Older hornbeam hedges tend to develop leaks over time and no longer produce as many leaves in the lower regions. At that point at the latest, a rejuvenation cut is in order. What you need to consider when rejuvenating the hornbeam hedge.
How to rejuvenate a hornbeam hedge?
To rejuvenate a hornbeam hedge, cut old branches down to 20 centimeters above the ground, shorten younger shoots and remove diseased trees. The best time is in spring before budding or from August onwards to weaken the plant less.
When is rejuvenation of the hornbeam hedge necessary?
If the hornbeam hedge has become very wide and tall, the lower parts only get a little light. Even if the hornbeam itself requires little light, the shoot formation is no longer as pronounced. As a result, the branches below branch less and holes appear.
Now is the time to rejuvenate the hornbeam hedge.
After rejuvenation, the hornbeam hedge initially looks a bit ragged. However, the free spaces close up again very quickly when you trim the hedge. This encourages it to form new side branches.
The best time to rejuvenate the hedge
Many gardeners carry out rejuvenation pruning in the spring before budding. Other experts recommend carrying out rejuvenation starting in August. The interfaces then do not bleed as much and the plant is not weakened as much.
How to rejuvenate the hornbeam hedge
- Sawing off old branches
- shorten younger shoots
- cut down sick trees completely
Saw old branches down to 20 centimeters above the ground. This often leads to the development of new shoots that grow out of the ground and later have to be shortened.
All younger shoots that have no branches are cut back heavily. There should still be three eyes left on the shoot from which the new shoots will grow.
If a hornbeam tree in the hedge is diseased or dried out, it is cut directly above the ground. You can only plant a new hornbeam there in autumn if you remove the entire rootstock. This is hardly possible in a hedge. The only thing that helps here is frequent cutting of the remaining hornbeams to stimulate budding.
Tip
If you want to remove a hornbeam hedge completely, it is not enough to simply saw it off above the ground. It sprouts again from its long roots. To remove it, you must dig up the entire rootstock.
