Carpinus betulus is a columnar to teardrop-shaped tree. European Hornbeam is noted for fine and dense texture, ornamental winter bark and buds, dense summer foliage, pendulous spring catkins, and unusual autumn fruits.
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F E A T U R E S |
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Form
-medium-sized deciduous tree; the rarely available species form maturing at 40' tall x 30' wide, with the common cultivars more compact; species form an upright oval growth habit in youth, quickly becoming a spreading oval (low-branched teardrop shape) with maturity
-medium growth rate |
Foliage
-alternate, ovate to oblong, doubly serrated, with impressed veins; opaque to dull green; autumn color ranging from a poor yellowish-green to golden-yellow
-leaves similar to those of European Beech, but the latter leaves are shiny, with margins that are entire or undulate |
Flowers
-pendulous catkins, both staminate and pistillate, produced in Apr., with the 3" long pistillate catkins emerging from 3-lobed bracts |
Fruit
-light brown nutlets, maturing in Oct., with the enveloping 3-lobed bract appearing as an umbrella over them; bracts changing from light green to yellow in Sept. and clustered on the twigs |
Twig
-olive-brown and lenticeled, with ornamental winter buds that are long and partially curving around the twigs
-the twigs are similar to those of the European Beech, but the latter has winter buds that extend straight out of the stem at a 45 degree angle |
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Trunk
-smooth and steel gray, but having a muscled character to its appearance |
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C U L T
U R E
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Culture
-full sun to partial sun; prefers a well-drained soil but is adaptable to various soils and soil pHs; if transplanted in autumn, use amended soil, fertilize, mulch liberally, and avoid winter salt spray
-cultivars are usually propagated by rooted cuttings or cuttings grafted onto seedling understock;
-co-dominant central branch decline and dieback an occasional problem on mature specimens of 'Fastigiata';
-stem borers can also attack mature trees
-commonly available in B&B |
Hardiness
-zones 4 to 7
Origin
-native to Europe and Asia Minor
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U S A G E |
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Assets
-perfect formal symmetry; often limbs and foliages to the ground if unpruned; fine-textured branches and twigs; ascending habit; smooth gray bark; ornamental winter buds, spring catkins, and autumn fruit bracts; dense year-round screen (rare for a deciduous tree)
Liabilities
-'Fastigiata' gets wide with age and may exhibit central canopy decline and dieback |
Function
-specimen or focal point tree of great symmetrical and architectural value; can also be an effective year-round screen or tall, wide hedge when used in rows
Texture
-fine texture in foliage and when bare; thick density in foliage and when bare, with many ascending twigs and branches forming a thick canopy even in winter |
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S E L
E C T I 0 N S |
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Varieties
and Cultivars
- Search
OSU PlantFacts for additional plants in this species
Alternates
-trees or large shrubs that branch to the ground with a dense character (e.g., Fagus sylvatica); large non-thorny screens or informal hedges (e.g. Rhamnus frangula 'Columnaris'); trees with ornamental and unusual fruits; trees or large shrubs with symmetrical, fine-textured ascending winter branching
-other possibilities: Pyrus calleryana, Tilia cordata |