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Japanese beech (Fagus crenata)

There were two Japanese beeches in the nursery, both similar in size. One had a gracefully curving trunk and a well formed apical zone, but the nebari was a tangled mass of arthritic roots that resembled a bad Chinese elm. This one had a really ugly apex, where there had been a rather brutal trunk chop, but just look at the nebari....!

You can always rebuild branches and apices, but old nebari can't ever be changed, so I snapped this one up while I had the chance. After two seasons, the apex is now beginning to work.

Pot: Nick Lenz
Photo: November 2007