Caring for My European Beech Hedges
Outdoor projects at my Bedford, New York farm continue with the pruning of my young European beech trees.
In the spring of 2019, I decided to plant about 300 specimen trees along the sides of two large horse paddocks to create hedges. For these areas, I chose a collection of beautiful European beech trees, Fagus sylvatica, or the common beech - a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae and native to the woodlands of central and southern Europe. They've grown quite nicely over the years, and yesterday my gardeners, Ryan McCallister and Brian O'Kelly, took on the task of pruning them - an important chore that keeps the trees healthy and encourages new growth.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Two and a half years ago, I decided I wanted to plant hedges on both the east and west sides of the South Paddock as well as the west side of what I call the Southeast Paddock. These paddocks are quite long, so we needed quite a few trees. Here is one side before the planting began.
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- Here, you can see many of the trees lined up. The leaves of beech trees do not typically fall in autumn and instead remain on the tree until the spring when new, green leaves appear. The sod was also removed from the planting area and reused elsewhere.
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- European beech trees prefer calcified or lightly acidic soil. They tolerate rigorous winter cold but are sensitive to spring frost. They also like full sun – at least six hours of full sun per day.
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- European beech trees are known for the smooth silvery gray bark.
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- Here they are after they were all planted – still very small, ranging between two and three feet tall.
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- In two years time, they’ve grown quite a bit – some are now more than five feet tall. And they definitely need some pruning.
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- The leaf structure of the European beech is alternate, simple, two to five inches long with shallow teeth along the edges.
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- To ensure the pruning is perfectly straight, we always use a landscaping twine, so it is visible and can be pulled taut. The twine is pulled between bamboo poles and placed along the sections of the hedge. A hanging level, available at hardware stores, can be placed on the twine as a guide.
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- Here’s Brian looking at the twine stretched alongside the hedge. The plan is to cut all the hedges down several inches. Brian checks the line several times during the process to be sure everything is trimmed properly.
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- Ryan starts trimming the tops of the trees – the smaller branches are trimmed with our STIHL battery-powered hedge trimmers to lop off the tops more precisely. This trimmer is lightweight, starts instantly and delivers quiet, powerful performance.
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- The STIHL backpack battery eliminates the cost of fuel and engine oil and can be used for several hours before needing another charge. It’s very handy and very popular here at the farm.
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- The thicker branches are cut with our Fiskars 28-inch Bypass Lopper.
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- The lopper can cut branches that are one to one-3/4 inches thick.
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- The central leader or main leader structure is the tallest branch. Brian trims it for maintenance while also encouraging new growth, so the tree becomes fuller and wider.
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- Other branches are also trimmed with pruners. Ryan trims those branches that are rubbing or crisscrossing each other or preventing any healthy new growth. Basically, the goal is to create a tree with well spaced lateral branches. Any branches which interfere with the tree’s shape or create a dense framework should be removed.
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- There is new growth all over these trees – the light brown buds are long, narrow, pointed and protruding.
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- Nearby is another variety of European beech – this one with fruit. These spiky fruit capsules contain two beechnuts inside.
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- Here is one of the two beechnuts. The nuts are edible, with a bitter taste and a high tannin content. Raw beechnuts are also slightly toxic and should be cooked before eating.
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- Here’s a look at the pruning done so far – very straight thanks to the use of the bright orange twine. It’s looking more like a hedge from this angle.
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- From the side, the trees look very natural and very full. I am pleased with how well they’ve grown, in part because of the nutrient-rich soil here at the farm.
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- And here is the next section of European beech trees still left to trim.
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- It doesn’t take too long to trim this one side of young European beech, and look how much better they appear after they’re pruned. My stable is seen in the distance.
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- Here’s a view across – that row is next. The smaller European beech trees are in front of one side of an allee of lindens. The lighter colored trees on the far left are sycamores. The sycamore is the symbol of my farm. There’s a long way to go before the European beech trees are all trimmed, but they look great. Thanks Ryan and Brian.
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