Beech trees grow in a very laid back, leisurely way. People say if you plant a beech tree today it might actually be a tree and not a large shrub with in 50+ years. Beech trees are worth growing due to their leaves and trunks. The leaves of a beech tree are shiny with a waxy kind of look and their trunks are smooth. The leaves of a beech tree tend to take a while to rot down, so under the beech tree, the beech leaves make a good mulch. The beech tree is one of the trees that can grow in extreme alkalinity soils. The other trees we know that can grow in extreme alkalinity soils are the ashes and the elms.
Beech trees are quite hardy to cold but they don't like the coastal regions or windy places. Exposed areas of a beech tree could tend to look ragged. Beech trees are frequently toppled by heavy winds and storms. This is because the beech tree root systems doesn't penetrate into the ground. They tend to grow more outward from the tree, this creating the beech tree to be top heavy. Due to the heavy shade and the fallen leaves from the beech tree, so a beech tree prevents any flower other than bluebells to grow under it. this is why beech tree forests are so amazing, seeing nothing but the gray trunks reaching to the sky, with no other plant life as far as the eye can see.
Now remember if your coming to this page, from the oak tree page, oak trees fall into the genus species of a beech tree. If you don't remember why it is because of the leaf style. On the female trees they tend to have tiny, greenish flowers and the male trees have the long, dangling catkins. However the leaves of an oak tree will dry up and decay much faster than that of a beech tree.
