Green Beech Hedge Plants - Fagus sylvatica
A Green Beech, Fagus sylvatica, hedge is one of the best garden hedges there is: equally outstanding in a formal setting or as stockproof country hedging. When clipped, Green Beech hedging holds its leaves - which turn a beautiful russet colour in the autumn right through the winter. When it is allowed to grow to full size in a wood or a park, a large Beech tree makes a majestic specimen with soaring branches. Both in hedge and tree, young Beech leaves are bright green in spring darkening as summer wears on. The mostly smooth, sometimes rippled bark is a shade of elephant grey.
This page is here for you to buy Green Beech sapling trees in smaller sizes, between 0.3 and 1.8 metres tall (or between 1 and 6 feet). These are mainly used for hedging and are also ideal when used in large numbers in woodland and forestry planting. If you have time, we suggest that you go for smaller trees because they establish so rapidly. We also have much larger Green Beech specimen trees from about 3 metres upwards.
Is my soil suitable for growing Green Beech? A native to the UK, it is tolerant of any well-drained soil type. If it takes more than a day for surface water to drain away after heavy rains, then your soil is probably too heavy for Beech. Hornbeam, when planted as a hedge, has leaves that look almost the same as Beech's; it will grow in quite wet soil.
In some parts of the country, Green Beech replaces the Hawthorn that is usually found around a British field. Well grown Beech hedging is stockproof and once established it is perfect for the tops of banks. Fagus sylvatica loves the drainage and is good in wind.
Pruning your Beech Hedge:
With a new beech hedge, just nip off an inch or so - 2.5cm of the top of the central, leading stem of each plant on planting to help it bush out. Whenever a strong leader develops, nip off the top bud. Trim side branches to make them bushier. Beech hedging is best trimmed in midsummer. The ideal day for a haircut is overcast with rain on the way; full sun on the freshly cut leaves can cause the edges to brown and plants always like to have a drink after a trim. By removing a few leaves from all over the hedge at this time of year, you both keep it looking neat and encourage it to grip on tightly to the remaining foliage, which should stay on the branches until the following spring. With an established beech hedge, this is probably all the attention that it will need. If you do want to carry out formative pruning, do this in winter when the plants are dormant; you can cut them back hard if they are overgrown. Beech hedge plants are best planted in either a single row at 3 per metre or a double row at 4-5 per metre.
A mature beech hedge can be as big as you like - the tallest is in Scotland, by the road in a place called Meikleour. It is 100 feet tall in places. Your hedge can also become very wide, improving its ability to slow the wind and muffle sound from a busy road. Beech hedge plants are best planted in a single row at 3 per metre, 33 cms apart. For a really thick, animal-proof hedge, use a staggered double row at 5 per metre.
Are you looking to get a big beech hedge up in a hurry? For larger quantities of our bigger sized plants, have a look at the savings in our hedge pack section where we sell beech hedging in bundles of 50. Depending on your budget, you can choose between 80/100cm, 100/125cm or 120/150cm tall plants. These are well branched and will make the beginnings of a solid barrier in their first year - this is the cheapest way to get an "instant" green beech hedge.
Are you looking for something else? We have more Beech plants of different colours and sizes, as well as many other bare root trees.
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