What's eating my fagus sylvatica 'pendula'?

Weeping beech faces the same pests as all European beeches — woolly aphid, beech scale/bark disease, and grey squirrel bark stripping are the main concerns. The sweeping curtain of branches reaching the ground can harbour moisture and make inspection harder. Check the trunk and main limbs annually for scale or bark canker.

White fluffy colonies on leaf undersides; sticky honeydew and sooty mould; early defoliation on heavily infested pendulous shoots Spray neem oil or insecticidal soap under the canopy; do this in the morning so foliage dries; natural predators usually control populations on established trees

White scale crust on bark; subsequent bark canker and oozing; limbs die back progressively; weeping form can conceal early trunk lesions Inspect trunk annually under the canopy curtain; remove cankered wood; apply horticultural oil to bark in late winter to smother scale; maintain tree health with mulch

Bark stripped from upper branches or the main trunk in spring, girdling and killing wood above the wound Physical protection on young trees; prompt wound care if bark is stripped (smooth edges, allow callusing); repeat attacks may require professional pest management