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Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 5-7
- Spacing: 40'
- Exposure: Sun/Part Shade
- Deer Resistant: Yes
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Rivers European Beech
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Rivers European Beech is a stunning purple-leaved legacy tree that will beautify your home landscape for generations to come. In time, this head-turner will become an awe-inspiring shade tree with massive limbs and the smooth, gray bark that Beeches are famous for. Purple Beeches have been cherished for well over 300 years, but this one is especially captivating due to the richness of its leaf color. You’ll love to see it awaken each spring with a new canopy of foliage the color of dark chocolate. In mild-summer climates the color holds all season.
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 5-7
- Spacing: 40'
- Exposure: Sun/Part Shade
- Deer Resistant: Yes
- Show more ›
Recommended by Our Growers
The Story
This Beech tree arose at the nursery of Thomas Rivers of Sawbridgeworth, England in the 1870s. Rivers was the third Thomas Rivers in five generations of Thomas Riverses to run the family nursery (they liked that name a lot). Thomas #3 actually made a name for himself developing new varieties of fruit trees and growing them on “under glass” (in a greenhouse). His business got a big shot in the arm when Great Britain lifted the “Glass Tax” in 1845. Before then, glass was so expensive there that no one except the very wealthy could afford to have more than a few windows in their homes—let alone own a whole greenhouse!
The Details
Purple Beeches are sometimes called “Copper Beeches,” though Copper Beeches are generally less richly colored than Purple Beeches, and none is as dark as Rivers Beech. Rivers’ leaves do turn a coppery color in autumn, however.
How to Grow
Rivers Beech’s nearly black foliage turns green in the shade, so be sure to site your tree where it can bask in the sunshine all day. Like other Beech trees, this one appreciates moist but well-drained soil but can handle short droughty periods once established. Rivers Beech’s shallow roots prevent the growing of grass or more than a handful of tough spring bulbs underneath it, so dress it with a carpet of mulch instead and let your tree have the root space all to itself. Given these comforts, this Purple Beech tree is normally low-maintenance and problem-free.
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