Other Names:  Cutleaf Japanese Hornbeam

Description:

A fine dwarf variety remotely related to the birch with finely cut, narrow foliage with a silvery cast; a distinctive and uncommon small tree for home gardens or containers

Ornamental Features

Silver Lace Japanese Hornbeam has attractive emerald green foliage edged in silver on a plant with a round habit of growth. The deeply cut pointy leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall color. It produces small clusters of green hop-like fruit from early fall to late winter.

Landscape Attributes

Silver Lace Japanese Hornbeam is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a more or less rounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Silver Lace Japanese Hornbeam is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Silver Lace Japanese Hornbeam will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This shrub performs well in both full sun and full shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Silver Lace Japanese Hornbeam makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.