Ansorgei

Character & interest

The main appeal of ‘Ansorgei’ is its texture: the leaves, much narrower than those of a typical beech, create a lighter silhouette and a very graphic look. The plant often develops long arching shoots, which enhances its elegance—especially when it overhangs a path, border, or water feature.

Colours

• Spring : brown-red to purple foliage (often most intense early in the season).

• Summer : shifts toward purple-green / deep purple tones.

• Late summer – autumn : the color may “close down” to a brownish purple-green depending on exposure and soil.

Habit & vigour

Small-tree habit (or large shrub depending on training), with arching branches. Low vigor: this is a cultivar for patient gardeners, valued for its unique foliage rather than fast results.

Indicative size

Observed orders of magnitude depending on sources and training:

• around 2 m at about 10 years (often cited),

• an observed ~20-year-old specimen around 2.5 m,

• in the very long term it can exceed these figures, but growth remains very slow (large variation with climate, soil, grafting, and pruning).

Exposure

Sun / bright partial shade. In hot climates or drying soils, choose a sheltered position and soil that stays cool in summer. Avoid scorching exposures and drying winds.

Origin & history

‘Ansorgei’ is generally presented as a very slow selection with narrow, lance-shaped leaves, often thought to originate from (or be close to) a presumed cross between a purple beech and a cut-leaved form. It is attributed to Ansorge and reported as raised at the Flottbeck nurseries (Hamburg) in 1891.
It is also listed as Fagus sylvatica var. heterophylla (Atropurpurea Group) ‘Ansorgei’; RHS treats Fagus sylvatica ‘Ansorgei’ as a synonym.