Copper / Purple Beech Hedging Plants

• Sold as: Bareroot 40/60cm to 150/175cm; 1m troughs 125/150cm; 10L potted 150/175cm
• Plants per metre: Single row 3/m; staggered double row 6/m, or 4/m for a fuller winter face
• Ultimate hedge height: Kept at 1–5m (a tree to 25–30m unclipped)
• Growth rate: 30–60cm a year — identical to green beech
• Evergreen or deciduous: Deciduous — but clip it in summer and it holds coppery-purple leaves right through winter
• UK native: The species is native; the purple-leaved forms are seed-raised garden selections of it
• Thorny: No. Leaves and mast can upset dogs if eaten in quantity
• Best soil and site: Lighter, free-draining soil and full sun — both health and leaf colour depend on it. Struggles on heavy, wet ground, where hornbeam is the answer instead
• RHS Award of Garden Merit: Yes — 1993, hardiness rating H6 (held by the Atropurpurea Group)
• Wildlife value: Mast feeds birds and small mammals in irregular "mast years"
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Potted and trough available beyond the bareroot season. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Copper beech hedging (Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea Group) grows exactly like ordinary green beech — same 30–60cm a year, same soil needs, same clip once a year — but with leaves that run a full colour season of their own: red on emergence, deep purple through summer, copper into autumn, then held on the branch right through winter once trimmed.

Copper Beech Hedging: One Hedge, Four Colours a Year

New copper beech leaves actually open green or pink before darkening — a detail that catches new customers out every spring, worried their "copper" beech has arrived the wrong colour. It hasn't. The colour deepens through the season, and the strongest, truest purple always comes in full sun; in shade the leaves settle for a duller bronze-green. Clip in late summer with secateurs, not shears, so you're not slicing the big leaves in half, and the dead coppery foliage will stay put until new growth pushes it off in spring — the same "everciduous" trick that makes green beech such a good winter screen.

In every other respect it is green beech: the same growth rate, the same clipped formal habit, the same dislike of waterlogged or heavy clay ground.

A Group, Not a Single Plant

"Copper beech" isn't one clone but a whole group of purple-leaved seedling strains, botanically the Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea Group — the RHS name covers synonyms including f. purpurea, 'Purpurea', 'Cuprea' and 'Atropunicea'. Because it's seed-raised rather than cloned from a single parent, no two copper beech hedges colour quite alike, and that's a feature rather than a flaw in an informal planting.

Mixing copper beech with ordinary green beech in a single run — the tapestry hedge — is a long garden tradition, seen at Hidcote among other gardens, and it works precisely because the two grow at the same rate and take the same clip. A run of alternating green and purple beech, or a block of each, makes a far more striking boundary than either alone.

Planting Companions

Copper beech's classic partner is green beech itself, for the tapestry-hedge effect, or holly for an evergreen version of the same idea. On heavier or wetter ground, hornbeam is the honest alternative rather than a struggling copper beech. As a backdrop, the deep purple foliage is a superb foil for silver-leaved and brightly coloured perennials — try it behind a border from our perennial plant range. Browse the rest of the beech hedging range too.

Why Buy Your Hedging from Us?

We're one of the UK's largest sellers of bareroot hedging, grown to our specification by specialist UK growers rather than diverted from general nursery stock. A purpose-built cold store keeps it in top condition all season. Bareroot copper beech is guaranteed to grow for 12 months, correctly planted and cared for — troughs are excluded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is copper beech any harder to grow than green beech?

No — growth rate, soil needs and trimming are identical. The only real difference is the leaf colour, and that colour needs full sun to develop properly.

Why is my copper beech hedge turning green instead of purple?

Usually shade — full sun is needed for the strongest purple colour, and shaded plants settle for a duller bronze-green. Some variation between plants is also normal, since copper beech is seed-raised rather than a single cloned variety.

Can I mix copper beech and green beech in one hedge?

Yes — the classic tapestry hedge, seen in gardens like Hidcote. The two grow at exactly the same rate and take the same clip, so they knit together as one hedge rather than two competing plants.

Does copper beech keep its leaves in winter like green beech?

Yes — clip it in late summer with secateurs and the dead coppery leaves hold on the branches right through winter, giving screening cover that a true evergreen isn't needed for.

When should I trim a copper beech hedge?

Once a year, in late summer (August or September), is enough for a mature hedge. Use secateurs rather than shears so you're not slicing large leaves in half.

Will copper beech grow on heavy clay soil?

Not well — like green beech, it wants lighter, free-draining ground and struggles on heavy, wet clay. Hornbeam is the honest choice for those conditions instead.