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EUROPEAN BEECH HEDGE

Fagus sylvatica

European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) hedge is well-known as a towering deciduous naturally large tree, but it also can be shaped into a stunning hedge. The European Beech tree’s leaves change color with the passing seasons, which makes it an attractive hedge in many outdoor spaces. It is a classic, beloved hedge choice and has the added benefit of holding its copper-colored fall leaves on the branches all the way through winter for year-round screening.

EUROPEAN BEECH QUICK GUIDE

Fagus Sylvatica growing region
  • European Beech Hedge is a naturally low-branching tree, so it works especially well for hedging.
  • Beech Fagus sylvatica has lovely bark that is smooth and silver-gray.
  • European Beech's foliage turns bronze in fall and clings to the branches through winter, providing year-round screening and privacy.

FAGUS SYLVATICA HEDGE DETAILS

There are a number of immediate benefits to choosing Beech Fagus:

  • Makes a uniquely attractive hedge with heavy pruning
  • Tolerates a wide range of soils
  • Low-branched habit makes it suitable for hedging
  • Grows well in colder regions
  • Lush, green leaves in summer with great fall color and winter screening

Fagus sylvatica has an attractive upright-oval to rounded-spreading crown when left alone and can be pruned to any desired hedge style.

Native to the woodlands of central and southern Europe, the European Beech hedge was brought to America by colonists in the mid-1700s and has remained a popular ornamental tree ever since.

USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 - 8
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Sun/Shade: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Deer Resistance: Moderate
Watering Requirements: Weekly, or more often in extreme heat
Growth Rate: Moderate, to 2’ per year
Mature Size: Up to 12’ height and 4’ width
Drought Tolerance: Excellent
West Coast - Sunset Heat Zones: 2 - 9 and 14 - 21; A3
Pest/Disease Issues:
No serious problems. However, in some areas, weevils, mealybugs, and scale can be problematic, along with twig blight and needle blight. For more information on Woolly Beech Aphid and Beech Leaf Disease, please see the sections below.

European Beech InstantHedge - A Year in the Life

Watch the process of a European Beech InstantHedge from planting through its first year of growth. Wondering how the InstantHedge process works? This shows you how to create instant privacy and design - without the wait.

Landscape Gallery

  • Vorgarten, Carpinus betulus

    Using a beech hedge and arch creates an irresistable entry to the back yard of this cottage.

  • Hecke aus Blutbuche, Fagus sylvatica Purpurea

    Purple or copper beech creates striking color contrast with flowers and lawn.

  • European Beech for creating effective screens and sound barriers along a busy road

    European beech (Fagus sylvatica) creates an effective screen and sound barrier along a busy road.

  • Evenly bordered walkways with Boxwood hedge and country garden framed with European Beech hedges

    Walkways are evenly bordered with boxwood (Buxus) hedges while the entire country garden is framed with European beech (Fagus sylvatica).

  • Outdoor room bordered with European Beech and shorter yew hedge

    Both a taller European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and a shorter yew (Taxus) hedge help to border this outdoor room.

  • Eurpean Hedge creating a boundary between cottage garden and an open field

    European beech (Fagus sylvatica) creates a boundary between this cottage garden and an open field.

  • Fagus Beech used to create a serene backdrop for privacy in a city lot

    A serene backdrop is created by using European beech (Fagus sylvatica) for privacy on this city lot.

  • Use multiple types of hedges in a hotel courtyard to integrate several layers of texture and colors

    Multiple types of hedges can be used in a hotel courtyard like this to integrate several layers of textures and colors.

  • Wall water feature with running water into a pool

    Stone features like this fountain are made more inviting with the use of a leafy hedge like this European beech (Fagus).

  • InstantHedge providing elegance and sophistication to a commercial landscape

    Even soon after planting, InstantHedges provide elegance and sophistication to a commercial landscape.

  • Fagus Sylvatica can make residential yard more inviting and also private

    A European beech (Fagus sylvatica) InstantHedge can make this residential yard much more private and inviting.

  • Impressive entryway created with the help of European Beech, by lining the driveway

    What a stately, impressive entryway is created with these tall European beech (Fagus sylvatica) hedges lining the driveway.

Residential

Winter

Fagus Sylvatica

Commercial

Why Plant Fagus Sylvatica Hedge?

