American hornbeam

* Common name: American hornbeam

American hornbeam tree’s summer foliage.

* Botanical name: Carpinus caroliniana

* What it is: A mid-sized, U.S. native shade tree with orange-red fall foliage and a smooth, gray trunk (nicknamed “musclewood” for how the trunk looks like it’s flexing a thigh muscle). Slow-growing and a favorite nesting tree of hummingbirds. Gets winged nutlets in fall that feed wildlife.

* Size: 25-30 feet tall, 20-25 feet wide.

* Where to use: Good shade-tree choice in smaller yards where beech, oak and maple are too big. Use as a single specimen or plant in a triangular grove of three to create a mini-grove. A slightly damp spot with afternoon shade is ideal, but American hornbeam will tolerate full sun and less than ideal soil.

* Care: Keep the roots consistently damp the first 2 to 3 seasons to establish the roots, then soak deeply once a week in very hot, dry weather. Remove lowest limbs as the tree grows to expose more of the muscular gray trunk. Crossing or unwanted branches can be removed mid to late winter. Fertilizer usually not needed, especially if you’re fertilizing the lawn nearby.

* Great partner: Creeping sedum ‘Angelina’ makes a contrasting low golden underplanting, especially in fall. Juniper ‘Lime Glow’ or Russian cypress are good low evergreen underplantings.