Also I know Tricolor is best situated with partial shade, but what about a full day of sun?

I'm not worried about the vibrance of the pink throughout the season, I'm just looking for a good purple leafed tree that gets sizable (at least 20 x 15) but not a cherry.

The white and pink tend to diminish over time. The purple goes bronze during the summer.

Bronze like some of the purple leaf Malus cultivars look like? How about foilage retention?

Whoa, sorry for all the questions, lol.

I have a an area with plenty of space, just don't know if the foilage will struggle in full sun (meaning 12 hours)

I do not live in a hot climate where this tree might burn, have not seen under what conditions that occurs. But even here, it fades. Maybe it sometimes burns here, too, and I didn't pick up on it. With our quite dry conditions starting after 4th of July celebrations get rained out, many broad-leaved trees and other moist climate plants start to deteriorate, show various effects. Even the native red alder does not make it through the summer without stressing out, on many sites.

Recently I read the variegation is encouraged by stronger light levels. So, you need a place with enough light to keep it colorful, but not so much that it burns.

Maybe north of a tall building.

i am a collector.. one of anything is requisite ...

I HAVE TWO OF THESE .... there is plenty in your yard to thrill the bee-gee-bees out of you .. when this one starts getting ratty ...

but i would not be without the two i have for june and july ...

i am sure you have seen the pix.. but for others.. check below.. ignore the dwarf.. they are endemic to my garden ...

ken

Your images are acutally the first to come up on google image search.

So bottom line, I'm hearing it looks fantastic May - July and if dry/hot weather hits you have a ratty tree for late summer going into fall.

As long as it doesn't defoliate I'm ok with it. I need more "colorful" trees to plant. I have done what I can with habits and textures with other trees. I'm quickly running out of room though with my just over 1/3 acre so I want to make some good decisions with my last few trees.

bboy, I know exactly what you mean with the inferior malus cultivars...but those start to actually defolitate from scab or rust. Are you just making a color comparison?

ken

Ken, do your tricolors defoliate prior to fall?

Somebody I know out here had a newly planted one lose the white component almost immediately, after planting it out maybe 7 or 8 feet tall.

I don't notice these burning or dropping in my area so much as fading - it amounts to a copper beech with some pink flaming. Larger trees here can be recognized from a bit of a distance by the weird, halo-like effect produced by the variegation - of what would otherwise be another blah copper beech. If you look at multiple internet pictures you will see its parameters.

I ended up finding this goregously branched paperbark maple hiding in the back that was put out to stock....I snatched that thing right up!

Folks plant Bradford Pears all the time for the 13-20 days worth of flowers they have. Tri-Color is GREAT for a few months out of the year if you like that type of thing, and I do.

Next county over someone in the parks department likes them. I've seen two. Later in the season when the pink whitens out one of them crisps up a little. Its not the most attractive thing. The other just faded to the white edge. My tiny 1 foot grafted one stayed strong all year, the pink did fade but all 30 or so of its leaves stayed attractive, weird. Its on the corner of the dampish part of the yard. I gave it about 1/2 gallon of water every 4 days or so w/o rain. Gets sun probably 10am to 4pm or 5pm over the summer.

the ONLY thing that caused leaf loss/damage in my 15 years with it.. was a severe hail storm ...

otherwise they hang on ...

otherwise.. this is definitely one that i would buy in person.. rather than mail order ... to see what you are really getting ...

ken

I don't find it unattractive, just more run of the mill. Mine probably gets more moisture than most being close the bottom of a long gentle hill. It IS in the sun through the late morning and middle of the afternoon though. Perhaps the two offset.

As a side note, my little fella had very little pink to its leaves this year after a cold wet winter and wet spring but looked much like Ken's last year.

Color isn't perfect off my confusing new Samsung Galaxy cell phone but you get the idea.

"Fagus sylvatica ‘Tricolor’ is not known to exist in this country. In fact it is only rumored to still be present in France. ‘Tricolor’ is a white-leafed tree, with each leaf possessing a few green spots and a pink margin. It is probably lost to cultivation. The tree sold under that name in this country is really ‘Roseomarginata’, a purple-leafed beech with an irregular pink margin, becoming somewhat bronzed by the end of summer with the pink fading. ‘Purpurea Tricolor’ is an attempt to bridge the incorrect name of ‘Tricolor’ with the correct name of ‘Roseomarginata’, which it received in 1888."

So, Fagus sylvatica ‘Roseomarginata’ is likely the most correct name of the trees you are seeing at nurseries.

I have a serviceberry that is struggling...Fagus sylvatica ‘Roseomarginata’ is waiting in line.