Wish I could post a pic for you. Can you recommend anything you like better than Dawn soap? Leaves are elliptic in shape 2-4” long, 1-2” wide with a blunt point at the end. They do leaf out late spring too. I planted it an exposed section of my new yard as a backdrop to a paved area, waiting for a faster growing tree establish nearby. In Illinois it is called Julie , in Wisconsin it is called Diggers hotline. If you cut off all the clonal tree from the rootstock, I would expect you to have green leaves as normal European Beeches are, so I doubt that happened. Are tricolor beech trees not able to grow from a seed / beechnut produced by a mature tricolor beech tree? I wish I’d discovered your site a year ago, but delighted to have now found you and all of your great advice. Second one, which is bigger, is bending significantly (in dry weather too), but doing great; so I won’t disturb it. Thanks for any insights you can share!! Slow growth rate. The leaves have returned and it is doing great. Lately I have gone to a 2-3 times per week deep watering. Some of which are normal size and color tricolor beech leaves. Any idea how often they will produce nuts, or is it just a random event from one year to the next. I have seen a Tri Color beech used as a street tree in Rockford, IL. If you can root prune the tree a year in advance and wait to move it till the dormant season, you odds of success will increase. Jim, I am planning on planting a tri-color beech in an existing bed where I lost a crab two years ago. Any advice you can give me is appreciated. A colorful addition to the landscape, giving an overall pink effect. We have two big TCB (10-20 yrs old) in our neighborhood and it is so beautiful and with all pink foliage. Also, if this tri-color is grafted, I am wondering which one is rootstock, how fast it will grow. Also should I be pruning some of the longer lanky branches back? Last season I purchased a 5′ espalier tri colored beech after selling the house where I planted a one with a beautiful cascading form (sniff). Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. No prob at all if not. They later turn copper in the fall. Don’t water every couple of days, let the soil dry out a little bit between. Don’t be in a rush to cut out branches that look dead, there could be dormant buds that open later in the summer if your current leaves fall off. If it is still a very small tree, it is probably just normal till the branches grow a bit thicker. One is just pink margin and purple interior leaf(the more common one seen) and there is one that also has an outer later of white besides the pink and purple. Now the leaves a drooping. . It should do fine. I live in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. My tri colored beach is only one color after the forth year ? And the best idea I found is this: to have fountain in centre (with bench to sit), or to have small gazebo in centre. I previously posted this article in 2013 but have rewritten it to include information on Beech Leaf Disease. So you could probably go a bit closer then 10 feet if you wanted. The trunk won’t straighten out but it will be less noticeable as it thickens. This is the first year we have ever seen nuts, so many on the ground! Here is a good article on tree transplanting that gives some guidance: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/shrubs/hgic1055.html. So that could be playing a role also. Plan on keeping the area around your beech tree mulched or planted with perennial groundcovers. I haven’t had them eating leaves off of my other trees, but I’m wondering if perhaps this one is tastier to them. Hi Jim – we planted a 10′ tricolor beech in late-summer 2017, in Michigan. Ten or 12 feet away, that might work, but 5 is really close. HI Jim. Learn More, © 2020 Melinda Myers   All rights reserved  |   Part sun (3 to 6 hours morning sun) Moisture Requirements. The edges of this tree’s leaves will burn in August unless it gets some afternoon shade. I called a nursery and it was suggested that it was too much water and that’s what might be going on. Would you say the roots are about twice as wide as the branches? I noticed you said deep water 1-2 times per week. Late season defoliation is not as huge of a deal as early season. The tree I selected is fairly mature (approx 12 ft) so it’s pricey and planting is 50% of the price. I understand beeches are slow growing and good for hedging, but I haven’t found much about how to prune or manage it in this form. Foliage will burn in hot sun or dry winds so site accordingly. It’s just a matter of how you will like how it looks. Foliage Color Family. I t is a rather dull green. Hi Jim, Yikes!) European beech take pruning amazingly well. What constitutes a “good, long watering”? We also have a waterfall 8 feet away. My tri color beech is about 8 years old. I’ve now had two other arborists say that the leaf issue is not due to aphids, but is a problem with the tree, which they think may