In what sense is beech unsuitable for chalky soil? The chalk hills of SE England are covered in beech woods. In chalky areas, the beech preferentially colonise the chalkiest bits, because they experience greater competition from other species, like oak, away from the chalk. The huge, fast growing beech tree in my parent's garden is growing on 6 inches of soil overlying solid chalk. Having grown up with that, I was then astonished to see beech growing in mixed woods with spruce on acid soils in central Europe.