Plant Of The Month

Tricolor Beech

This month, we've chosen to write about a cultivar of one of the most majestic of all shade trees. The Beech. Specifically, the European Beech, Fagus sylvatica.

As a whole, the beeches, both American (F. grandifolia) and European (F. sylvatica) (several others exist, but are not commercially available) are trees of the forest. In fact, the word, "sylvatica" is a derivative of the word "silvanus", which the Romans used to refer to the God of the Woods. Beeches truly are one of the supreme trees of the woods with beautiful silver bark and an amazingly huge structure over time. One of the most beautiful winter sights in Ohio is an American Beech with its papery thin pale brown leaves blowing in the wind with snow all around.

If you are familiar with European Beech, you are aware that there are many cultivars available out there in the trade. To that we say, purchase them all! You've certainly seen the purple leaved varieties; most people simply call it "purple beech". There are variations on how well they will hold that purple color in the heat of summer (try 'Riversii') - weeping varieties, columnar, a few with fern-like leaves, and then several with different degrees of variegation. This month, we share the most commonly found variegated form: Roseomarginata, the Tri-Color Beech.

Tri: meaning three. There are three colors you will see in the leaves of this tree - white/cream on the very margin fading to a bright pink and fading to a deep purple center. We are talking about a tree&with three different colors in the leaf& how cool is that!?

With all beeches (the gods of the woods), think about the type of soil you would find in an undisturbed forest. That's what you want to provide these trees to keep them alive and happy. Moist (not wet), very well-draining soil (a natural band of sandy to gravely sub soil is ideal). Organic matter is key to keeping them happy as well. When planting, mix in a little more sphagnum peat moss than usual, and even some pine nuggets to help maintain drainage and soil acidity. They prefer a soil that is slightly acidic, in the 5.5 to 6.5 range.

Many people will claim that beeches are difficult to transplant. This is true if you don't focus on preparing the soil first. We have found several references in literature that suggest getting some soil from a native strand of beech and incorporating it with your planting.

Beech forms a symbiotic relationship with certain strands of mycorrhizal fungus that aid the roots of the tree in obtaining nutrients from the soil. Mixing this natural soil in will also incorporate this specific strand of fungus to help kick start your new tree. We should put in a disclaimer here that it isn't a good idea to just stop your vehicle and grab a few shovels of dirt from someone's forest. Get permission. Telling your cell mates in jail that you're doing time for stealing a shovel of dirt is a good way to get your lunch stolen.

Where do you plant this beautiful three-colored tree? Somewhere it can be used as a focal point. It is a specimen. However, protect it from intense summer heat. You'll lose the tri and fade to a bi, and then to a uni. Remember this past July? That kind of intense summer heat.

We should note that a number of these may lose the cream margin later in the season, even in the most ideal of conditions. The tri-color beeches that were in some shade (especially later afternoon) kept their color much better than trees planted in the wide open. If they were in the wide open and didn't have supplemental water, there is a good chance the margins of the leaves, where the cream color was, got replaced by scorch and now is brown and dead. You don't want a scorched uni-beech&you want a beautiful tri-color beech.

It is rare to see this tree get huge like the straight species. All beeches are fairly slow growing; this one is no exception. One of the largest we saw was quite recent on a visit to Schoepfle Garden in Lorain County, part of the county's Metro Parks. This is a great garden to visit and has several beautiful specimen beeches. There you can see the 'Riversii', 'Asplenifolia', and 'Roseomarginata', along with a few others. The tri-color there is a good 30 feet tall and has good protection with larger trees all around it.

Due to the slow growth of the tree, it won't be the cheapest tree you can obtain, but it is one of the most beautiful. Keep in mind, when we think about a tree with great color, there are more seasons than fall. The tri-color beech will give you color all year long. Beautiful smooth silver bark stands handsomely against a backdrop of snow in winter, and highlights the deep purple, pink, and cream all summer.

Next time you have a garden that wants to try color...TRI-COLOR!

Article and photo by Jim and Shelley Funai. Jim Funai is full time faculty at Cuyahoga Community College, a PLANET accredited, associate of applied science in horticulture degree program, offering many paths to higher education to the green industry. Shelley Funai is a full time Senior Gardener at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, Ohio that offers a historic estate designed by Warren H. Manning and a beautiful manor house museum. Both are graduates of The Ohio State University. Contact Jim and Shelly via email at hortsquad@gmail.com.