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Plant of the Week
Fastigiate European Hornbean
Latin: Carpinus betulus
Egg-shaped trees have a place in the modern landscape as
testified by the much overused and now maligned Bradford pear. It went from
the most popular tree in 1990 to being stricken from the roster of nurseries
a decade later.
The new kid on the block in the Egg and Us arena is the Fastigiate
European Hornbeam. Hopefully this fine tree will be used with more
moderation than the omnipresent ornamental pear.
The European Hornbeam is an oval shaped tree that grows to 40 feet tall and
15 to 20 feet wide with a plethora of relatively small but strong branches.
The leaves are two inches long and under an inch wide with fine teeth
running the length of the blade. The fall color is yellow-brown. The tree
has no significant flowers.
This tree is the European cousin of our native Carpinus caroliniana
(Ironwood, Blue Beech or American Hornbeam) which is common through the
mountainous regions of the state.
Few European trees have been widely used in the American landscape because
the number of trees to choose from is relatively small. Europe’s miserly
list of trees is because of the arrangement of the continent’s mountains -
they run east and west. When the glaciers came, only the toughest plants
were able to survive the climate change and unrelenting push of the ice
sheets. In the Americas the mountains run north and south and plants were
able to migrate in front of the ice sheets and migrate back as conditions
improved.
The Fastigiate European Hornbeam was introduced into the US in 1883 but has
never been extensively grown. I suspect its modern day renaissance has to do
with an attempt to find a substitute for the Bradford pear now that we have
become hooked on the egg shaped aesthetic. But unlike the tree it is
replacing, the Hornbeam is a tough-wooded tree that will not likely suffer
the breakage associated with the ornamental pear.
Hornbeam wood was never a wood of much consequence to the commercial
forester because the tree trunks never attained saw-log status. It is
incredibly tough and has been used for cogs, tool handles and for making
wooden bowls and dishes. To the landscaper this tough-wooded characteristic
means that the tree will not split apart in ice or wind storms like other
twiggy kinds of egg-shaped trees. Hopefully the landscape designers of
tomorrow will be more restrained in their use of this fine tree.
The European Hornbeam is an adaptable tree doing well in full sun or medium
shade. It tolerates a wide array of soil conditions but performs best where
it can get some summertime moisture. I have the straight species growing in
my shaded woodland garden and have found the tree to do exceedingly well
even competing with a full stand of oaks.
The Hornbeam takes on a beautiful soft yellow brown fall color late in the
season and gives a dignified end to the fall season. The Hornbeams are not
prone to insect or disease attack. Seeds, while they may be produced on old
trees, are difficult to germinate and will not present a problem with
escapes.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
November 10, 2000
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