How I Prune My Hornbeam Hedge

I want to be able to trim my hornbeam hedge myself. I don’t want to deal with scheduling a Landscaper. That’s why I decided not to let my trees grow too tall. My hedge is the height I can reach with my tallest ladder. It’s not science. It’s practicality.

Quick Facts About My Hornbeam

Variety – Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’
Grows in Zone 4a to 8b
Grows roughly 35 ft tall and 9-15 ft wide (maintains columnar shape)
Full sun to partial shade
My hedge is made up of six trees.

Inspecting my Hornbeam hedge after its first trim of the season.

Hornbeam are great trees for hedges. Their branches grow close to ground level and they’re very tolerant of pruning. The variety of trees I grow hold onto their leaves through the winter. That’s an added bonus because they add structure to the winter garden.

The Main Reason for Pruning

I prune to encourage the hornbeam to branch out and increase their widths. I’m not planning to allow the trees to get much taller than what you see in the photos. Eventually, this hedge will close the openings between one another and form a wall.

When I am pruning, I am trimming branches at the top of the hornbeam to maintain their height and I am trimming up the edges so they don’t get wide. I’ll allow the spaces between the trees to close up over time, but for now, I am maintaining their columnar shape.

Video Showing How I Prune My Hornbeam Hedge

Forcing Hornbeam Branches

I like to save some of the branches from pruning to force inside. I love the color of the newly emerging leaves. To me, it’s the color of spring, and I can use a little spring right about now.

I hope you found this video helpful. Happy gardening!

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