Carpinus species

decumbent · #1 January 19th, 2006, 05:53 PM

I've got a small collection of Asian hornbeams going. Unfortunately, all of my plants are quite small. I would love input regarding rate of growth, overall appearance, and form of the following species:
Carpinus turczaninovii
C. tschonoskii
C. coreana
C. polyneura
C. laxiflora
C. fargessiii
C. henryana
Thanks in advance for your information.

Scott

**treelover3** · #2 January 22nd, 2006, 08:07 AM

Hi Scott,
Wow, that's a nice collection of Asian hornbeams you have. I hope someone replies to this post with the info you've requested. Unfortunately, I don't have any info for you since most of those trees are not hardy here (zone 4a is hell, as you may or may not be aware).
Mike

**silver_creek** · #3 January 22nd, 2006, 09:52 AM

I have seen locally grown trees of C. turczaninovii, C. coreana, C. fargesii- trees that are about 8-10 years old. C. turczaninovii seems to be the most vigorous of these- the other two look to be large shrubs, maybe will get to 15' in 20-30 years. You might try contacting Heritage Seedlings http://www.heritageseedlings.com/ in Oregon. They are introducing many Asian Hornbeams into the nursery trade, and the owner, Mark Krautman, seems to have more information about how they will perform in (Northwest) gardens than anyone I've talked to. They may perform very differently for you, of course, in Cincinnati. I know that Carpinus japonica in local gardens is probably going to be a 25'-30' tree in 20-30 years- in the wild it can reach 50'-60'. I have a Carpinus omiense (which may be an invalid name) that is 12 years old and is an upright, quite delicate shrub that is now about 8'-10' high, about 4'-5' wide (and has incredible transluscent burgundy new foliage).

**Ron B** · #4 January 22nd, 2006, 02:09 PM

Since you are talking about wild species variation will often be greater than with horticultural clones. And even these latter do not come out of a cookie cutter. It's quite typical to sow tree seeds and get runts, giants and ones in between.

decumbent · #5 January 25th, 2006, 08:02 AM

Silver Creek, Thanks for the information. I'm a bit surprised that C. turkzaninovii is the most vigorous of those you mentioned. For me, still in a container, it has been pretty slow, and most the information I've found on it has come from bonsai growers.

I have not heard of C. omiensis, which now of course makes me want one. I looked it up in Hortus III and Googled it and never found it. The epithet omiense would indicate of Omein??? or something like that. Anyone know where that would be?

The advice to contact Heritage Seedlings is a good idea. Their catalog last year had a beautiful photo of the inflorescense of C. laxiflora, which is quite a rare species. If I remember right, it was on the front cover.

Scott

***Daniel Mosquin*** · #6 January 25th, 2006, 08:34 AM

The epithet omeiensis refers to Omei Shan or Mount Emei in China, a World Heritage Site.

There are plenty of Carpinus in China, though I doubt that too many of them are in cultivation: Carpinus in Flora of China (click on "lower taxa" in the bottom left corner of the key).

decumbent · #7 January 25th, 2006, 04:23 PM

Daniel,
Thanks for the great link. I had no idea so many hornbeams exist in China. Naively, I had thought that since I had most of the hornbeams from the Forest Farm catalog (and others), that I had nearly a complete collection. In my defense, most of my references, including Hortus III, listed the same number or even fewer.

I suppose I'll need to dig harder for the rarer seed, polish up my charm and my trading skills, and get a bigger yard, or, perhaps, give up my dream of growing every zone six hardy species of Carpinus.

Thanks again for the reply.

Scott

**silver_creek** · #8 January 25th, 2006, 04:36 PM

I purchased Carpinus omiense from Heronswood many years ago- Mark Krautman at Heritage believes it's an invalid name, but there is great confusion in Asian Hornbeams. I'll continue to call it that until I can put a better name on it.

***Daniel Mosquin*** · #9 January 25th, 2006, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by decumbent

Daniel,
Thanks for the great link. I had no idea so many hornbeams exist in China. Naively, I had thought that since I had most of the hornbeams from the Forest Farm catalog (and others), that I had nearly a complete collection. In my defense, most of my references, including Hortus III, listed the same number or even fewer.

I wasn't implying a lack of anything on your part, so no need to defend yourself. It is likely that for zone 6 hornbeams, you probably have an achievable goal - I suspect most of what grows in that zone is in cultivation, after a quick glance at some of the obscure Carpinus.

silver_creek - As you've likely noted, Carpinus omeiensis is described on the site (and can be determined via the key which is published in full in the PDF). I'm guessing Mark doesn't believe it deserves to be a separate species? Not an easy thing to tell without looking at the whole group in total, though I do have to say that there is a lot of taxonomic splitting by some of the Chinese authors of plant names.