i would visit local arbs and see how they all react in your area ... and i am sure there are many.. within the area of indy ...

ken

Beech get gigantic but not for many decades. How is the soil? They seem to like well drained soil but not hard clay, and from what I have seen, like lowland areas near streams. Whatever you decide, be sure to plant it before it leafs out in spring. And also, look at the specific tree you plan to get this fall when it is changing color, so you know that the type you get for sure has the color you are looking for.

One other thing to think about: your yard and whether your property has been graded or not. Expanding on what whaas said above, they are difficult because in nature they generally don't show up naturally until the forest has been in recovery for about 80 years. If your property has been graded and decades of the rich topsoil have been removed, beech may not establish there at all.

American Hornbeam (also called musclewood or ironwood) has similar fall colors to beech, and they are shade tolerant too. But hornbeams remain much shorter in height (up to 30 feet or so) and they don't live long in comparison to beech trees, which can live for hundreds of years. Hornbeams are also deciduous but they do not hold on to their leaves in winter like beech does.

Thanks for your answers and good follow-up questions.

Ken, the locally grown beeches are what inspired me in the first place. My neighbor has a roseomarginata beech in his front yard that approaches the colors of yours in the spring. It's in almost full sun all day and manages to look good even into the fall, except on really nasty hot and dry summers.

Whaas, good questions. My first "priority" was to fill that prominent spot with something interesting that I enjoy looking at throughout the year. The previous home owners planted an ash there and it grew to become a big tree. I am sad to see it die, but not heartbroken about it. I felt for that prominent spot it was a somewhat blah choice. The tree I will eventually plant does not need to hide anything, a row of five foot tall shrubs behind it does that job pretty well. No plans to garden under it. A layer of native Waldsteinia groundcover is all I am planning to do. My beehives are nearby, so any real gardening would have to happen with a veil on :-) A purple/red colored beech would stand out nicely against the green backdrop and the sandstone colored shed. American beech... I have several two year old seedlings that would be perfect to be planted there. I like beeches, but I am open to other suggestions as well.

Ryan, my soil is pretty good. I live in a neighborhood that is about 40 years old. I have lived here for about 18 of those years and have built good topsoil in that time. All those leaves from my trees and the neighbors are being put to good use. Part of the attraction of putting a beech in this spot (even though it is a little tight as you rightly observed) versus a hornbeam or a hophornbeam is the fact that eventually the tree will grow over the shed and become a fully grown specimen. Maybe a hophornbeam would be another good choice. You don't see them grow very much around here...

'Red Obelisk' is fastigate, yes, but it's not super-narrow. It's more like an elongated egg. It is one of my favorite trees, and here in my Mediterranean climate (no rain from April-Nov, very dry summer air) it holds its color beautifully in full sun with no scorching. Of course I irrigate, and for the first two summers it crisped a little bit, but now it is glorious. I'll see if I can dig up a photo. All of the beeches are glorious, but I mention this one since you say it is possibly the best choice for the spot.

Fagus sylvatica 'Red Obelisk'. This photo is a couple of years old and it has really taken off since then, but this gives you an idea of the shape. The photo was taken in Sept, and you can see that the color is strong and true. It turns a lovely golden reddish brown in autumn.

Thanks Sara! And btw, awesome arrangement of your collection. Love that silver blue weeping cedar (?) next to the beech.

I typically like the uprights/fastigate specimens where you need an exclamation as a vertical accent. Don't really like them next to vertical buildings ie shed.

With that said if you're not looking to block an area and just want visual interest I would go with a medium sized shade tree that is deep rooted, flowers, fall color and more fine textured against the large course sugar maple.

Yellowwood is my recommendation with proper pruning. Only reservation is that its not the longest lived tree. If you want to go with a smaller tree then do a Paperbark Maple. This tree is beyond elegant with blazing fall color and bark that you can marvel with every day of the year. That can easily be a substitute for the blooms.