This week: Raise a Glass to Hophornbeam
Hello!
Let me introduce you to Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), a native understory tree that, to quote the eminent horticulturalist Michael A. Dirr, “has been relegated to the forest shadows and has never been discovered by the gardening public.” He wrote that in the 1997 edition of Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs (which belongs on your bookshelf), and it remains true today. You mostly see this tree in native nurseries and restoration projects, not in people’s yards.
But this tree deserves a spot in your landscape. Hophornbeam is native to Appalachian forests and is at home among Hickory, Oak, Maple, and Beech trees, and supports the larvae of more than 90 butterflies and moths. As a relative of the birch tree, it has a similar leaf shape and flower-loaded catkins, as well as exfoliating bark. It stands apart, though, because its fruit is gorgeous. Throughout the summer, clusters of it drip from branches, resembling beermaking hops, hence the common name. In the fall, the ripe seeds are eaten by bobwhites, grouse, songbirds, and small mammals.
Hophornbeam favors full sun to part shade and tolerates clay soil. It is somewhat slow-growing and typically ranges from 20 to 30 feet in height. It is at home as an ornamental in the landscape, in a mixed hedge, or at the edge of the woods. It doesn’t tolerate salt, so don’t plant it where you might pile snow from a driveway, or where it could get overspray from the road.
Why isn’t this tree more popular? Some corners of the Internet accuse Hophornbeam of being a “weed tree,” but don’t listen to them. It has little commercial value to the timber industry; as such, it is a weed to them.
Elsewhere:
Archaeologists are gaining a better understanding of how Native Americans changed the landscape for farming as early as 1000 AD. This gift article from the New York Times explains the discovery of raised beds and fertilizer remains in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Have a good week,
Julie