Please help me identify/improve this young hedge

Hi all,

New build property, and the builders have put in this rather sorry-for-itself looking hedge:





2 Questions...

What is it?

How do I feed/help/improve it?

Thanks!

Gareth

 

Hi Gareth

looks like Hornbeam , makes a nice hedge, for now just water , in the spring give a rose fertiliser sprinkled along the top of the soil and mix in a tad and keep well watered through the summer , I think thats all you can do for now, its quite a toughy so I woudnt worry that much ...

Spruce

 

Ah ok, I thought it was beech, but nevermind.

Is it supposed to be so brown round the edges of the leaves? Doesn't look healthy to me, but then I didn't even know what it was!! hehe

Thanks

 

its very similar to beech so a good call , Hornbeam is used when the soil stays wet over winter if on the dry side then people use Beech both are treated the same when pruning etc , with all the dry weather and heat over the summer signs of lack of watering is the brown leaves and edges to them , so keep well watered every week as until the roots get established the hot drying winds dry the soil very quickly.

 

Yes, definitely hornbeam

Nip out the bud from the tip of the plant, and every side branch, during the winter. Do that for as many years until it becomes an impossible task! probably 3 years or so That will make them bush up nicely.

Here's the growth rate on my Hornbeam hedge, planted in Spring 2011:


Sep 2011


Aug 2012


Jul 2013


Jul 2014