American Hornbeam Budding

[JohnFranklin - Zone 7b]

Any input will be appreciated. Is it fair to say, given American Hornbeam are slow growers, that they bud and harden off, well after Maples and Chinese\Siberian Elms? Generally speaking of course.

 

[BonsaiMatt]

My American hornbeam is the last thing to bud out in my garden. Well after maples and elms.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Yes.
They flush out later than all of these, and even though their growth is as fast as the rest, because of the late start, they also finish later.
I think they're called slow growers because they don't have a multiple growth system like maples and elms.

This late flushing is a evolutionary trick for them to stay in the shade in woodlands, and not burn their foliage off from unfiltered sunlight. Quite neat when you think about it.

 

[JohnFranklin - Zone 7b]

My American hornbeam is the last thing to bud out in my garden. Well after maples and elms.

Many thanks and an added bonus, unless you are in western Maryland, we are experiencing very similar weather.

 

[JohnFranklin - Zone 7b]

Yes.
They flush out later than all of these, and even though their growth is as fast as the rest, because of the late start, they also finish later.
I think they're called slow growers because they don't have a multiple growth system like maples and elms.

This late flushing is a evolutionary trick for them to stay in the shade in woodlands, and not burn their foliage off from unfiltered sunlight. Quite neat when you think about it.

That late flushing logic, I would surmise holds true for other shade tolerant, slow growing trees as well?

 

[Gabler]

Yes.
They flush out later than all of these, and even though their growth is as fast as the rest, because of the late start, they also finish later.
I think they're called slow growers because they don't have a multiple growth system like maples and elms.

This late flushing is a evolutionary trick for them to stay in the shade in woodlands, and not burn their foliage off from unfiltered sunlight. Quite neat when you think about it.

Neat theory, but I find mine grow better in full sun. They're very shade tolerant, and they are equally healthy in full shade or sun, but with full sun the internodes are shorter, the leaves are smaller, and the fall color is better. I always suspected the delayed first flush had something to do with avoiding frost. Some trees leaf out early to beat the competition, but that comes at the cost of needing to be ready for a late freeze.

 

[Gabler]

That late flushing logic, I would surmise holds true for other shade tolerant, slow growing trees as well?

I've noticed the opposite. Understory trees and shrubs tend to leaf out early, whereas canopy trees wait. That could have something to do with all the invasive shrubs, though. Asian species seem to leaf out earlier than natives.

 

[Gabler]

My American hornbeam is the last thing to bud out in my garden. Well after maples and elms.

In my garden, the last few species to leaf out are oak, persimmon, beech, and crape myrtle—in that order.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Neat theory, but I find mine grow better in full sun.

That's great! A tree in the woods would be unhappy with short internodes and doesn't care about fall color though. We have different priorities than plants, it seems.
I'm not saying hornbeams should be kept in the shade.
Frost avoidance is rare in wind pollinators and can be a nice side effect of a late flush. Early flushing plants tackle this with high doses of sugar and glycerole-like molecules; birch for instance can be tapped like sugar maples and produces a nice sweet syrup.

Slow/late growing + shade tolerant is usually an shade lover trait.
Many understory plants have one of these traits, but few have both. Narcissus for instance, tends to grow really fast to get as much sunlight as possible. But they're not very shade tolerant; they tend to die back to the bulb in summer. Yew on the other hand is slow growing and shade tolerant, it tends to outlive any other tree in the forest. It goes hard when the canopy opens up if a tree falls down, absolutely, but it doesn't do bad in shaded areas either.
Shade loving doesn't exclude sun loving either, a plant can be both with the right adaptations. However, if those adaptations aren't made, it's better to not move a plant from one condition to the other as it will be detrimental to their health.

 

[The Barber]

Any input will be appreciated. Is it fair to say, given American Hornbeam are slow growers, that they bud and harden off, well after Maples and Chinese\Siberian Elms? Generally speaking of course.

I wouldn't call American hornbeam a slow grower, I collected a small one last year with maybe a 1 inch trunk, left it about 12 inches tall, and it grew about 5 ft, with branches and a leader thicker than a pencil, and I was lazy with the fertilizer. American Beech on the other hand...snail speed ahead.