Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) is a native hedging plant with beautiful apple-green, pleated leaves that turn yellow and orange in the autumn. It is very hardy and tolerant of heavy clay soils. Hornbeam is very similar in appearance to a Beech hedge and many people struggle to tell the difference.
Hornbeam is not evergreen but, like Beech, it will hold on to its dried leaves in the winter to help provide an all-year-round screen.
Why plant a Hornbeam hedge?
- Attractive, formal-looking hedge
- Hardy
- Tolerant of heavy clay and poor soils
- Catkins in spring
- Hop-like fruit in clusters in late summer and autumn
- Good for nesting birds
- Native to the UK