trees, and thus have the capacity for beautifully spread
nebari. When grown in the open with plenty of room and light to spare, beech will develop wide, spreading
canopies, though if crowded tend toward a more oval silhouette.
Hardiness: Zone 4 with winter protection from prolonged freezes.
Light: Full sun to partial shade. Provide shade during the height of summer days, as leaves are prone to scorch.
Soil: Neutral to mildly acidic.
Watering: Water thoroughly, never allowing to dry out completely. They are prone to leaf burn, not only due to
sun, but also wind and overly dry or hot soil. Shade to protect and retain moisture, rather than excessively
watering. Less in winter, though never allow to dry out.
Fertilizer: Wait a month after buds open to begin fertilizing with a balanced feed. Top off with a nitrogen free
fertilizer in late summer and early autumn, until leaves turn yellow.
Pests and Diseases: Aphids, borers and scale. Powdery mildew can occur due to poor ventilation.
Repotting: Every 2 to 5 years before leaves open in spring. Can be repotted successfully in autumn, if protection
can be provided against below freezing temperatures.
Pruning and Styling: Cut shoots back to two leaves in early summer. Shape by pruning, clip and grow, whenever
possible. Beech can tolerate heavy pruning, and pruning wounds heal quickly. New buds will often form even on
old wood after pruning, and unwanted buds can be rubbed off before they grow too much.
Wire with care in midsummer, but watch carefully, as wire can begin to bite into the bark in a very short period of
time. As the bark of a beech is so thin, extra care when wiring must be taken. Remove and rewire after a few
months if necessary, but branches will often set very quickly.
While you can leaf prune beech, resulting in smaller leaves, the second crop of leaves don't always look the same as
the first. They can be rounder, often twisted, and frequently just flat ugly. Remove old, over sized leaves on
occasion as needed. If some defoliation is necessary, never completely defoliate, only removing the largest
unnecessary leaves from the tree.
Propagation: Seeds, sown fresh. Cuttings.
Styles and Forms: Extremely well suited for forest plantings.
Species and Cultivars: F. crenata Japanese Beech or Siebold's Beech. Often called Siebold's after the German doctor
who was the physician to the Governor of the Dutch East India Company's Deshima trading post, who first
identified the tree in Japan. Introduced to the went in 1892. Smaller and more obovate leaf structure and blunt,
crimped teeth. Leaves turn a burnished, antique gold colour in autumn. Lighter coloured bark.
F. engleriana Engler Beech or Chinese Beech. Sea-green leaves, rounded at the base, pointed at the tip.
F. grandifolia American Beech. Native to Easter North America. Vigorous growth, prone to suckering. Rebounds
and regenerates quickly from damage. Leaves are glossy, medium green with sharp teeth and a pointed taper to
the tip with a pale green underside.
F. japonica Japanese Beech or Japanese Blue Beech. Though the same name is given to both this and J. crenata, J.
crenata is more common in Japan and the few are seldom confused. F. japonica is a smaller tree with a shrubbier
habit, putting out multiple stems, as well as having broader, more oval leaves, which taper abruptly at both ends.
F. ludica Chinese Beech. Discovered in the province of Hubei, China in 1887. Very distinct leaf surface, being a deep,
glossy green on both the upper and undersides. Wavy, not heavily toothed foliage.
F. orientalis Oriental Beech. Native to the forests of the Caspian Sea, the Caucus, Asia Minor, Bulgaria and Iran.
Slightly large leaf size. Golden colour in autumn.
F. sylvatica European Beech or Common Beech. Wavy, but usually untoothed leaves, blunt tip. Juvenile leaves have
a covering of hairs (and are edible, with a mild, nutty flavour).
'Aspleniifolia' Fern-leafed Beech or Cut Leaf Beech. Longer, narrow, deeply lobed foliage.
'Dawyck' Dawyck Beech. Narrow columnar habit.
'Pendula' Pendulous Beech. Cultivar with a heavy, weeping foliage.
'Purpurea' Copper Beech. One in 1000 F.sylvatica seedlings collected may occur with coppery-purple foliage. Slightly
more oval foliage.
'Purpurea Tricolor' Small habit. Purple leaves blotched with cream and a purple-pink margin.
'Rohanii' Rohan's Beech. Cutleaf, purple brown foliage. There is also a 'Rohan Gold', with golden yellow juvenile
foliage, turning to green in summer.
'Rotundifolia' Smaller than species (around 1 inch) with shiny, dark foliage. Rounder leaves and short internodes.
'Zlatia' Cultivated in Serbia, its name is from the serbian wod, zlato, meaning gold. Slow growing, but with juvenile
leaves of soft, yellow gold, gradually turning green in summer.
Other Information:
Beech (Fagus)