Green Beech

A traditional British deciduous native hedge much loved for its year-round interest and decorative privacy screening.

Likes well-drained chalk soil, sandy soil, loam soil

Likes full sun to shade

Annual growth average 40-50cm

Strengths include winter leaf retention

Roots are dense,wide spreading and sensitive to compaction

Prune twice during the growing season and always at the end of summer

Suitable for livestock or horse enclosures

Beech make excellent formal garden hedges that are easily recognized during the winter months by means of the dead leaves that remain on the branches through until spring. The leaves will then be replaced by new, shiny, wavy edged 4-9cm lime-green leaves.

As the foliage matures through the summer, the leaves turn a darker green and become leathery. At the end of summer, the beech foliage begins to change, first to yellow and then to a rustic, reddish-brown. This foliage remains on the branches throughout the winter months retaining a screen and giving privacy whilst the hedge is dormant.

The pruning of beech hedges can take place throughout the growing season and should always include a trim at the end of summer which will assist leaf retention in the winter. Like hornbeam, beech responds exceptionally well to pruning and is a popular horticulturalist’s choice for creating topiary.