Michael Gratton wrote:
This is a great and timely thread, as I just did a scouting trip and found a
whole bunch of beeches in the woods near my home last week. I have a number
of beech in my yard as understory trees, and wondered if they would respond
to bonsai treatment. It is good to see that they will. I will be out this
week with shovel in hand to do some collecting....thanks for the advice!

Michael - which side of the pond are you on? The common European beech (F.
sylvatica) of which the original question was asked, seems to be more robust
than the North American F. grandifolia. It also has smaller leaves and denser
twigging, tho F.g. works fine if you make a largish tree, or a small group.

Go right ahead and dig, if your "understory" beech are smallish and haven't yet
started to push their buds. I would second Marty's advice to dig a wide flattish
rootball. If the surface soil is fluffy and leafy, leave it *intact* after
digging, and just place them into slightly deeper pots with fresh soil all
around. I had 100% survival with a number of beech (American) with 1/2 to 1 inch
trunks for a forest (but lost them 2 years later from insufficient watering in a
warm bright autumn). Steady moderate moisture and partial shade for aftercare.

Oh, and if you have "upperstory" beech as well, be sure your saplings aren't
really root sprouts! These often have great taper but aren't really diggable.
Tho I always wondered if you could ground-layer them just above the connection
to the "mother" root...

Anita
Northern Harford County, Maryland, USDA zone 6
Go forth under the open sky, and list
To Nature's teachings.
- William Cullen Bryant

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