Here is an american Beech I collected this spring.

[Waltron]

http://imgur.com/a/MT3CQ

took it a while, but its finally starting to grow.. collected it late march,and now that's its growing it seems to be growing fast. I may have to invest in some kanuma when it comes time to repot, as Judy mentioned its the bees knees for beech.
anyway, its got a little wiggle to it and a nice base that's buried, I think it has potential.. I'm sure ill eventually get some more branches at other angles and lower on the trunk. any input on this tree would be appreciated. not much to say about it right now other than its alive.

 

[Cypress187]

Growing fast? Where? I only see 1 branch and 4 leaves

 

[Waltron]

hah yea it literally did nothing from a viewing perspective for all of april, may, and most of june, noticed the chop has rounded a bit towards the end of june, then it sprouted out of the rounded, healed area, but the baby sprouts kept dieing, then finally it took off and has been growing a new set of leaves every couple days... the new growth has grown very fast actually.

 

[GrimLore]

http://imgur.com/a/MT3CQ

took it a while, but its finally starting to grow.. collected it late march,and now that's its growing it seems to be growing fast. I may have to invest in some kanuma when it comes time to repot, as Judy mentioned its the bees knees for beech.
anyway, its got a little wiggle to it and a nice base that's buried, I think it has potential.. I'm sure ill eventually get some more branches at other angles and lower on the trunk. any input on this tree would be appreciated. not much to say about it right now other than its alive.

It appears to be doing just fine! Now the difficult part comes into play. Let it grow wild as is for an entire year starting now! Yes, that will include this Winter and next Winter but the following Spring should give you something interesting to work with!

Grimmy

 

[rockm]

Although initial extension growth on American beech grows quite rapidly. Once shoots stop after three, four or five leaves, they S-T-O-P. Am. beech have only a single flush of growth per year. They can be forced to push more leaves, but only if you hard prune into old wood, which activates more resting buds. That is the secret to making one into a bonsai. Allowing the tree to grow unhindered for a season, then hard pruning into year-old or older wood to force more ramification.

Good luck with yours. I had one for years. Very slow takes some patience.

 

[Giga]

Although initial extension growth on American beech grows quite rapidly. Once shoots stop after three, four or five leaves, they S-T-O-P. Am. beech have only a single flush of growth per year. They can be forced to push more leaves, but only if you hard prune into old wood, which activates more resting buds. That is the secret to making one into a bonsai. Allowing the tree to grow unhindered for a season, then hard pruning into year-old or older wood to force more ramification.

Good luck with yours. I had one for years. Very slow takes some patience.

This - Beech are the white pine of deciduous, very slow. I have 5 american beech and you have to be ez with them and patient, as they take time. I love them as they are so unique but you need to know how they grow. Good luck as thats not alot of growth to sustain the tree. I had one do this then peter out and die.

 

[Slow Learner]

I had one for years. Very slow takes some patience.

I live relatively close by, upper Chesapeake Bay area. What time of the year would recommend collecting an Am. Beech? Are they that difficult to work? Any recommendations for collecting?

 

[Waltron]

thanks rock was hopin you would chime in with some knowledge. I remember Zach had one for sale recently, maybe last year.. said he didnt touch it for 6 years and it had like 3 branches on it if I recall, lol. Ive seen a few nice ones on here that seemed to start from similar beginnings as this one, so im hoping I can eventually make a nice tree out of it. its curious that it sprouted from the top of the chop, and not out of the trunk, do you agree?

 

[Giga]

I live relatively close by, upper Chesapeake Bay area. What time of the year would recommend collecting an Am. Beech? Are they that difficult to work? Any recommendations for collecting?

Before for the leaf's unfurl in early spring. Sometimes they take time to unfurl and I've collected later then other tree's with success

 

[Waltron]

This - Beech are the white pine of deciduous, very slow. I have 5 american beech and you have to be ez with them and patient, as they take time. I love them as they are so unique but you need to know how they grow. Good luck as thats not alot of growth to sustain the tree. I had one do this then peter out and die.

come on, they are not the white pine! they back bud! got me worried with that last statement.. august is an odd time for deciduous to be sprouting initial growth.. hoping it has time to harden and set next years buds.as for the growing.. this is my first one, although I have been studying them in the woods for a couple season, I have 2 or 3 marked for collection next year.. this one had zero collection prep. Takin a page out of judys book, going to get it in a kanuma mix, and not fertilize until buds have leafed out. Also, I only water this one with either fish tank water or rain water, and try to use organic ferts, or I should say limit the salty chem ferts to a minimum.

 

[Slow Learner]

anyway, its got a little wiggle to it and a nice base that's buried, I think it has potential..

For a beech, I think it has a lot of wiggle. I hope that it survives and sprouts more branches lower on the trunk.

 

[Waltron]

I live relatively close by, upper Chesapeake Bay area. What time of the year would recommend collecting an Am. Beech? Are they that difficult to work? Any recommendations for collecting?