not have been planted properly. Any thoughts? Growing Herbs Indoors I just purchased a Tricoloured beech on the advice of a nurseryman. Thanks, Pete. I think it was due to drought. They recommended using a specific soap and brush. I am thinking of planting a Tri-color Beech amid a large rock garden in our front yard . Full sun in summer. It is about 7 ft. tall and about 1.5 inch diameter. A good soaking once a week is a good rule of thumb. Fagus sylvatica ‘Tricolor’ Plant Description: Striking foliage is purple with pink and rose-colored margins. This variety will suffer from scorch, brown leaf edges, in hot dry weather. I noticed in spring that bark at base of tree was peeling off. Unfortunately we needed to treat it for an aphid infestation shortly after planting. Is it ok to prune them off? (And I can send you a photo of the leaves, if that would help. Given all the comments on the amount of surface roots; should I dig down a couple of inches and build the mulch from there, or just pile the mulch around the trunk over the grass to avoid damaging the root system. A smaller purple leaf tree like a Japanese maple may be better for a sight that close to the garage. Probably not. Anything I can do for it. Is there a specific distance we should be away from them? I am really speculating here though. A beautiful specimen tree. I love it! I have to plead ignorance, as I don’t know the answer. All the purple leaves started out bigger than the rest but I for some reason thought that they were not mature and that was the reason they had not changed to be tricolored. I can’t seam to upload pics. HI JIM, I planted a Tri-Beach about 5 years ago, it is beautiful. Your email address will not be published. A versatile, handsome tree, the beech takes center stage in the garden come fall when leaves change to red, gold, orange, or brown. However, the leaves have never developed: they grow to no more than 1/2 – 1″. My tree is looking a bit lanky. © 2018 Jim Anderson. Noteworthy Characteristics. How? Is that ok? Thinking if root pruning it would be necessary b4 i transplant…or at least hoe far out should i dig the diameter not to kill the tree. This week one day it had leaves and the next day they were gone. Thank you in advance for your time and advice. For more information on Beech Leaf Disease see this article. You can over water. Follow up, I meant to say…..tricolor got late afternoon shade not sun! If nothing emerges by fall, you probably can cut it back. Half of the tree’s leaves have now turned brown. If you already have one, appreciate it, stay informed and hope for the best. I fell in love with the form of the trunk /branches of this new one. After seeing the photos here, we’ve decided that we need a Roseomarginata. Leaf edges are slightly wavy and usually smooth but sometimes lightly toothed. Any help will be appreciated. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the leaves turn orange/brown and start dropping this early. It will not receive any shade at all. I was walking near our town’s beautiful college campus recently, rounded a corner and this beautiful pink colored tree caught my attention right away. It was a hot summer and was planted in late June. I am sorry I don’t have an informed answer on this one. They sell them locally here but there’s confliting information with regards to there hardiness. As you mentioned American Beech would be fine, but Tri-Color beech are European beech that are not known to be resistant to juglone (and probably are not). Yes Bayer tree and shrub care (Merit) should take care of insect problems. The thin bark is a magnet for vandalism from bored teens walking by and the branches do have a tendency to grow close to the ground. I do not want to harm my tree. This spring the tree is looking much better. Is that normal? Definitely not a thing to worry about as it might take another couple of decades to get nuts (if ever). The intended site gets a maximum of 5 1/2 hours of direct sunlight per day in the middle of the summer. After a good scrubbing we are hopeful that our tree will survive. If you have aphids you should treat with something like an insecticidal soap or even just hosing them off with water. It is only about five feet or so from the concrete and my concern is if the shallow root system will possibly crack these surfaces over time or if the tree would not thrive in those conditions. Hi Jim! Your email address will not be published. Jim – I am considering purchasing a tricolor beech for my side yard. You will also need to keep it watered well during exceptionally hot or dry periods in the summer months. American beech will tolerate but will Tri-color? Given your location in an area that does have Beech bark disease and native beech present I think I would consider another tree. Should I persevere? Is this a nutrition problem??? Houseplants - Tips for Success It gets a … I understood beech trees to be low maintenance with a long life but from reading this blog I see