Carpinus betulus

Hi, this is my recently acquired European Hornbeam. I am not familiar with this type tree. I have very good luck with Korean Hornbeam, not sure how similiar. Can anyone give me any tips on this tree.

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Last pic was right before repotting. I had to use same "pot" when repotting cause i dont have anything big enough for the tree.

Very nice indeed lots of potential and a great nebari .I would think most of the carpinus can be treated in the same fashion. do all the major pruning and carving b4 bud break and feed and water like you have nothing better to do if in proper mix they seem like they back bud profusely.Once you have your base structure prune vigorously for ramification

What a beautiful monster you have!!!

I have dreams about finding Yamadori with nebari like that...Dreams! What a wonderful tree, you could definately carve into those trunk chops and create some wonderful trunk interest, this is one of those rare trees that you look at and forget there's branches all you see are trunk and roots..do her proud, check out Graham Potter, he did a you tube video in which he carved the stumps out on a hornbeam like this one, it might give you some ideas.

Thanks everyone. I have heard that they are fast growers, anyone know if this is true. Also, the leaves are fairly large right now, how well do they reduce?

Thanks.............rick

I have reduced leaves on american beech (kissing cousin) very well, to at least one third if not a bit more. You should easily be able to do it with your hornbeam, a defoliation maybe next year around jun 1st could be a possibility too If she stays healthy.

Hi Rick,
it is fantastic tree. I have few of them (check my blog). They grow very fast, and they are very strong. Almost no pests as far as I know. Some danger is in their sensitivity on winter storage (I heard ) but my experience (short) during two seasons with temperatures below -20°C are without any loses. I personally think it is one of the best species for bonsai in Europe. Leaves are bigger thats right but when potted into smaller pot later leaves often tend to get much smaller.
I wish you both good luck. Maros

Hi rickyricardo

I dont know vere you live, and if we are talking bonsai, it can become difficult for everybody to give advise.

This specie will allways have larger leaves, than the oriental type.
I also find , this tree want a big top, if it becomes too small, will it soon become weak.

Kind regards Yvonne...by the way...very nice tree

Thank you all again. I am sorry Yvonne, I thought that my profile had my location but I just added it. I live in USA, Massachusetts Zone 5B. I will have fun carving this one!

Hello Everyone,

Just an update on European Hornbeam. I just took it out of winter storage today and did some light pruning. Up until now all pruning has been clip and grow. I will be repotting tree into smaller training pot (mica pot) in the next week. I tend to take my time with my trees, mostly because I dont have the time I would like to have to dedicate to bonsai. Nevertheless I do my best to keep on top of things. I think it is coming along nicely. The tree is 13 inches tall, the trunk is 6 inches wide with a 17 inch root spread.

For scale:

Looking good . I would not put it in to a smaller pot until you are well on your way with the ramification stage it will slow your tree down to a crawl. I would also re wound the cut areas and seal with cut paste to help with callousing. I take a small fine razor blade( Exacto knife) and cut around the cut site to just expose a small amount of green cambium and than seal it.

Looks great! Keep taking your time, it's working in your favor!

Thanks for sharing, keep updates coming.

GREAT little tree, love it, thanks for sharing!   

Looking very nice, especially the nebari. Keep it in the big pot so that you get your ramification faster. I would also do some major power tool work on those cut sites because they will never heal or at least definitely not our our lifetime. Make them look more natural. Check out Walter Pall and what he does with the big yamadori and how none of his artificial cuts look artificial after a few years. Looking forward to the progress!

Thanks for looking and thanks for the advice. Will definitely get to work on the carving.