Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’ is a beautiful, upright hornbeam that’s ideal for planting along a street. It also looks great on a green strip or in a park.
When young, the tree has an almost columnar crown shape. As it matures, the tree develops a slightly wider, oval-shaped crown. This cultivar remains noticeably narrower in street plantings than Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’. Incidentally, with proper pruning, you can easily maintain the tree in the desired shape. At our nursery, we grow this tree as a standard tree and as a pollarded tree.
This cultivar is named after Mr. Frans Fontaine (1922–2002), who served as head of parks and recreation in Eindhoven for many years. He was also the author of the ‘Boomspiegels’ series, which our company published. If you’d like to learn more about the origin and characteristics of Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’ and about Mr. Frans Fontaine, you can read an article by Mart van den Oever from 2017 in Dendroflora:
https://dendrologie.nl/arbor-vitae/mijn-favoriete-boom-carpinus-betulus-frans-fontaine/
Photo locations: Moergestel, Oisterwijk, Hardenberg, Capelle aan den IJssel, Rotterdam, Bruges, Bourges (France), and our nursery
| Application: | Large Gardens, Small Gardens, Squares and Parks, Standalone Plants, Streets |
|---|---|
| Growing conditions: | (Partial) shade, Dry (sandy) soil, Normal soil, Tolerates some compaction, Moist (clay) soil, Sensitive to frost, Wind-resistant, Sunny |
| Growth habit: | Feathered, Columnar |
| Adult height: | First size trees 12+ m |
| Soil: | minimal soil requirements; tolerates compaction well; prefers well-drained soil |
| Flowers: | inconspicuous catkins that appear before leaves (April-May) |
| Fruits: | no |
| Environmental factors: | road salt |
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