The width of a hornbeam hedge depends on the space available and the preferences of the garden owner. Since the hornbeam tolerates cutting very well, it can also be cut very narrowly. This means it can be used very flexibly in garden design.
How wide should a hornbeam hedge be cut?
A hornbeam hedge can be cut to a width of 40 to 50 centimeters, depending on the overall height of the hedge. For a dense and even growth habit, a conical cut is recommended, in which the hedge is wider at the bottom than at the top.
Cut the hornbeam hedge to the desired width
How wide the hornbeam hedge can be depends on the location. Since the plant can be cut very narrow if necessary, you can easily plant it in front of fences or near neighboring property. Just leave enough distance from fences or walls so that you can take good care of the hornbeam hedge from behind.
If you like it, you can cut a hornbeam hedge as narrow as a board, it doesn't make much difference to the plants. They tolerate cutting into old wood just as well as being planted on a stick, which means that the hornbeam is cut down to ground level.
Normally, hornbeam hedges have a width of 40 to 50 centimeters, depending of course on the overall height of the hedge. The height of a hornbeam hedge can range from 50 centimeters to 3 meters.
Cut narrow hornbeam hedges often
If you want the hornbeam hedge to have a very narrow width, you will have to cut it back often. Cutting stimulates the formation of new shoots, so that the hedge branches well, but also steadily increases in width and height overall.
It is better to cut hornbeam hedges conically
So that the hornbeam hedge remains nice and dense at the bottom, it must be thinned out frequently. But baldness can also be avoided with the right cut.
The width of the hornbeam hedge should be larger at the bottom than at the top. So cut them slightly tapered. If the hedge is 40 centimeters wide at the bottom, it should only be about 30 centimeters wide at the top.
Through this cut, the light also reaches the lower regions, so that new shoots form there.
Tip
Hornbeam hedges are also often used in agriculture, for example in the typical Knicks of Schleswig-Holstein. The hedges act as windbreaks from pastures and fields. In cemeteries, low and narrow hornbeam hedges are popular as grave borders.
