October 2025: Cut Leaf European Beech

By Andy Mead

Get close to this Cut Leaf European Beech, (Fagus sylvatica 'Asplenifolia'), which you will find in Woodland Park between the playground and the baseball field, and you will appreciate its most striking feature: Deeply incised, glossy leaves that are light green in spring, turning into a glossy deeper green in summer, then copper in the fall.

 Full form Cut Leaf European Beech in Woodland Park.

Also known at the Fern Leaf Beech, this slow-growing tree has an oval shape that can be 70 feet high and 40 feet wide (don’t plant one under power lines). It prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soils, and doesn’t like wet feet.

The tree has no serious insect or disease issues, and deer don’t particularly like it. But if you plant one, watch out for Japanese beetles.

The bark is smooth and silver-gray.

Foliage of a Cut Leaf European Beech.

Inconspicuous bright yellow flowers appear in the spring followed by prickly pods holding two beechnuts. The beechnuts are eaten by squirrels, deer, wild turkeys, chipmunks and sometimes by human foragers, who like them raw or roasted.

One source says Cut Leaf probably originated in France and was introduced into England in 1804 and later the United States. It is hardy up to USDA zone 4, which means it will do well in our Kentucky winters.

The Cut Leaf European Beech is most often touted as a standout landscape tree in large lawns or gardens. 

Trunk and branching reminiscent of scary trees in movies - perfect for the season!

Here are sites that will tell you more:

https://nursery-crop-extension.mgcafe.uky.edu/content/fagus-sylvatica

http://www.tree-guide.com/cut-leaf-beech#google_vignette

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/fagus-sylvatica-asplenifolia/

​All photos by Greg Doyle.