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Beech hedge looks dreadful all winter/spring!

lizzieparsnipslizzieparsnips Posts: 9
in Problem solving
Hi all,

Thanks for reading.  We have a big beech hedge as one of our boundaries. It looks great in the summer and the birds absolutely love it. But it looks pretty rubbish a lot of the year- patchy, dead looking and can see through to next door in some places. I'm usually pretty tolerant of plants "sleeping" but because it's such a feature in the garden it bugs me a bit (and my husband a lot).  It's kind of all you see from the house. 

I'm extremely reluctant to take it out but does anyone have any ideas on what we could do to make it look better in the winter? I'm wondering about planing in front of it or planting some other small hedging plants within the hedge (say pyracantha) - guessing the beech will take lots of the water and nutrients though.

Anyone got any ideas or had a similar issue?
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Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited March 2021
    I don't know when you prune it, but if you cut it back in late summer around August, the new leaves which grow will die and remain on the branches and provide screening over winter.  They will then fall off when new leaves emerge in spring.
    Edit: It may be worth cutting it back hard in winter to promote vigorous new growth in spring, if it has become tall and thin, then prune again in August.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Are we to assume all you have is a beech hedge and no other planting?  If so, no wonder it looks dull.   Can we have a photo and can you tell us roughly where you are and which way your garden faces and what kind of soil you have - acid/alkaline/neutral/free draining/moist/clay/sand/loam as all that will make a difference to what will thrive.

    I would make a few beds in front of it to liven things up a bit but leaving a space you can walk on to trim the hedge without damaging the new plants.  A mix of evergreen and coloured stems deciduous shrubs with some perennials with interesting seed heads to give you winter form and colour.   There are shrubs such as sarcococca and mahonia which are evergreen and have perfumed flowers in late winter/early spring.   Viburnum tinus "Eve price" is another possibility and then cornus alba will give you glorious coloured stems in winter especially when lit by low sun.   

    Then you'll need things to take over the interest in spring and summer so bulbs, perennials, ornamental grasses, roses and a wealth of flowering shrubs. 
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I have a beech hedge and I like the brown leaves that stay on it until spring. But no, it doesn't 'do' much. It's in a small garden so is cut back regularly, so doesn't produce nuts. I like the purple and green growth and it does provide a good privacy screen.

    You could plant through it with a rose or honeysuckle other climber.
  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    You're absolutely sure it's beech and not hornbeam? Hornbeam looks almost identical and will largely shed its leaves in winter as opposed to beech which will retain them.
  • lizzieparsnipslizzieparsnips Posts: 9
    Thanks all, some very useful comments :) I will take a pic later to put in here.
  • SuesynSuesyn Posts: 664
    Our beech hedge is constantly full of sparrows and blue tits queuing up for their turn on the feeders. 
  • PurpleRosePurpleRose Posts: 538
    Hello

    I think ours looks dead more than it is alive and I have often considered getting rid for something more interesting.

    Luckily, ours is not too big but it is what we see when we look out of the living room. Window. 

    When it comes to it, I cannot get rid as it is a frequent visiting place for blackbirds, house sparrows and others. Although we have no nests in there, they do sit amongst the  branches which is lovely 
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    edited March 2021
    We have a very large beech hedge. One part of it is very thin due to competition from a large ash tree and that does look bare in the winter. The rest of it is good and thick and even now, at the end of winter, it has retained plenty of (dead) leaves providing good screening.

    If the leaves are shedding I agree it could be hornbeam rather than beech.

    If it's definitely beech I'd look at taking action to thicken it up (cutting hard in the winter and feeding) or - if it's already thick - you may need to look at your pruning regime as detailed by Bob. We give ours a good haircut end of July / beginning of August.

    Quite a lot of our hedge has borders in front of it with a metre wide path between hedge and border. This breaks up the monotony of the hedge. If you don't have room for a full border, a few strategically placed large evergreens may provide sufficient interest (eg vibernum tinus, euonymous, eleagnus, a shaped yew). 

    I would choose to plant in front rather than through the hedge. I definitely wouldn't plant anything thorny through it. Cutting hedges is a chore at the best of times without adding painful thorns to the problem... ouchey!
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Our beech hedge is 3-4ft thick and looks fantastic all winter, with all its leaves on, especially in sunlight. You should trim and prune to encourage thick growth and healthy leaves. You can't beat a good beech hedge.
  • lizzieparsnipslizzieparsnips Posts: 9
    Yes definitely agree with everyone's comments about the birds - they are constantly in and out (think we usually have some nests too). We have been very haphazard with pruning timing and will make sure we're more careful about this in future. I'm hoping my compost will eventually rot down so we can out that around the roots and give it a boost. It's definitely beech but think the sparseness of the leaves is due to our pruning errors! 

    So will definitely get better at pruning and I think we will also plant doke evergreens in front too. It is just one beech hedge to look at, which as someone said, is always going to be boring!!
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