Copper Beech going green

[wanlock dod]

I have a small, not terribly old hedge of copper beech, and in the past few years a few of the plants in the hedge have had greenish leaves (although none quite as green as an ordinary beech). I have no idea what might have caused this, but wondered if it could be related to the nutirent or water balance (something I could perhaps do something about), or is it more likley to just be due to the genetics of the plants?

Thanks,

Dod

[Adam Cheeseman]

I would say genetics as the Copper Beech Fagus sylvatica 'purpurea' group is a form of the Common Beech Fagus sylvatica. There are several varieties, some of which do turn deeep green in summer.

If I recall rightly it is a 'man-made' tree so therefore your tree may be trying to revert to type. It is something I have seen quite often.

Cheers,

Adam

[animartco]

Originally Posted by wanlock dod

I have a small, not terribly old hedge of copper beech, and in the past few years a few of the plants in the hedge have had greenish leaves (although none quite as green as an ordinary beech). I have no idea what might have caused this, but wondered if it could be related to the nutirent or water balance (something I could perhaps do something about), or is it more likley to just be due to the genetics of the plants?

Thanks,

Dod

Hi Wanlock dod. I think the modern purple beech you buy at garden centres is different to the real 'Copper' beech which has been around for ages and is probably a natural form. The copper beech has red leaves and the purple, almost black. The purple only goes green for a week in the autumn while it turns to the typical brown shade of all autumn beeches, but the copper turns green for quite a long period.
A possible reason for your hedge going greener all the year is shade. Are there trees growing up which are shading it more? Beech has 'shade leaves' which always remain green.

[Dorts]

Hi Dod.
The 'coppery' colour comes from the pigmant anthocyanin, which is in most plants and particularly so in Copper Beech.
The first Copper Beech were found in Germany and since then many 'forms' have emerged.

As animartco has suggested, your green leaves could well be due to the lack of sunlight which anthocyanin requires in order to turn the leaves copper/red/purple.
There is great variety within this var. of Fagus sylvatica and many plants do show a tendancy to remain more green than others.
Dorts

[wanlock dod]

Thanks folks,

I had dressed the soil underneath the hedge with compost the last few years, and it's only in this time that I have noticed that some of the plants are less purple (more green) than others. It does lie on the north side of the house, so never gets much direct sunlight.

The fact that some of the plants show this tendency makes me think that perhaps these ones are just a bit more susceptible to the shading effect.

Dorts, are these anthocyanins acting as some kind of "sun screen" to prevent damage from light, shading would presumably reduce the requirement if this is their function, or is it more like a kind of chlorophyll that is better suited to higher light intensity?

It's nice to think that I haven't been poisoning it with the compost.

Cheers,

Dod

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by wanlock dod

Dorts, are these anthocyanins acting as some kind of "sun screen" to prevent damage from light, shading would presumably reduce the requirement if this is their function, or is it more like a kind of chlorophyll that is better suited to higher light intensity?
Cheers,
Dod

No-one really knows why some plants have large amounts of red pigments, green being by far the best colour for photosynthesis. Some think that the anthocyanins help the trees keep their leaves a bit longer in the autumn. The pigment helps to protect the leaves from the sun; it also helps to lower their freezing point, giving some frost protection.
This helps keep the leaves remain on the tree longer, and therefore more of the sugars, nitrogen and other valuable stuff can be removed before the leaves fall.
So if your leaves are in shade, they don't require the protection that anthocyanin gives them'

There is another possible reason, and that is when the leaves decay, the anthocyanins seep into the ground and prevent other plants from growing around the tree.
Dorts.