Fagus sylvatica Anny's Red Pillar

Fagus sylvatica 'Anny's Red Pillar' is a variety of Common Beech with purple foliage and a columnar habit. It forms a small tree with an exceptionally narrow crown, with all shoots oriented upwards. Its leaves are very dark purple, almost black, and glossy, turning coppery in autumn. Its very dense marcescent foliage, both a windbreak and opaque, dries in autumn and remains attached to the branches until spring, when new leaves appear. This rare cultivated variety is particularly interesting for hedging or mass planting.

The beech tree, known as Fagus sylvatica in Latin, is an imposing tree with a spreading habit. Its cylindrical trunk is covered with smooth, light grey bark. This tree can live for several centuries. Native to central Europe to the Caucasus, it is one of the most common species in European forests. Its reddish wood is used in cabinetmaking and for the production of wooden tools and toys, as well as for firewood. It is very hardy, it can reach a height of 20m at maturity.

The cultivar 'Anny's Red Pillar' has a columnar habit with a closed and dense crown. It reaches only 3 to 4m in height at maturity and 80cm in width. Its foliage consists of alternate and elliptical leaves, measuring 4 to 10cm in length. The leaf edges are wavy and downy. They have 5 to 9 pairs of lateral veins. When the buds burst, the leaves are a deep red. They become dark purple in summer, then copper brown in autumn. They are marcescent, meaning they dry out while remaining on the tree until the following spring when new leaves appear. The flowers appear almost at the same time as the leaves. From April to May, barely visible monoecious, cream flowers appear. The male flowers are grouped in pendulous catkins measuring 40 to 60mm. The female flowers are grouped in 2 to 4 at the ends of the branches. Mature trees produce shiny brown beech nuts covered in bristly prickles. These fruits, measuring 12 to 18mm in length, are edible in small quantities. Mountain dwellers used to use them to make flour.

Fagus sylvatica 'Anny's Red Pillar' is a hardy, low-maintenance tree. It prefers partial shade and non-intense sunlight and thrives in cool and temperate climates. The soil should be moist and well-drained, with a constant level of humidity, as it does not tolerate drought. Planted as a standalone tree, it brings structure and height to the garden. When planted in rows along alleys or entrances, even narrow ones, it has a simple and neat presence. It can be paired in mass plantings with dwarf conifers or shrubs with contrasting foliage, green or yellow, and contrasting habits, spherical or spreading. You can also simply plant ground cover plants such as hardy geraniums or periwinkles at its base, whose blue-violet flowers beautifully complement the purple foliage of the columnar beech.