fagus

( FA - gus )

At-A-Glance Information

This genus of deciduous trees, commonly called Beeches, need full sun or light shade and moderate to regular water to perform well. These are very handsome forest trees, typically have a broad conical shape, and have wide, sweeping lower branches (if left unpruned). Bark is gray and smooth in most species, and foliage is glossy and dark green. Nuts produced by these trees are small but edible. These are great shade trees, and create a vast fibrous root network under their canopy. The roots stay near the surface, making it difficult to plant other shrubs, grasses or flowers underneath them. Take care when planting Beech trees in the landscape, as some species have parts that are toxic to humans and pets if ingested.

Fagus Species and Varietals

The genus Fagus is a member of the plant family Fagaceae and includes 13 distinct species. The best growing zones for Fagus trees vary depending on the species. For more information, see the descriptions below. To find your zone, click here: Zone Map.

Fagus crenata (Siebold's Beech, Japanese Beech)
This species is endemic to Japan, where it grows in deciduous forests. These trees reach up to 115 feet tall at maturity and prefer sandy to loamy soils.

Fagus engleriana (Engler's Beech, Chinese Beech)
These trees are native to central and eastern areas of China, where it grows in broad-leaved and mixed forests. At maturity, Chinese Beech can reach up to 82 feet tall.

Fagus grandiflora (American Beech, North American Beech)
This species is the only one in the genus that is native to North America, and it is also native to areas of Mexico and Canada. These large, deciduous trees reach between 52 and 115 feet tall when mature.
Fagus sylvatica (European Beech)
This species of Beech is best in zones A3, 2b-9, and 14-21. It is native from central Europe through to the Caucasus. Leaves are glossy and green, and turn bronze in fall. Commonly grown varieties are described below.
'Aspleniifolia'
​(Fernleaf Beech)
Robust tree, reaching 50-80 feet tall and 40-45 feet wide, with delicate foliage that is deeply lobed.
'Dawyck' ('Fastigiata') (Dawyck Beech)
This is a narrow, upright species, reaching 35 feet tall and just 8 feet wide.
'Dawyck Gold'
This species is columnar, reaching 60 feet tall and just 20 feet wide. New foliage is yellow, matures to a light green, and yellows in fall.
'Dawyck Purple'
Reaches 70 feet tall and 15 feet wide, with purple foliage.
'Pendula' (Weeping Beech)
This variety has an irregular, spreading form with twisting branches. It will grow wider rather than taller if left unstaked. Leaves are glossy and green.
'Purple Fountain'
Reaches 25 feet tall and 12 feet wide, with weeping branches; needs staking to become a more upright tree. Foliage is purple to purple-red.
'Purpurea Pendula'
​(Weeping Copper Beech)
This variety takes a weeping form with purple foliage. Usually reaches no taller than 10 feet and needs staking to form an upright habit. Great as a container plant.
'Purpurea Tricolor' ('Roseomarginata')
This is an upright, oval-shaped tree that reaches 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide, with purple leaves that are edged and striped in rose-pink and white.
'Riversii' (Copper Beech, Purple Beech)
Foliage is purple; this tree reaches 50-60 feet tall and 35-45 feet wide. Great in containers. Seedlings are usually bronze-purple and turn bronze-green in summertime.
'Rohan Obelisk' 
('Red Obelisk')
This is a columnar variety with dark purple-red foliage and leaves that vary between having smooth edges and deeply lobed edges.
'Rohanii'
Leaves have wavy, scalloped edges. Foliage is green with brown-purple edges when young, and matures to a dark green. Fall color is reddish-purple to brown.
'Ziatia'
​(Golden Beech)
New leaves are yellow, maturing to yellow-green. This variety is subject to sunburn, grows slowly, and is a good container plant.

Caring for and pruning fagus Trees

These prized landscape trees are generally low-maintenance, but doe have some specific care requirements. The first step in caring for a Beech tree is to plant it in full sun to partial shade. While these trees can tolerate some shade, they do perform in spots that receive at least 6 hours of direct sun exposure daily. Cultivars that have darker foliage can take more shade than those with green foliage. Make sure to leave enough space around the tree to accommodate its mature size; these trees can reach upwards of 50-100 feet tall and have canopies that spread to 30-50 feet wide. Ensure that soil is well-draining before installation; if soils are overly clayey, they should be amended with plenty of sand and organic material before planting time. These trees do best in moist, loamy soils, and will not take sandy soils well. Beech trees prefer slightly acidic to neutral soils, with a pH of between 6.0 and 7.5. Apply a thick layer of mulch under trees to suppress weed growth, regulate soil temperature, and increase soil moisture retention. Water newly planted trees consistently and deeply, especially during dry periods in their first 1-2 years in the landscape. Mature Beech trees are relatively drought-tolerant, but will still benefit from having consistently moist soil. Water trees deeply during extended dry periods of the year to keep soil evenly moist but not waterlogged. Good drainage is crucial to avoid trees having 'wet feet' and developing rot issues.

These trees do not typically require much fertilization to perform well. A yearly application of an organic compost around the base of the tree is sufficient to provide nutrients for the growing season. If soil is particularly poor or it is showing signs of nutrient deficiencies (such as yellowing leaves), a well-balanced, slow-release fertilizer can be applied in springtime. Avoid over-fertilizing these trees, especially with high nitrogen-content fertilizers, as this can lead to weak, uncontrolled growth and increased susceptibility to pests, disease, and breakage. Pruning Beech trees is best done in late wintertime to early springtime, before new growth pushes out for the year and after the last frost of the year. Avoid pruning in late summer to fall, as this will encourage new growth to pop out that will not have enough time to mature before cooler weather sets in. Avoid leaving jagged cuts and focus on removing dead, damaged, or diseased wood from the tree. Suckers can be pruned off at the base.

