Weeping European Beech in Monochrome

Weeping European Beech in Monochrome
Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula'
(FAG-us) (sil-VAT-ee-kuh)
Wordless Wednesday

Spooky Tree ~ Festival of Trees

Spooky Tree Festival of Trees
Weeping Beech

I wanted to participate in the Festival of Trees that I saw on Salix’s blog.

So here is my attempt at a ‘Spooky Tree’. It is actually a Weeping Beech tree that I shot in Long Island during full sunshine and edited with Photoshop. I am looking forward to see the other entries, they will probably be a lot scarier than mine.

I hope I am not to late as I just found out about this the other day.

Round Leaf Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Rotundifolia')

Round Leaf Beech
Fagus sylvatica 'Rotundifolia'
(FAG-us) (sil-VAT-ee-kuh)
Fagaceae (fag-AY-see-ay)

I saw this tree earlier this year at the New York Botanical Garden. I probably would have kept on walking right by it if hadn’t been for the way the light was playing through the leaves. That is when I noticed the leaves were round and upon closer examination the tree was a bit more compact (but still huge) and had a nice ascending branch structure. I have always thought of Beech Trees as kind of a grandfather of trees. They get so big and have such a large spread that I figured they must be long lived. The life span is about 200 years, which is a long time but not as long as I had thought. Some specimens can live up to 300 years. They don’t start to flower until they are around 50 years of age (some earlier, some later).

I have planted dozens of Beeches over the years including one, at the Estate, which is about 65 feet tall now. So I guess they grow pretty fast even though that tree was fairly large when we planted it (6 inch caliper, 16 feet tall if I remember correctly). I love to use the narrow growing types, as they are a great vertical accent. I have never planted a Round leaf before but it looks like a very attractive tree for a large area. One thing I don’t like about Beech trees is trying to get anything to grow underneath them. That isn’t easy and turf grass isn’t even an option.

Karen and I went to the Garden Party yesterday. It was a nice time but a little chilly. The garden was in fine shape. I had visited earlier in the year and the owner had finished all the work that was in progress. It is a real nice mix of art and plants. Here are a few photos.







I am going to post some more tomorrow after I have a chance to go through them.

Tri-colored European Beech
Fagus sylvatica 'Roseomarginata'
(FAG-us) (sil-VAT-ee-kuh)

On Sunday I went up to my favorite town in Connecticut, Litchfield. There was a bunch of fairs and some sort of military reenactment going on. Some of the trees were even starting to change color. I can usually find a picture or two while walking around town. Sure enough behind the Tapping Reeve House, which was built in 1773 and housed the first law school in the United States, was one of my favorite trees.

It was a beautiful specimen of Variegated Beech. I must warn you the cultivation of this tree can be a little frustrating, but when it is on it is fantastic. You can see the nice colored margins of the leaves but the real show is when the foliage emerges in the spring. There seems to be some variation among specimens of this tree and sometimes the leaves are different on a particular tree. I have two rules about Beech; one they have to be planted at the exact same level as they were grown at the nursery. Rule number Two is there has to be enough room, they get really big! The ‘Tricolor’ is actually a little smaller than most of the species, getting to 30’ by 30’. This tree likes a little bit of shade, as it is prone to leaf scorch. There are many variations and types of Beech Trees available. Most are graceful, handsome trees for the garden and lawn.