Fagus sylvatica Purpurea Nana

Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea Nana' is a very beautiful dwarf form of the purple beech. It is a bushy shrub, with a fairly slow growth and moderate development, naturally suited to small gardens and cultivation in a large container. Its very dense foliage is a rich purplish-violet, almost black and shiny. Like all beech trees, its foliage takes on a beautiful colour in autumn, and it remains attached to the branches until the end of winter. Cultivate in full sun, in any moist soil.

Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea Nana' is a dwarf form of the 'Atropunicea' beech tree, a large tree discovered in central Europe in 1770. Eventually, 'Purpurea Nana' forms a well-branched shrub, as wide as it is tall, often almost spherical, reaching between 2 and 3 m in all directions. Its growth is quite slow. The most remarkable feature of this shrub is its very dense, very shiny foliage, a purplish colour tending towards brown or black. Its leaves are smaller than those of the purple beech, ovate to elliptical, with a slightly wavy edge. They emerge a bright red in spring, darken to a rich purple in summer, and then turn coppery in autumn. These leaves are marcescent, meaning they dry and brown while remaining on the tree and only fall to the ground in late winter, just before the arrival of new leaves. The smooth, grey bark remains attractive throughout the year. The branches are thin and well-distributed, contributing to the dense and regular shape of the shrub. The young twigs are dark purple. The insignificant flowers appear from April to May, almost at the same time as the leaves. The yellow male flowers are grouped in pendulous catkins of 40 to 60 mm. The green female flowers are grouped in 2 to 4 in at the end of the branches. Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea Nana' sometimes produces a few brown, shiny fruits called beech nuts, covered with bristly prickles. These 12 to 18 mm long fruits are edible in small quantities. Mountain dwellers used to use them to make flour.

A beautiful specimen to be planted alone in a small garden, the dwarf purple beech is perfectly suited to small spaces. It thrives particularly well in moist, but not too wet, well-drained soils, both limestone and rich in humus. It can be integrated into a small hedge or shrub bed, with varieties of colourful foliage such as Physocarpus 'Angel Gold' or false spirea 'Pink Hopi' for example. It can also be trained as a topiary, cultivated in a large container, or made into a bonsai. Fans of unique small trees will also appreciate the purple hazel, the 'Monstrosa' horse chestnut, the twisted hazel, or the weeping birch Crispa.