American Beech, Fagus grandfolia

[Javaman4373]

I like to scout for pre-bonsai material as I walk our dogs on our property and yesterday I discovered this A. beech that looked interesting. It doesn't seem to be a root sucker and is about 6 ft tall with a 2 inch trunk base. I was thinking that with some judicious chops, the main trunk line would show taper and have potential for a bonsai. Here are some photos from different views. There is a fork further up the trunk that would have to be dealt with. I have read that this species is slow to develop, but is possible. I have not visualized the roots yet, re nebari possibilities. Your comments will be welcome.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Show your proposed trunk line, then we can talk about pruning scars and beech.

 

[Colorado]

If it were on my property it would already be in a container

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Show your proposed trunk line, then we can talk about pruning scars and beech.

Theres a reason kids carve their names into beech instead of maple... popular trails here still have scars from thirty years ago in their bark.

 

[Javaman4373]

Show your proposed trunk line, then we can talk about pruning scars and beech.

I see your point. It is difficult to pick a front and a trunk line where chops would be hidden in the back. I tried to lay out a couple shown in the following images. One choice would retain the trunk fork and chop it at two different levels, e.g. at the black tape without string. I could use the software that lets you draw on the image.

 

[stu929]

My uncle's property has tons of beech. I'm looking forward to this as I want to harvest some and give them a try.

 

[BobbyLane]

assuming it had a better base, the best part about the tree is the multi trunks

This is more naturalist but if the base isnt good or get much wider i would pass on this tree, it wont work without the base.

the next issue would be whether there are nodes on these branches to cut back to. if u can find one with a good base thats been grazed on you will see tighter nodes.

the area in red looks problematic no matter what style

the nebari looks lopsided, heavy on the left, you can see that thick root has fed all the branches on the left and some inverse is occurring. a tell tale sign that there might not be much root on the right is the weak branch formation by comparison to the left.

 

[hinmo24t]

Theres a reason kids carve their names into beech instead of maple... popular trails here still have scars from thirty years ago in their bark.

thats a good call. one of my favs for local tree

 

[Javaman4373]

assuming it had a better base, the best part about the tree is the multi trunksView attachment 342971

This is more naturalist but if the base isnt good or get much wider i would pass on this tree, it wont work without the base.

the next issue would be whether there are nodes on these branches to cut back to. if u can find one with a good base thats been grazed on you will see tighter nodes.

the area in red looks problematic no matter what style

the nebari looks lopsided, heavy on the left, you can see that thick root has fed all the branches on the left and some inverse is occurring. a tell tale sign that there might not be much root on the right is the weak branch formation by comparison to the left.

Re the nebari: I think there is a major root on the right, because when I rock the tree, the ground lifts on that side as well. I guess I can let it grow in the ground and see if the trunk base will thicken. The beech won't be grazed on, as deer don't favor it. That is one reason we have so much of it.

 

[canoeguide]

Theres a reason kids carve their names into beech instead of maple... popular trails here still have scars from thirty years ago in their bark.

Good point. Though, they will and do cover up carving scars, especially if it was done in a young tree. I carved my name as a kid into an 8" diameter beech and it had completely disappeared within about 10-12 years. Those old monster beech, I suspect, heal much more slowly.

Closing a pruning wound may be a different matter than completely erasing a superficial injury. Note that the carved names seem to be rather quickly "healed" over, it's just that the bark retains a different character (read: scar) for a long time.

 

[BobbyLane]

Re the nebari: I think there is a major root on the right, because when I rock the tree, the ground lifts on that side as well. I guess I can let it grow in the ground and see if the trunk base will thicken. The beech won't be grazed on, as deer don't favor it. That is one reason we have so much of it.

its not seen in the pic, therefore it wont be even or in scale with that left root, that looks more like a heavy tap root. so lets say there is more nebari underneath. what do you do with the massive left root? you ok with large wounds? the left root doesnt look usuable for nebari, you have a cluster of branches on the left that is causing inverse and so is that root lower down.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Javaman4373 - for someone relatively new to bonsai, or at least to this forum, you have the right idea in that this beech you picked is better than what many have selected. There is a lot there to choose from. I think the virtual by @BobbyLane is the best line for your tree. At least as an initial plan.

If it were me, I would lift this tree as soon as the ground thaws this coming spring of 2021. I would not do any pruning until the day I would lift it. Then prune the branches as Bobby Lane suggested, and prune the roots fairly short, don't worry about getting every possible root. By digging while dormant, the tree will only open the buds the new developing roots system can actually support.

The faults in the nebari may be there, but also might not be as bad as suggested, until it is dug up, it will be difficult to guess what work will be needed. The area in orange that Bobby identified might be a problem, but it might be "fixable" with control of growth, a few years in training can fix many of the faults identified. Well, maybe a decade of training. But this tree ain't terrible. I would dig it.

And if you can find others like it, dig them too. It would be good to have 2 or 3 beech to compare growth and response to different techniques.

 

[BobbyLane]

I would be eager to uncover more of the base to see what treasure lies beneath, if any. bring a root hook, a toothbrush, some gloves and begin removing the top soil. this is one of the fun parts, the treasure hunt
love to see some more pics once you've uncovered more of the base, imo there isnt enough on show yet to make me think ok thats getting dug up. one thing to keep in mind is, you may need to get a lot of rootball, more than say a hornbeam. beech have a tendency to send out feeder roots at the end of long thick roots that go deep into the ground. but sometimes if the area theyre growing in is shallow then this may not be the case. but anyway surely there is more where you found this one, i would be like a kid in a sweet shop trying to find them all and then ruling out the ones not worthy.

 

[Javaman4373]

Thanks for your encouraging comments. I did a little removal of soil at the base and the large left root divides into several smaller roots a few inches from the tree. The roots on the opposite side, are deeper than I removed soil-only a 1/2 inch or so. I will learn more in the early spring. We have some snow on the ground now and it is 17F (-8C) this morning.

We do have acres of beech in various stands on our farm, so I can keep searching for similar material. In early fall, I saw a great beech candidate for bonsai with wonderful trunk movement. The problem was it was in the George Aiken Wilderness, where one can not collect a tree.

 

[BobbyLane]

Thanks for your encouraging comments. I did a little removal of soil at the base and the large left root divides into several smaller roots a few inches from the tree. The roots on the opposite side, are deeper than I removed soil-only a 1/2 inch or so. I will learn more in the early spring. We have some snow on the ground now and it is 17F (-8C) this morning.

We do have acres of beech in various stands on our farm, so I can keep searching for similar material. In early fall, I saw a great beech candidate for bonsai with wonderful trunk movement. The problem was it was in the George Aiken Wilderness, where one can not collect a tree.

Yeh thats nippy!

 

[Javaman4373]

I found another A. beech that is a candidate for collecting, unless you folks with more experience talk me out of it. This one has some trunk movement and some small lower limbs. I guess I would chop it somewhere around the flagging. The root structure has not been clearly visualized. See what you think.

 

[BobbyLane]

movement but no taper really.

 

[Javaman4373]

movement but no taper really.

Good point. It is quite difficult to find good material in the woods, that has both movement and taper and branches is strategic places. I keep looking.