In 1807, Jefferson ordered "Purple Beeches" from Thomas Main's nursery in March, then in November, because the first planting failed. Jefferson directed his overseer, Edmund Bacon, to have Wormley Hughes plant them in the southwest and northwest angles of the house at Monticello. One of these trees survived until the 1950s, while the other until the 1970s.
The original purple-leaf beech was discovered in the Hanleiter Forest of Germany before 1772, and it became the most common beech in 19th century gardens.
The copper beech was an early offspring of this wild form with paler leaves. This tree is a pyramidal to rounded tree with large deciduous leaves that unfurl a tender, copper green gradually turning a deep purple bronze with smooth, pewter-hued bark.
↑ This article is based on a Center for Historic Plants Information Sheet.