Plant Type

Tree

 

Height Range

25-40'

 

Flower Color

Green, Yellow

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Dark Green

 

Bark Color

Grey

 

Fruit Color

Brown

 

Fruit Season

Summer, Fall

Sun

Full, Half

 

Water

Medium

 

Growth Rate

Slow

 

Soil Type

Clay, Loam, Rocky, Unparticular

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Poor, Well-drained, Moist, Dry

 

Soil pH

Acid, Neutral, Basic

 

Adverse Factors

n/a

Design Styles

English Cottage, Formal, Mediterranean, Spanish

 

Accenting Features

Fall Color, Silhouette

 

Seasonal Interest

Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Background, Shrub Border, Walls / Fences

 

Special Uses

Hedge, Screen, Mass Planting, Wind Break, Shade Tree, Small Spaces

 

Attracts Wildlife

n/a

This Hornbeam is narrow when young, spreading into a broad cone-shape with age. Grows 35 feet tall and about 20 to 25 feet wide. Dark green, slightly toothed leaves turn yellow in the fall, and the foliage persists into the early winter months. Flowering catkins form in early spring before the foliage emerges; male catkins are yellowish and female catkins are greenish. Fruits are small nutlets in 3-lobed bracts that appear in drooping 5-inch long clusters in summer. Symmetrical and formal in appearance.

Grow in sun to part shade in well-drained soil, in any but sandy soils. It requires little prunng to maintain its tidy appearance, though it will tolerate some shaping if a hedge-like look is desired. It is heat and drought resistant, and seems to be relatively free of disease and pest problems.