Fagus crenata (in the South)

bisco_bonsai

Nothing beats the winter interest (in my opinion) of a beautiful, white japanese beech, totally devoid of leaves. I've wanted to start growing one for a long time and am contemplating buying some seedlings, but it is hard finding info on this specific species. I live in zone 7b (Raleigh, NC). Does anyone out there with experience in beech bonsai know if they will struggle in my zone? Any other advice on this species would be much appreciated.
All the best.

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rockm

Beech should do fine in your zone. For what it's worth, American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) can be made into pretty good bonsai and is more readily avaliable than non-native beeches--and alot less expensive too. If you're going to buy saplings, American beech could be a good option you won't have to look far for.

bisco_bonsai

Thanks for the suggestion; I do like the American beech, but I usually try to stay away from "grandifolia", seeing how it means "large leaf" in latin. However, I'm sure it could be reduced to make a nice bonsai. It is possible to buy a bundle of japanese beech seedlings for around $50, but if they'll do okay in my area, I think it is worth the investment.

Anybody else out there have any advice on this species?

Mike_Westervelt

No experience with crenata, but I have grown American and European from collected seedlings and wouldn't be concerned about the leaf size, they reduce quite well.I have a small sylvatica with leaves about the size of a quarter.I particularly like the leaf shape of the grandifolia looks more like crenata.
They are very easy to grow, and must be quite hardy as I've never killed one! They are slow to develop as they don't develop secondary shoots after pruning like most deciduous trees do.
Also they seem to get fried (leaf burn) in late summer if not given shade, preventing the brown leaves from staying on all winter, which is one of my favorite characteristics of the beeches.
Mike

bisco_bonsai

Thanks Mike! Great advice. Do you have any pictures of yours?

ianb

You can get a bunch of 10 Fagus Crenata for $52 from Bill Valavanis at International Bonsai.

see
http://www.internationalbonsai.com/catalog/cat.html

Cheers
Ian

Mike_Westervelt

This is the only one I have a picture of right now(camera got dropped, can't decide to repair or buy new)
This is a purple European collected from seedling about 15 years ago, before I understood not to start small trees in small pots, so now I've purposely kept it small,(translation stubborness) I'll try to find pix of one that about the same age that started life in the ground and is now 30" tall with 1.5" trunk. This little guy is barely 6" tall.
Good luck,
Mike

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