Hornbeam Hedging

HORNBEAM HEDGING (CARPINUS)

Hornbeam Hedging (Carpinus) is a similar hedge type to Beech and keeps its (brown) leaves over the winter if grown as a hedge.  It can grow in a wide range of soils from dry fertile soils to heavy clay soil.  This makes it a good alternative to Beech on heavy clay soils. The leaves of Hornbeam Hedging are saw-edged and its fruits are hop like.

Hyland’s Price List – Hornbeam Hedging (Carpinus)

Ways You Can Buy Hornbeam Hedging from Hyland’s Nursery

Bare rooted:

There are plants that have no soil on their roots. They are usually small, single stemmed plants.  It is important when you get these plants that you keep the roots moist and don’t let the roots dry out.  You should keep them in the bag or heal the roots into sand or soil until you are ready to plant them. You should try to have the ground ready before you get them, and plant them as soon as you get them so they have a good chance of success.  They should be planted between November and March but the earlier in the winter the better as it gives the roots a chance to settle in before the growth starts.

Planting Tips – Hornbeam Hedging 

Distance apart:

Smaller beech plants should be planted at a distance of 30cm apart in a single row or sometimes people prefer to plant them in a double row with plants 50cm apart in each row, the distance between the two rows is usually 30-50cm. Larger plants won’t need to be planted as close, but how close will depend on how soon you want your hedge to look full.

Preparation for planting

The ground should be clean and free of weeds and grass.  This gives the new plants a good chance to get established.  If the area you are going to plant them in has grass or weeds, the ground should be sprayed off a week or so before planting to avoid any competition. To help prevent too many weeds appearing after you have planted your hornbeam hedging, I find it a good idea to put your grass clippings or mulch around the plants as this smothers out the weeds and helps prevent the plants drying out.

Depth

The plants should be planted deep enough to cover the roots. They do not like to be planted too deep as this may kill them or stunt their growth.

Hornbeam doesn’t like to be lying in water so if the area you want to plant them in is wet, you may need to consider draining the ground or making a mound/ditch of topsoil on top of the ground and plant them into this. However, Hornbeam hedging can grow in heavy clay soil.

Hornbeam can grow well in full sun and shade.

Aftercare

Once the Hornbeam hedging is established you can trim it once a year.  Mid to late summer is a good time to give it a trim.  It shouldn’t be trimmed if the weather is really hot and dry.  You can give your hedge a feed of any high nitrogen feed (e.g. in the nursery we use 18-6-12) or poultry manure pellets in late spring/early summer.  If the ground needs to be sprayed for weeds, winter is the best time to spray the ground as the plants are dormant.

General Problems with Hornbeam Hedges

Rabbit and Hare damage:

You may find that your hornbeam plant is bare at the bottom this is generally rabbit damage as they love to eat the young hedging plants.  Unfortunately the only solution we find to this is to rabbit fence, which is expensive initially but if not done can cause a lot of expense from having to replace plants and a lot of annoyance to yourself.

If the plant has been bitten cleanly off almost like a cut, this is damage by a hare.

Hunger:

If your leaves are turning yellow in the growing season, it may be hungry and your hedge may need a granule or liquid feed with high nitrogen or some poultry manure pellets.

Too much water (waterlogged):

If you have a more established Hornbeam Hedge and it starts turning yellow, the ground may be water logged.  Hornbeam doesn’t like sitting in water for a long period of time and doesn’t like heavy wet ground.

If you have any questions about Hornbeam Hedges, reach out to us by phone +353 87 277 3492 or email for answers.