Propagation

Fagus trees can be propagated either by using cuttings or from seed. To ensure that your propagated plant will have the exact same qualities and characteristics as the parent plant, use the cutting method. If you would like to experiment and see what plant you can grow from seed, just keep in mind that it will not necessarily be the same as the parent plant. To propagate your Beech, follow the instructions below:

Propagating Fagus by Cutting
  1. Gather your materials. You'll need a clean, sanitized, sharp pair of garden shears, rooting hormone, a pencil, and a 3-inch pot filled with well-draining compost or other organic material. If you don't have any potting medium on hand, you can make some. Just mix together equal parts (by volume) moss peat and horticultural-grade sand or grit sand.
  2. In spring or early summertime, choose the plant that you'd like to propagate. Ensure that this plant has had a good watering the night before, as this will improve the chances your cutting will take root. Cut one or more 6-10 inch portion(s) of the end of a non-blooming branch and strip the leaves off of the lower half. Make a hole in your planting medium by pushing your pencil into the soil. Dip the end of the stem in rooting hormone, and plant it in your pot. Fill in soil around the cutting to support it, but do not pack it down too much.
  3. Moisten with water, and ensure that the pot has good drainage. Your pot should be kept in warm, sunny conditions indoors (and not in direct sunlight). Water whenever your soil is dry under the top layer. After about four to six weeks have passed, your cutting should be rooted. When you notice new growth, you'll know you have roots. 
  4. Keep your new plant in an area with bright light (though not direct sunlight) and temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the soil stays moist, but not wet, until the next spring, when you can transplant it to its new home. Ensure that the last frost of the year has occurred before doing this, as it can seriously damage your new shrub.

Propagating Fagus by Seed
  1. Keep in mind that the plant you get from seed will not necessarily mimic all of the characteristics of the parent plant. To propagate by seed, you will need a paper bag, a pot or tray filled with well-draining compost or other organic material, a spray bottle and a fork. If you don't have any potting medium on hand, you can make some. Just mix together equal parts (by volume) moss peat and horticultural-grade sand or grit sand. You will also, after a few weeks, need individual 3-inch pots for each seedling that grows. 
  2. Harvest your Beech nuts, also called 'masts'. These pods contain between 1 and 8 seeds each. Remove them from the tree or harvest them from the ground when they begin to fall in autumn. They are ripe when they are brown and the burs start to open up, typically after the first heavy frost. 
  3. Caesalpinia seeds have a hard coating that protects them, but this coating also makes it a little difficult to get them to germinate. We can help the process along by scarifying them with sandpaper (or simply rubbing them against an abrasive surface). Do this with as many seeds as you can; they will probably not all sow, and the ones that do will be of varying characteristics. The more seeds you plant, the more chances you will have to get the resulting shrub you want. Place your seeds in lukewarm water for six hours. Viable seeds will sink to the bottom, and non-viable seeds will float to the top. You can discard any seeds that float.
  4. Water your prepared seed tray or pot filled with soil, and ensure that good drainage is occurring. Place your seeds in your prepared pot or seed tray about a quarter inch to a half-inch under the soil surface. Cover them with soil and water with your spray bottle. Place your tray of seeds in a warm area that receives bright, indirect light. A greenhouse is the most ideal climate, but a planting tray inside a window will do as well. Germination usually takes 7-14 days from sowing. Once you begin to see seedlings sprout and they are able to be handled, transplant them to their own individual 3-inch pots, filled with the same potting medium as described in Step 1. Loosen the seedlings from the potting medium by digging down with the tines of your fork about an inch and a half, gently working the seedling up until it is out. Then, replant the seedling in its individual pot.
  5. Keep the seedling's potting medium moist, but not wet, by spraying the soil with your spray bottle. Keep your new plant in an area with bright light (though not direct sunlight) and temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure that the soil stays moist, but not wet, until plants have reached between 1 and 3 feet tall, when you can transplant it to its new home. 
Beech tree seeds are contained inside of pods (called burs) that open when seeds are mature.
There are approximately two seeds (called masts) per Beech bur, though this number can range from 1 to 8.

Problems and Pests

Beech trees, although generally considered to be pest- and disease-resistant, can suffer from time to time from the following:
  • ​Beech Bark Disease
  • Beech Leaf Disease
  • Wooly Beech Adelgid
  • Beech Blight Aphid
  • Brown Wood Borer
  • Saddled Prominent
  • Beech Leaf Miner
  • Caterpillars
For information on these pests and diseases, including how to treat them, consult the following pages:
​
Beech tree foliage affected by Beech Leaf Disease.
Beech Bark Disease
Late-stage Beech Bark Disease.
Beech Leaf Miner.

Gallery

Beech trees provide beautiful fall colors to otherwise green landscapes.
Beech trees are important members of many natural forest landscapes.
A very mature Beech tree with weeping foliage.
Beech trees are welcome additions to many landscapes, valued for their beautiful foliage.
Beech trees are commonly used as deciduous shade trees.
These trees provide beautiful silhouettes in the garden when leafless.

Videos

Learn about these multi-purpose landscape trees.
A year in the life of a Beech tree.
How to identify a beech tree in the landscape.
Learn all about creating bonsais using Beech trees.
How to grow these beautiful trees.
All about the Copper Beech.

Resources

American Beech
A Guide to Planting and Growing Beech Trees
How to Grow and Care for American Beech
How Bartlett Tree Experts Safeguards Historic Beech Trees from Disease
How to Grow and Care for European Beech
Wikipedia: Fagus
The New Sunset Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide (2012) - Page 318, Fagus (Beech)
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or photos you’d like to add to the gallery, please let me know by sending me a message using the button below!
​