people having various issues. What will happen if I pruned off the only branches left with variation? These will probably be fixable without losing the tree, but will require some hardscaping work. Thanks! Last year I bought at Homedepot Tri-Color one, two of them, both are growing super well. I plan to transplant it after late April/early May and would welcome any advice on how to reestablish/form it. Nothing terrible. The good news is unless it is already pretty far gone, you can kill those suckers! there is also a tri color columnar variety, any info? As the tree matures the shallow roots make it difficult to grow grass. Late May is not unusual in my area. Amy. This is a great patio tree. I am going to warn the Nursery just in case……. Webinar These trees do prefer afternoon shade in the hot summer months. I would say expect it to look rough this year, but once it gets established it will look better in subsequent years. It’s about 20 feet tall now. Jim, do tricolor beech trees produce fruit like a regular beech tree? Mine does the same thing. Don’t freak out as the tree has gotten most of the sugar from the leaves it will get for the year already. My front yard is south facing, hence sun through out the day. Tri-Color Beech. It gets full sun, so does suffer from leaf burn in July and August from the heat, as well as trunk bark stress on the south side of it from the heat. Even in high heat thats too much. Up close its leaves are purple with a border of blushing white and rose. We have a drip system (micro sprayer) and usually water for 20 minutes. We have a beautiful tri-colored beech at the house we just moved in to in November. Just remember it is a slow grower do dont take too much off. The branch is about 5 feet with a number of extending twigs. Next year if it does not leaf out right away give it a few more weeks. The American beech will also grow about 1′ per year. I am not really sure if we have “normal” weather anymore. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. “Left untreated, the disease may be fatal. Thanks, Probably not, probably just not enough sun light. Noticed it about 2wks ago. Growing Edibles Indoors So it is mid April now and I have scratched the bark with my thumbnail and it is brown underneath the bark pretty much everywhere. Either it settled a bit crooked or I failed to plant it straight. Make sure you give it a long deep watering when you do water it. Its location is in the boulevard portion of my house between the sidewalk and street (12 feet) Maximize. I planted it about 8 years ago. great site! It has the most majestic, towering tricolor beech tree I’ve ever seen. I have seen it on lists showing it is tolerant, but not many. I live in so.west Michigan and even with the rain we are not over average on amounts. One of the later trees to leaf… Fagus sylvatica ( Tricolor Beech ) Tricolor is a slow growing variety to 25 to 40 feet, but usually smaller. But at 5 feet it is really too close for this to be a long term solution as the tree will grow into the house. Their arborist came out that first spring and said the leaf issue was due to the aphid damage, and that it would be fine the next year. To learn more, check this out. It’s been doing well until recently. Do you think I need to use a topical insecticide too? It has not started leafing yet here in SW Ohio. Prune it back to the trunk. If it works out and gets decent sized it will be a show stopper in early summer especially. It is often used as a specimen tree due to its variegated leaves that may come in many shades of green, pink, and white. I am not a fan of fall pruning for plants that may be borderline hardy as the area near the pruning cut can be less hardy going into winter if not fully healed. We followed your advice and checked with a nearby source. Fagus sylvatica, commonly called European beech, is a large deciduous tree typically growing to 50-60’ (less frequently to 100’) tall with a dense, upright-oval to rounded-spreading crown.It is native to woodlands in central and southern Europe. If so that could be an issue. I would say water it one to two times per week. It is located in an open area and gets ample sunlight. Last year I had huge 10″ branch at bottom which started growth in mid-Summer. Boy I am not sure what’s going on with your tree. I use affiliate links and may earn a commission if you purchase through my links. And I do feel quite proud of the attention it gets when neon pink and breathtaking. The tree is a birthday gift celebrating the 100th anniversary of our Oak Park, IL home built in 1917. Tri color beeches are typically rated as good for zones 4 thru 7. She is in and she is lovely. In case utility guy green lit the digging, is it the best idea to plant it over there because of there shallow root system? They are even used as hedges. I think you might be as little late moving it now, early April would be safer. I live in northern Illinois and have read that they should not be planted in