Often asked: How High Can A Hornbeam Hedge Grow?

After several years of proper care, a hornbeam hedge can reach a height of up to four metres and its thick growth makes it an ideal privacy screen for your garden.

How quickly does hornbeam hedge grow?

Hornbeam is highly resilient, and can tolerate poorer growing conditions such as shade, high winds and clay or wet soils. It grows around 20-40cm per year and is easily maintained at between 1-5m. Hornbeam hedging works equally well as a single-species hedge or when combined with other native hedging.

How far apart should I plant hornbeam for a hedge?

What Spacing Should a Hornbeam Hedge be planted at? 3 plants per metre, 33cms apart, in a single row is fine for most hedges. You can plant a staggered double row at 20-25 cms apart if you want it to be stockproof.

Is hornbeam good for hedging?

Hornbeam is tolerant of moist – or even wet – soils, growing naturally in an angular, twiggy manner. It tolerates heavy trimming and easily makes a thick hedge. Not susceptible to any particular pests or diseases, it’s a very reliable option for a formal hedge.

How Low Can You Keep a hornbeam hedge?

Hornbeam hedges can be easily maintained from under 1 metre to over 5 metres, with single trim during the year for shaping the growth.

What is the fastest growing hedging?

Cupressocyparis leylandii Leylandii is a fast-growing hedge plant that has the quickest growth rate of approximately 75-90cm per year.

Are hornbeam trees messy?

The American hornbeam is mostly known as being a very attractive landscape tree. It isn’t particularly messy, it has beautifully colored bark all year round, its leaves provide an ever change kaleidoscope of color, and it is a lovely shape as well.

How do you thicken a hornbeam hedge?

Do a similar system with the sides, cutting all the stems back to the same width from the centre and a few inches narrower than you want the finished hedge to be. This will enable it to thicken by producing fine new growth that will be easy to trim and keep neat later on.

Do hornbeams have invasive roots?

Root flare is modest, and root growth does not appear to be aggressive, so potential infrastructure damage is probably low to non-existent. I have seen them grow relatively well in ridiculously small street tree openings.

How do I make my hornbeam hedge thicker?

Cut back any long side shoots to reduce the width. Always use clean secateurs and cut back to just above a leaf or stem node then clear any weeds from around the base and give it a good mulch of garden compost when you know the soil is wet from a good rainfall.

Is hornbeam hedge poisonous?

Carpinus betulus has no toxic effects reported.

Is hornbeam good for birds?

The Hornbeam produces nutlets in late summer, which are eaten by a number of birds – including the American Goldfinch. Due to its broad shape, the Hornbeam provides quality shelter and nesting locations for birds, it is a favorite nesting tree of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.

How do you care for a hornbeam hedge?

Ideally they should be cut back after each flush to keep them tidy. After the summer growth spurt, deciduous hedges, like beech and hornbeam, need to be pruned before the leaves change colour and fall. September is the best month to do it.

Does hornbeam grow faster than beech?

Hornbeam has crinkled leaves that some people consider less beautiful than beech. The autumn leaves will hang on the branches for most of the winter, but not as long as beech. In a site with some shade, or in a cold, exposed area, or in a frost pocket, Hornbeam will be the faster growing of the two.

Can Hornbeam be cut back hard?

Hornbeams will tolerate hard pruning, however this will result in lots of twiggy growth. This is fine if you’re growing a hedge, but if you have a tree and hard prune the trunk or a main branch then you will need to thin out the resulting growth the following year to retain just a few, strong shoots.

Are hornbeams Evergreen?

Please note that these are not evergreen. The leaves turn brown in the winter but they do keep a proportion of their leaves in the winter if the hedges are trimmed in the summer.