Heart of the Garden

Heart of the Garden is a magnificent copper beech (Fagus sylvatica purpurea) in the Botanical Gardens of the University of Wrocław in Niemcza, south-western Poland. Known locally as Serce Ogrodu, it was European Tree of the Year 2024.

Standing a modest 12m high, Heart’s oddly shaped trunk is extremely thick at over 4m. For context, common beeches typically grow 25-35m high (max. 50m) and 1.5m wide (max. 3m).

As well as its trunk, Heart’s purple leaves and long, reaching branches are what make it so distinctive. Its canopy is as wide as 40m, albeit aided by wooden supports.

This champion tree is 180-200 years old, meaning it was planted when Poland was part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Today it’s part of the Botanical Garden of the University of Wrocław and a popular attraction visited by 130,000 people annually.

European beeches typically live for up to 300 years, making Heart middle-aged. It’s fortunate to be recovering from a fungal infection, following arborist intervention in the form of a chainsaw and new soil.

Copper (purple) beech is a mutation of common beech (Fagus sylvatica) from which nearly all descend. Used as a show tree, its distinctive purple leaves turn deep green in summer.

The Northern Hemisphere’s oldest known beech tree is over 600 years old and can be found in Italy’s only primeval beech forest, in Valle Cervara in the southern region of Abruzzo.

Image by Bozka Piotrowska

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