Weeping European Hornbeam

(Carpinus betulus 'Pendula')

Date Planted: October 2000

Family: Betulaceae

Hardiness: Marginally hardy in the Gorham, ME area; Zone (4)5-7

Mature Dimensions: 30 to 40 feet tall by 50-60 feet wide

Habit: Pendulous, weeping

Bark: On mature trees, slate-gray and fluted

Buds: Angular-conical, overlapping, snug to stem; brownish-red, fuzzy, ¼ to 1/3 inch long

Leaves: Simple, alternate, ovate and pointed at apex; 2-3 inches long, 1 ½ inches wide. Dark green in summer, yellowish-brown in autumn

Flowers: Monoecious; males have 1-1 1/2 inch inconspicuous catkins, females have 1 ½ inch catkins furnished with 3-lobed bracts which are paired and facing eachother, borne in April

Fruit: ½ inch by ½ inch nutlet, pointed at apex, borne at base of flower bracts, ripen in October

Pests/Diseases: Japanese beetle

Reference Pages: Dirr M. 1998. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Stipes Publishing Co., Champaign, IL.