This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Hornbeam problem
Nook House Steve
Posts: 3
This is mostly affecting the north side of the hedge, though some on the south side. Anyone know what to do about it?
0
Posts
Is it very dry where the hedge is Steve? Hornbeams like a bit of moisture in my experience, which is why they're a good alternative to Beech hedging in damper areas, where it would struggle to thrive.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It looks a bit like 'silverleaf' disease. Nothing you can treat it with though, but water and leave it, trees normally recover on their own.
Nook House Steve, parts of my hornbeam hedge looks the same as yours i.e. holes and some shrivelled leaves. I haven't noticed any silvery bits on them but I'll have a look when I'm out this morning. Is yours a new hedge? Mine was planted last November in a very wet part of the garden and it was for this reason I chose hornbeam over beech, as you say Fairygirl.
I agree with Fairygirl. Looks as though the hedge is suffering from a lack of water. What's your soil type? HC
There were a few young hornbeams here when we arrived, looking very sorry for themselves in soil that's very hard and dry in the summer. Since we planted more trees the ones that are sheltered do well, but the ones that catch all the wind look very poor by midsummer.
In the sticks near Peterborough
I planted a bare root Hornbeam hedge in a previous garden. There were two very mature trees on the boundary so I had a job getting those plants to establish as they needed a lot of watering/feeding/mulching etc. The ones in the more substantial areas romped away. We have high rainfall so normally it would never have any issues here, but in a drier area it would need some help I think -plenty of manure for a bit of water retention. I love hornbeam and I always wonder why people often pick beech over it - it makes a lovely hedge.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It makes a good tree as well, the flowers are lovely
In the sticks near Peterborough
Hi, thanks for all your replies. It's a hedge about 6" high and sits in a clay based earth. Until a few weeks ago the ground was quite saturated After the long wet winter. Only two weeks ago the ground had again returned to being very wet after a short amount of rain which suggests the water table is still quite high. There are other shrubs close to the hedge so they could be competing for water. The garden centre said it was powdery mildew. Any views on this?
Did you mean 6 feet Steve? Or is it a teeny weeny hedge ..
I'd agree with chrissie that air circulation can cause problems too. Perhaps the other shrubs are just a bit too close. I don't think you need to worry too much though - an established hedge will recover quite quickly. Difficult with the conditions you have re the soggy clay. Some well rotted manure as a mulch at the end of summer would be beneficial. The worms will work it into the soil for you over the winter which will help improve drainage. I garden on clay and every time I move to a new garden I have a bit of work to do improving the soil.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...