It takes up to 30, sometimes even 40 years for the copper beech to flower for the first time. The flowers are inconspicuous and play no role in the garden design. In many years no flowers form at all.
It can take up to 40 years for the copper beech to flower for the first time
Flowering begins with leaf sprouting
When the copper beech leaves in spring, the small, very inconspicuous flowers also appear. The flowering period begins in April and lasts only a few weeks.
The flowers are very small and tapered at the end. They are slightly reddish in colour.
In autumn, in September and October, the fruit ripens from the pollinated flowers. They consist of a prickly shell that encloses two to a maximum of four beechnuts.
tips
If you plant copper beeches as a hedge, the trees will usually not bloom at all. Regular pruning removes almost all later inflorescences. You can therefore not harvest seeds for propagation from a copper beech hedge.