I have been looking at hornbeams and can not decide which one
to purchase.
Either American or Korean. I live in charlotte which is zone
7b. I'm going to
buy them from evergreen gardenworks. Any comments would be
appreciated.

The "Korean" hornbeam, is it listed as C. coreana or C.
turczinowii?

If those last two are not synonyms (and I don't _think_ they
are), I don't know C. t., but have a C. coreana and several C.
caroliniana, all shohin size. Leaves of the American hornbeam
are larger. Bark seems to be smoother, and gets that ropy
muscular look with ease. I find it harder to develop
ramification on the Am. hornbeam than on C. coreana. But it also
is more difficult to get a thick, tapered trunk on C. coreana.
Neither grows particularly fast. Both get a rusty red fall
color.

I haven't really noticed any pests (other than the occasional
caterpillar) on either.

I'd rely on Brent's descriptions. He carries all three species,
and touts C. coreana as "the best."

I've done some pre-collecting work on a large American hornbeam
out in my woods. It has a 6-inch diameter base. Haven't gotten
up the nerve to actually dig it yet, as I have heard that
collecting large C. caroliniana is an iffy proposition. Small
1-2 inchers dig readily.

In Charlotte, you should be able to find somewhere to dig up a C.
caroliniana that already is acclimatized to your area.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

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