Carpinus cordata seed

LATIN NAME: CARPINUS CORDATA

COMMON NAME: Heartleaf Hornbeam

The heartleaf hornbeam ribs the broad, heart-shaped leaves with the strong, parallel veins, the smooth, grey bark fluted with the sinewy ridges, and the whole tree carrying the quiet, refined look of the hornbeams. The foliage turns to the clear golds in the autumn, the small, ribbed nutlets hang in the leafy bracts, and the tree grows into the round-headed crown of the woodland. It stands the shade and the cold well, and the wood stays hard and tough. It likes the sun or the part shade, and the deep, moist, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

In the birch family, the hornbeams are known for the hardest wood and the neatest foliage, and the heartleaf species keeps its place in the studies of the temperate forest trees and the wood anatomy. The research covers the seed biology and the germination of the ribbed nutlets, while the foresters measure the hard, tough wood that has served the tool handles and the mallets for the ages. The distinctive, ribbed leaves keep the botanists interested.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the cool garden, the heartleaf hornbeam is the tree that serves well and asks little. The neat foliage, the fluted bark and the clear autumn golds give the year its structure, and the hard wood has filled the tool handles, the mallets and the small, sturdy uses for the ages. It stands the clipping well, making the fine hedge or the pleached avenue, and the woodland birds take the shelter and the seed food. Dependable in every season.

The heartleaf hornbeam seeds need the cold spell before the sowing, so give them the month in the refrigerator or the winter outside. Sow them over the surface of the tray of gritty, loamy soil, cover them lightly, and keep the tray in the bright, cool spot. The seedlings show in the spring, and they grow on steadily with the ribbed leaves. Plant them out into the sun or the part shade, and the fluted bark and the golds come with the years.

To grow the heartleaf hornbeam from seed, sow the small, ribbed seeds thinly into the shallow flat of gritty, loamy soil, then cover them lightly, keep the flat in the bright, cool spot and water gently. The seedlings emerge within a few weeks, and they grow on steadily. Grow the young trees in the deep, moist ground, and the ribbed leaves will hold their veins through the years.