I would say it is a good idea to prep the roots of american Beech the year before, however I did not do that with this one, also, beech are one of the last to leaf out, so you can get away with a later collection, it is well known I believe to collect beech well before bud break. It is also said that beech benefit from michoriza, so a full bare root hsa been advised against, however this one was about 80% bare rooted. I used a mix of about 70/30/10 pumice, DE, tree tone for this mix, they are known to be an acid loving tree, so kanuma is suggested, and PH is important.

 

[rockm]

thanks rock was hopin you would chime in with some knowledge. I remember Zach had one for sale recently, maybe last year.. said he didnt touch it for 6 years and it had like 3 branches on it if I recall, lol. Ive seen a few nice ones on here that seemed to start from similar beginnings as this one, so im hoping I can eventually make a nice tree out of it. its curious that it sprouted from the top of the chop, and not out of the trunk, do you agree?

Not unusual to have a sprout that high up. Happens sometimes. Usually a good thing as it means the trunk is alive to the top and will give you more room to work with. It also means you're going to have to work to get lower buds to push. I'd let the leader grow out for at least two years to get some bulk, then chop it back to only an inch. That will mostly likely stimulate buds lower on the trunk.

Of course you could get lucky and those lower buds will push on their own, but that's not likely. Work with yours for a while, and you will see why this one at the National Arb is so great--even though it looks kind of plain. Ramification like that takes a very long time. Its leaves are also only 1/4 to 1/5 the size of full sized beech

 

[Giga]

come on, they are not the white pine! they back bud! got me worried with that last statement.. august is an odd time for deciduous to be sprouting initial growth.. hoping it has time to harden and set next years buds.as for the growing.. this is my first one, although I have been studying them in the woods for a couple season, I have 2 or 3 marked for collection next year.. this one had zero collection prep. Takin a page out of judys book, going to get it in a kanuma mix, and not fertilize until buds have leafed out. Also, I only water this one with either fish tank water or rain water, and try to use organic ferts, or I should say limit the salty chem ferts to a minimum.

also - it's best to try and find something with low branches already on it. Yes it does back bud but it's not like a maple that has a lot of dormant buds to choose from and energy to push those buds. A maple you can have new brnach structure in 2 years - a beech it's still recovering

I would say it is a good idea to prep the roots of american Beech the year before, however I did not do that with this one, also, beech are one of the last to leaf out, so you can get away with a later collection, it is well known I believe to collect beech well before bud break. It is also said that beech benefit from michoriza, so a full bare root hsa been advised against, however this one was about 80% bare rooted. I used a mix of about 70/30/10 pumice, DE, tree tone for this mix, they are known to be an acid loving tree, so kanuma is suggested, and PH is important.

I bare root mine when I collect and those 5 are going strong - it's funny the 6th one I collected I didn't bare rooted and it died

 

[jeremy_norbury]

But is this actually a beech?

 

[Waltron]

Not unusual to have a sprout that high up. Happens sometimes. Usually a good thing as it means the trunk is alive to the top and will give you more room to work with. It also means you're going to have to work to get lower buds to push. I'd let the leader grow out for at least two years to get some bulk, then chop it back to only an inch. That will mostly likely stimulate buds lower on the trunk.

Of course you could get lucky and those lower buds will push on their own, but that's not likely. Work with yours for a while, and you will see why this one at the National Arb is so great--even though it looks kind of plain. Ramification like that takes a very long time. Its leaves are also only 1/4 to 1/5 View attachment 112640 the size of full sized beech

woah! now thats a nice one. thanks, sounds like a good plan to me. when should I start using Harry harrinton's beech ramification method? year after the leader chop?

 

[Waltron]

But is this actually a beech?

lol Jerry I told you I was 1000% sure its actually a beech! dont you know what 1000% means?

 

[Waltron]

But is this actually a beech?

I lopped about 20 feet off this tree, which had a canopy full of un-mistakable beech buds. I feel bad when I do that every time, and I dont do it often, but this forest is full of beech, hornbeam, hackberry, hop horn beam, and maple. There was a young one right next to it which will live on to fill the void in the forest. I do need to sharpen my loppers, as it wasn't a very clean cut.

 

[CWTurner]

dont you know what 1000% means?

That you don't know percentages?
CW

 

[rockm]

woah! now thats a nice one. thanks, sounds like a good plan to me. when should I start using Harry harrinton's beech ramification method? year after the leader chop?

Harry Harrington is working with EUROPEAN BEECH (FAGUS SYLVATICA), NOT AMERICAN BEECH
(Fagus grandifolia). I don't know exactly what he recommends, but I'd be extremely cautious in translating it to American beech.

These are two distinct species requiring completely different pruning and care. European beech have several flushes of growth and backbud readily. You, my friend, have a species that doesn't provide either luxury. Use the same pruning regimen used for European beech can severely weaken or even kill an American Beech.

I've given you the basics for development--Hard pruning after free growth. You can use an alternate year strategy with the apex and branches. You get ONE shot at foliage and ramification every year with American Beech. Your backbudding results won't show usually show up until the following year. Sometimes you can get lucky and get backbudding and extension the same year. You mostly get buds on older wood that show up over time. They can "rest" for years, sometimes and not open. It's a tree that requires extreme patience and will penalize you if you rush.