I have decided, at least on a small scale, to experiment with and test the suitability of American Beech as bonsai material. Beech are a mainstay of the temperate deciduous forests I love, and they are readily available for collecting.
Problem number one, as the Latin name suggests, is that American beech, Fagus grandifolia, have big leaves. Grandi = big. Folia = leaves. I look forward to being able to address leaf reduction on the species eventually, but I have only been collecting beech at one or two specimens a year for 4 years so I don’t have trees at a level of refinement that answer this topic yet.
Collected beech with early fall color
At this early phase, I am prepared to report on only two things, each with a different degree of confidence.
First, THEY SURVIVE COLLECTION. I feel confident in saying this. Of the beech I…
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