Beech Hedging Economy Pack

Fagus Sylvatica Hedging

Our Beech hedging packs are bundles of 50 well-branched plants in one of three sizes. You can also see our complete range of beech hedging plants where you can order the same sizes individually as well as looking at our copper beech. However, if you need plants in multiples of approximately 50, this is the right place to be as you will save money by buying these discounted packs.

Green beech is a popular garden hedge plant that holds its autumn leaves through winter. These large, powerful plants are 3-4 years old, providing a near-instant hedge at the lowest price. Beech hedging is tremendously versatile. It is an outstanding formal hedging plant and it will grow in almost any well-drained soil. It prefers good light levels. If you make a mistake clipping beech hedging, it just grows back and it provides variety as it holds its golden brown dead foliage through the winter. However, Beech is not suitable for damp, poorly drained and shady sites. You can buy packs of Hornbeam instead if your ground is not well drained or if the site is too dark for beech.

Beech hedge plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (November - April). We generally recommend ordering the younger, 80-100 cms tall plants for starting a new hedge. Use larger plants if you are in a hurry to get a tall hedge. All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground.

Spacing a Beech hedge:
Plant Beech hedging at 3 plants per metre, 33cms apart.
You can also plant Beech at 5 plants per metre in a staggered double row, with 33 cms between each plant along the row and 40cms between the rows.

Each pack of 50 plants will make 16.5 metres of single row hedge and 10 metres of double row hedge. If Beech is not for you then have a look at our full range of hedging.

Growing Beech Hedging:
Beech is happy in any well-drained soil type. While it is a fantastic formal hedging plant, it is extremely tough and handles wind well so is ideal as a hedge in exposed positions such as the top of banks and other windy places.
It will not grow well if the site is damp. 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. In which case, Hornbeam - Carpinus betulus is a good alternative, as it looks similar and it also holds onto its autumn leaves in winter.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you plant a hedge in advance, especially if the soil is poor. Destroy the weeds first: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough and a glyphosate based weed-killer is the best way to remove them. Then dig the soil over; remove rocks, roots and other rubbish. Mix in well rotted compost or manure in to the top 15-20cms (6-9"). If your soil is rich, do not over fertilise, but dealing with the weeds is still necessary.

Watch our video on how to plant a garden hedge for full details. The plants in this video are delivered pot-grown, but planting out bareroot stock is essentially the same.
Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Hedge Planting Accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass.
You can buy a hedge planting pack with sheets of mulch fabric and pegs to hold it down.
If you are planting in an area with rabbit and/or deer, you will need to use a plastic spiral guard for each plant, supported by a bamboo cane.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore.

After you plant a beech hedge, the most important thing to do is water it in dry weather. If you didn't use mulch of some kind, you will also need to weed around the hedge. Both of these will be necessary for at least a year after planting.

Trimming Beech hedge plants: Right after planting, you can give these large beech plants the lightest of trims: just enough to snip the leaf bud off the end of each stem. This is optional, but it will encourage bushy growth. Whether or not you trim them right after planting, trim them lightly every winter, until they are mature.
When the hedge is fully grown, you should clip it in midsummer. You can give it a second trim in winter or early spring if necessary.

Special notes on caring for Common Beech hedges:
Beech shouldn't need special attention once it has established. If you didn't use a mulch fabric, it is beneficial to mulch around the base of the hedge each year with well rotted manure or compost.
By clipping your beech hedge in midsummer, you will help it to hold onto its autumn leaves during winter.

Hygiene & Diseases:
Dead, damaged or diseased wood can be pruned off as soon as it appears.
Disinfect your pruning tools between every cut if there is any sign of disease.
Burn or dispose of any diseased material, do not compost it.