Pruning the Big Hornbeam Hedge
Pruning chores around my Bedford, New York farm continue with the large hornbeam hedge in front of my main greenhouse.
The English hornbeam, Carpinus betulus, is a fast-growing deciduous tree - it can grow about four to five feet per year. From a distance, it appears solid, but light streams in through the leaves providing a pleasing and dappled space. I like to maintain my hornbeam hedge using a traditional European style of pruning, so it has a nice, sculpted appearance. This means, it’s crucial that the hedge is pruned regularly, so it doesn’t look overgrown and unruly.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- This tall hornbeam hedge grows in the parking lot directly in front of my main greenhouse. It is quite pretty here, but serves primarily as a privacy and noise barrier from the road. This photo was taken before any pruning began – it has so much lush new growth.
-
- Carpinus betulus is native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. Because of its dense foliage and tolerance to being cut back, this hornbeam is popularly used for hedges and topiaries. Hornbeams are often confused with the common beech because of their similar leaves; however, the hornbeam leaves are actually smaller and more deeply furrowed than beech leaves. The leaves are deciduous and alternate, with serrated margins.
-
- Looking inside the hedge, the hornbeam has pale grey bark with vertical markings.
-
- Here’s another view – all of the hornbeams are planted in a very straight line just a couple feet apart. One can see the sturdy branches and how they grow outward and slightly upward.
-
- The hornbeam grows pretty quickly – about four to five feet per year, so it is important to trim and sculpt it regularly. Hornbeam is also very hardy and frost resistant, which is good in this area.
-
- We trim the hornbeams every year around this time. We use a traditional English style of pruning, which includes a lot of straight, clean edges. A well-manicured hedge can be stunning in any garden, but left unchecked, it could look unruly.
-
- The crew does most of it by hand. Everyone uses Japanese Okatsune shears specially made for trimming hedges. These shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes.
-
- It is more time consuming this way, but it is also more exact and provides straight clean cuts – very important when sculpting formal hedges.
-
- Pasang keeps the shears close to shoulder level. This allows the best control. He also holds the shears closer to the base of the blades.
-
- Phurba works from the ground with his Japanese hedge shears. He stops every few minutes to assess his work.
-
- Pasang works from the ladder. Here, one can see what has been cut and what hasn’t.
-
- Here’s a view looking up – the bottom has been trimmed, but the top has not.
-
- It doesn’t take long for the ground to fill with clippings – and this is just from the front of the hedge.
-
- Once the front face is done, our Hi-Lo is moved in, so Pasang could trim the uppermost sections. The Hi-Lo is very useful, and because the hedge is accessible from the parking lot, it always comes in handy for this task.
-
- Domi works from the ground raking up all the clippings, which are loaded onto a truck or the back of a Polaris and then taken to the compost pile where they will decompose for next year’s garden dressing.
-
- Pasang is lifted above the hedge, so he could safely trim the top from the cage of the Hi-Lo. The top of this hedge section is trimmed perfectly level using our STIHL battery powered extended hedge trimmer.
-
- From above looking in one direction, all the tops are trimmed flat.
-
- Here is what Pasang still has to prune – it’s a big difference, but this shows all the growth from the past year. Pasang is carried from section to section very carefully. This is also a good time for him to evaluate the pruning from another angle, and to decide where adjustments are needed.
-
- Here is a side view showing how the front is sculpted with the taller sections protruding just a bit. It is now beginning to look very straight and square.
-
- And here is the finished hedge – trimmed beautifully. It looks great. Next to be trimmed is the long European hornbeam hedge that runs along the back of my Summer House and Winter House. What pruning chores are you doing in your yard? Share with me in the comments section below.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