European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a classic hedge choice that has been used to create beautiful hedges for thousands of years. Between its lush green foliage, lovely fall color, graceful form, leaf retention through winter, and incredible longevity, it has proven itself over time to be one of the best possible hedging choices available. Fagus sylvatica can be grown into a very large hedge over time, but it can also be kept small and very manageable with regular pruning. It has a low branching habit which makes it perfectly suited for hedging. It is an easy-to-grow hedge that tolerates a wide range of soils and other factors, and it is very cold-hardy.

Features of European Beech Hedge

Foliage

European Beech is one of the few popular hedges that can boast a stunning seasonal color change. First, in spring, leaves are fresh, bright green. For summer, they are deep green, smooth, and shiny. In fall, they turn various shades of copper, rust, and gold. Through winter, Fagus Sylvatica is deep rust. Buds are long, pointed, and smooth.

Fagus Sylvatica Summer Foliage. European Beech hedge looks stunning in summer with green foliage
Summer foliage on Fagus sylvatica
European Beech Tree in Fall: Fagus Sylvatica Copper Beech color during fall
Fall foliage on Fagus sylvatica
Branches

European Beech branches are smooth, graceful, and lovely. With nothing knobby or angular, a beech hedge always looks elegant. Even if branches are bare (perhaps from an early spring windstorm right before spring flush), they are smooth, silvery, and beautiful. It could be argued that there is not a day in the whole year when this hedge does not look lovely.

Leaf Retention

One huge benefit of choosing a beech hedge is that, even though it is deciduous, it provides year-round privacy. After the European Beech leaves turn their lovely copper hues in autumn, they fade to the color of rich leather and cling to the branches until just before they flush for spring. Fagus sylvatica defies the rule that you must plant an evergreen hedge for year-round privacy.

Fagus sylvatica tree in winters: European Beech looks beautiful in winters
Thuja Green Giant maintains its bright green color even in winter.
Longevity

There is perhaps no better example of this than the Meikleour Beech Hedge in Scotland. It was planted in 1745 and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest hedge in the world. It was planted as a memorial for fallen soldiers and today is a popular tourist attraction. This Fagus sylvatica hedge is still stunning despite its almost 300 years of age, although at 100 feet tall maintenance has become quite difficult! Although most of us don’t plan to maintain a hedge for more than a few decades, it is interesting to note that this tree can thrive in the same footprint for a very, very long time.


Growing Tips for Fagus Sylvatica

Planting

European Beech is a forgiving and easy-to-grow hedge. We prefer to ship beech in fall, winter, or spring, but we can ship in summer if needed. The hedges will do just fine the next year if planted in summer, but there may be some premature browning of the leaves in the first summer of planting. For the best success, we do recommend planting while they are still dormant or just leaving/entering dormancy.

Exposure

European beech can be grown in full sun to full shade, making it wonderfully versatile for all kinds of locations. This is especially useful if you are planting a very long hedge that passes through areas with full sun and full shade, as you can use the same type of hedge throughout.

fagus hedge (Fagus Sylvatica): Stunning European Beech turns copper brown in winters
The best time to ship and plant European Beech is in fall, winter, or early spring while still dormant. This puts the least amount of stress on the plants.
A generous application of mulch will help protect shallow roots in high-traffic areas

Soil

Fagus sylvatica is tolerant of a wide range of soils, even poor soils. Most roots grow in the upper two feet of the soil, so a generous application of mulch around the base of the hedge will help protect the roots, especially if you are planting in an area with high foot or vehicle traffic. The deepest roots typically reach a maximum of 7 feet. Beech is fairly drought-tolerant but will thrive better if provided moderate water in summer.

Pruning

It is generally recommended to prune Beech hedges twice per year: the first taking place in early summer after the first flush of growth, and the second in late summer around August to encourage another flush of growth before dormancy. This second flush of leaves will be the most likely to stay on the branches through the winter to provide screening. Save any removal of large branches for when they are dormant in winter. It is best to prune Beech hedges with handheld pruners that are very sharp, rather than electric hedge trimmers.

European beech hedge (Fagus Sylvatica) Pruning
Large branches on beech hedges should be removed in winter during dormancy, but regular pruning should be done in early and late summer.

Pollution

Although beech does not thrive in salty coastal climates, it is tolerant of urban pollution and is a great city tree.

Fagus Sylvatica is an excellent choice for urban plantings as it is tolerant of urban pollution
A Beech hedge is an excellent choice for urban plantings as it is tolerant of urban pollution.

