Fagus sylvatica

Once established, a beech hedge typically grows 30 to 60cm a year, depending on the soil and conditions. The first season after planting is mostly spent building roots, and growth picks up from the second year. Watering in dry spells and keeping the base weed-free help it grow at its best.

Yes, a clipped beech hedge holds most of its dry, copper-brown leaves through winter, until new growth pushes them off in spring. This habit, called marcescence, is strongest on young and regularly clipped beech, and a late summer trim helps. It means a beech hedge gives screening and colour all year even though it is deciduous.

The best time to plant a beech hedge is the dormant season, from late autumn to early spring. Bare-root beech is available from roughly November to March, root-balled beech from roughly October or November to March, and pot-grown beech can go in all year with good watering. Avoid frozen or waterlogged ground.

Beech spacing depends on how wide the plants are supplied: divide 100 by the width in centimetres, so plants 50cm wide go in at 2 per metre and plants about 30cm wide at roughly 3 per metre. Bare-root beech whips are planted more densely, often 5 per metre in a staggered double row. The Form Plants team confirms spacing for each order.

Cut an established beech hedge once a year in late summer, around August. This keeps it crisp through winter and helps it hold its copper leaves. Young bare-root hedges benefit from a light trim of the side shoots after planting to encourage bushy growth from the base.

Beech prefers free-draining soil and grows best on chalk, sand and loam. It can grow on clay that drains reasonably well, but it dislikes ground that stays wet in winter. For heavy, wet clay, hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) looks very similar and thrives in those conditions.

Beech grows well in full sun and partial shade, and it is fairly tolerant of light shade. In deep shade growth is slower and thinner, so for a heavily shaded boundary yew (Taxus baccata) is a better choice.

A beech hedge can be kept at almost any height from around 1m (3 ft) to 5m (16 ft) or more with regular clipping, and many gardens keep beech at 1.8 to 2m (6 to 6.5 ft) for privacy. Left unclipped, beech grows into a large tree, so annual clipping is what keeps it a hedge.

Choose beech for free-draining soil, chalk and the most reliable copper winter leaves, with the option of purple beech for colour. Choose hornbeam for heavy clay, damp ground and exposed or windy sites. Both are native, clip into crisp formal lines and are trimmed once a year in late summer.

The cost of a beech hedge depends on the height you start with, the format and the tier you choose. Value beech plants are younger plants that knit together over a few seasons and suit longer runs on a budget, while Premium plants are fuller and more mature, including ready-made hedge elements for an instant finish. Live prices and sizes are shown at the top of this page, and the team will confirm plant numbers and a full quote for each order.

Yes. You are welcome to visit the Row Town showroom in Surrey, open Monday to Saturday and on bank holidays (closed on Sundays), with no appointment needed. For dedicated one-to-one help choosing plants and working out quantities, book a Genus Bar appointment through our website or email info@formplants.com.

Yes. Our in-house team arranges delivery across Surrey, London, the Home Counties and nationwide, with HIAB or Moffett crane offloading for larger root-balled plants and hedge elements. Delivery is quoted for each order based on its size and location, so send your postcode to info@formplants.com and the team will confirm.