the fall. We get quite a bit of rain in the spring, so don’t think I should be watering now, but want to know if I should replace with some other saplings I have had in a bucket of water in the garage since November that are starting to get leaves now. Green foliage in summer to a purple color in fall. Partially variegated plants will survive on their own roots (because they still have chlorophyll), but again propagation via seeds in most cases produces healthy green (non-variegated) plant. I need to prune the lower branches of my tri colored beech from dragging on the ground. I am not sure where you are located Stephen, but it is possible that your tree has not leafed out yet just because beech’s are among the last trees to leaf out. Botanical Name: Fagus sylvatica 'Roseomarginata' Common Name: Tricolor Beech: Plant Type: Tree: Hardiness Zone: 4-7: Height: 20-30 ft. We live in Northern Nevada (high desert), so we get hot summers and snow in the winter. About 25 roses around this. A new larger TCB replaced in and was planted in early fall, it has finally leafed out beautifully. Important to notice also: there is new growth from Spring 6″-8″, and sometimes, maybe, new growth started in middle of Summer; for all trees; I don’t know explanation. New York state is definitely infested, so I would assume it is the case or at least probable. It should survive, but will need frequent watering in Summer heat to keep it looking good. While tomorrow is promised to no one, I am just wondering how big my beech trees will get over 5, 10, 15, 20 years. Hi Jim, I purchased or should I say I rescued a tricolored Purple Beech tree from eBay. I personally would probably plant it there and figure if it grows big enough to make me redo the retaining wall, I would be fine with it. Now? .5-1′ high by 5′ wide. One also was concerned with a girdling root. If you really want it, you can always give it a try. This tree grows slowly and can reach a mature size of 40 feet tall and 30 feet wide, although it is often much smaller. I have seen a pretty decent sized one planted as a street tree oddly enough and it was probably 5 feet from both the sidewalk and the road and not causing any problems to either. Tricolor Beech is a dense deciduous tree with a shapely oval form. The amount of sun they get can also impact color. We have a tri colored beech which we planted in 1991. Gotta go measure if it is too close to the house. A skilled pruner, say Iain from Anderson Gardens (your welcome for the plug Willie!) Of course the bad news is you will have to at least be on the lookout and perhaps treat the scale every year. Thanks for any help you can give us. standing water) in winter or spring as the leaves are developing? The tree is probably 5 years old. I would avoid planting right next to utilities. Thanks for all the info on here regarding tri-color Beech. Oh no!! ”. Do you have any suggestions for making this a success? If you want to get really geeky, here is a info sheet that talks about moving larger trees (http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Trees/movetree.htm). The reason I am on here is because I didn’t know it could have nuts (since we never had any before) and wanted to find out! I appreciate reading all the comments here and it’s helped me understand more how to care for this type of tree. Oh also, I’m in Michigan and it would only have morning shade…thats ok, but not ideal I gather? – Thanks, Steve. Foliage Color Name. In a very short span of time the leaves have browned and curled, but do not feel dry nor have fallen off. The Tricolor Beech is a medium sized shade tree known for its pink and purple foliage. Hence its name as ’Roseomarginata’. thanks for any advice Can you explain why it never had nuts till this year. Would the beach nut harm dogs? But in general if you keep it well watered (not too much though, once or twice a week if it is very hot should be enough) during the summer hopefully it can recover. We live in Michigan and we got some good amount of rain all these past months. I live East of Cleveland and I’m seeing many trees here ravaged by some sort of leaf disease. Problem: Green, pink and white colors are present but the whole tree does not have the vibrancy you expect. They are considered moderately susceptible to deer damage. The color fades in the sun of the summer and if not shaded the leaf edges will get a little shall we say “crispy”. I enjoy reading up on everyone’s questions. We both thought that I needed to wait till the spring to see what would transpire. Full sun to part shade. I have chosen not to trim my tree but to let the branches grow and make its own formation. Is there a way to prune it to keep it manageable and shorter than 30 feet? The heat spell passed, and I backed off on the watering, though we have had many cool rainy days. Patty, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but from your description is does sound like it could be the scale that starts the disease.