Why Plant Native Flame® American Hornbeam?
A superior selection of a superior tree! American Hornbeam is a charming, underused, small native tree also known as Musclewood due to its smooth, sculpted trunk. Another of its attributes is its beautiful fall color, but this can be inconsistent—golden on some trees, orange or red on others. Native Flame American Hornbeam takes away the uncertainty and supplies blazing scarlet-red foliage every year. When the show is over, it drops its leaves cleanly, not hanging onto the brown foliage as some Hornbeams do. Native Flame grows moderately fast and assumes an upright habit with a strong central leader. Highly recommended!
Perhaps you know American Hornbeam by one of its other names: Blue Beech, Water Beech, Ironwood, or Musclewood. Quite likely, you have seen it on a hike through the woods—once encountered, it is seldom forgotten. Its trunk, like rippling muscles under a thin skin of bark, begs to be touched, and its fiery fall color rivals that of some Maples. American Hornbeam is found in wild spaces all over the eastern U.S and even into Canada and Mexico. This special selection was raised in a nursery, at J. Frank Schmidt & Sons, in Boring, Oregon.
How to use Native Flame® American Hornbeam in the landscape?
This beautiful deciduous tree is a staple for your landscape. With its distinct oval-shaped leaves, it makes a perfect small privacy screen for your backyard. Plant in your front yard to add interesting color and texture framing your driveway.
Planting Zones
Hardiness Zone: 5-8
How To Plant Native Flame® American Hornbeam
When planting an American Hornbeam, keep in mind that they prefer full sun to partial shade with well-draining soil.
How To Water
When watering your Native Flame®, it will need regular watering when freshly planted and then supplemental watering during any dry spells they might encounter.
How To Fertilize
Incorporate Elements Starter Plant Food granular form into the soil when planting. If planting in spring or summer, start fertilizing late fall using Elements Starter Plant Food granular form on an annual basis each fall. Continue this for the first three years to get your plant well established.
How To Prune
Pruning your Hornbeam is not required but it is recommended to remove of any dead or diseased branches.
How Does Shipping Work?
Bower & Branch Trees, the real BIG trees, don’t fit in a box! Our big trees, sizes XL and bigger, require expert delivery and care, that means our extra-large trees are shipped on Bower & Branch trucks. We are the only ones who know how to ship our big and bigger trees and plants with tender loving care. We deliver your trees and plants directly to you. Ask Bower & Branch about planting services – we'd be happy to assist in installation.
*For Big trees and Shrubs, Size XL and bigger: Review our Seasonal Shipping Timelines and Policy here.
Your trees and plants are grown across the United States at various Bower & Branch Growers. Depending on your location, your plant orders may be shipped from various locations. Please expect orders with multiple items to be delivered over a number of days as a result. Orders made up of numerous items or selections will not arrive at your home on the same day.
Shipping Delays:
From time to time, Bower & Branch Growers may determine to delay order shipment based on various factors for plant health. Weather in your region, as well as, where your plants are grown, is always considered when shipping. Extreme weather conditions may delay some or all of your order. Bower & Branch allows our Growers to make final shipping decisions based solely to benefit your trees and plants’ health and success.
How Does Sizing Work?
The size of our trees have nothing to do with the container size like you may find elsewhere–big doesn't mean just height - it’s also vigor, age, and overall health. Other online retailers are going to tell you that a plant is a seven gallon, that means nothing to your tree or plant (or you.)
Our trees for sale online are graded on large, x-large, and even bigger sizes. This is because our trees are sized by their age—the higher the letter, the more mature the tree. The age determines the trees’ overall height, size of the trunk and the overall branch density.
All of these characteristics are what you should be looking for when choosing a tree for immediate impact and instant curb appeal. Our extra-large tree and plant sizes are sure to wow you and your neighbors!
See the size guides below.
