Position: Full sun to part shade.
Soil: Most well drained soils, acid or alkaline. Avoid heavy wet clay
Rate of growth: 40-60cm per year
Height: As a tree unpruned to 40m or more tall; can be kept trimmed at 1m
Spread: As a tree unpruned to 30m across; can be kept trimmed at 1m
Flowers: Tiny, insignificant flowers
Fruit: Spiny seed bearing fruit
CAUTION: Toxic if eaten

We don’t know of any other hedge that makes a more dramatic impression than a well-grown and maintained copper beech. Its rich, dark-purple foliage makes a bold impact, especially when seen with pale flowers or variegated foliage planted in front. It makes the perfect foil for plantings of white roses or hydrangeas, and in large gardens it can be used alongside green-leaved hedging to provide impressive contrast in the landscape. Other than its distinctive hue, Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea Group (also known as Fagus sylvatica ‘Atropunicea’) shares all the other brilliant qualities of green-leaved beech, changing with the seasons, the purple leaves beautifully soft and lush shortly after emerging in spring. Branches hold onto quite a few dried, genuinely copper-coloured leaves through winter.