Hardiness

Hardy to USDA Zone 4 or 5, Fagus sylvatica is a great option for colder areas.

Pests

European beech has wonderful resistance to most pests and diseases, and is quite deer resistant as well (in winter when deer are hungry the beech don’t have anything for them to eat, and in summer the deer have other choices that they prefer).

The one pest unique to beech that you might notice is the Woolly Beech Aphid. It only affects beech plants and can be somewhat alarming to discover. The good news is that the aphid won’t cause any permanent damage to the plants and is easy to treat. Typically, people don’t even bother to treat it because it is barely noticeable. The worst thing about it is the aphids produce a sticky “honeydew” on the leaves which may attract ants, and in severe infestations it can provide a place for a sooty black mold to grow. However, that is only in extreme cases which are rare.

Treatment can be as simple as blasting the affected leaves with a strong jet of water, or you can use an insecticidal soap or oil which has very low toxicity. Since these aphids only affect beech, you don’t need to worry about them spreading to other types of plants. Beneficial insects like ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps can also help control populations of the woolly beech aphid and other insect pests.

To learn more, visit https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/aphids/woolly-beech-aphid

Fagus sylvatica

Beech Leaf Disease: A Growing Threat to Beech Trees

Beech Leaf Disease (BLD) is an emerging and serious threat to native American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) trees, as well as European (Fagus sylvatica) and Oriental Beeches (Fagus orientalis). This disease is caused by a pathogenic foliar nematode known as Litylenchus crenatae mccannii. These microscopic worms infest the tree buds and remain there throughout the winter, gradually destroying the cell structure. When spring arrives, the emerging leaves reveal the telltale symptoms of the disease. Infected leaves eventually die and fall off, leaving the tree unable to photosynthesize, which leads to its eventual death. However, if the leaves emerge in spring without showing symptoms, they are unlikely to develop them during that season, even with a second flush of leaves.

The spread of Beech Leaf Disease is facilitated by various factors, including the transplanting of infected trees near other beeches, wind, rain splash, and even animals that feed on ripening beechnuts, potentially carrying the nematodes with them.

First detected in Ohio in 2012, BLD has quickly spread to 12 eastern states in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada.

- Detecting Beech Leaf Disease

Fortunately, Beech Leaf Disease is relatively easy to detect. If you suspect BLD, simply hold a leaf from an American Beech up to the light. The characteristic dark bands between the leaf veins will be visible, especially when looking up at the canopy on a moderately sunny day. However, this can be harder to spot on dark-leaved varieties. Other symptoms include smaller, crinkled, and leathery leaves. In European Beeches, the symptoms can be subtler, with some leaves showing banding between the veins, while others may appear tattered or misshapen.

It's important to note that BLD could be mistaken for other pests like mites and aphids. For instance, Beech Blight Aphids can cause significant damage to Beech trees, producing black sooty mold and turning the soil underneath black.

- Considering Beech Hedges in Eastern North America

Despite the threat of BLD, Beech hedges can still be a viable option in Eastern North America. To minimize the risk of infestation, it's crucial to consider the proximity to native Beech stands and existing Beeches in the landscape. Research shows promise with some systemic treatments, such as using potassium phosphite and potassium polyphosphite products as a soil drench twice a year on smaller plants. These phosphites help strengthen the plants, enabling them to survive even in the presence of nematodes.

If you plan to plant a hedge near existing Beeches in areas with known nematode infestations, we also offer alternative options like the European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) and other suitable varieties.


Why Choose InstantHedge® for European Beech Hedge?

Beech hedges are often purchased as bare-root trees or small whips. This will give you small plants for a low starting price. However, Fagus sylvatica does not grow at a very fast rate, so you will have to wait 4-5 years to achieve a full, finished hedge. You will also run into problems with losing plants from disease and damage because of the stress caused by bare-rooting plants and planting too small.

Europeans developed a brilliant system that would allow people to buy an “instant hedge,” and we are proud to be the first and only nursery to bring the technology to the USA. When you purchase a European Beech InstantHedge, you are guaranteed a vigorous, healthy, finished hedge from day one. The hedges will arrive pre-spaced and pre-shaped with a vibrant root system that is ready to grow and establish. Why not start with the European Beech hedge that has already been finished by hedge experts?

Fagus Sylvatica: European beech Hedge available for sale at best prices