Pillar hornbeam ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Carpinus betulus Fastigiata
• Family: Birch family (Betulaceae)
• Genus: Hornbeam (Carpinus)
• Synonyms: columnar hornbeam, pyramidal hornbeam
• Growth type: deciduous tree
• Growth height: 10 m to 20 m
• Growth width: 4 m to 6 m
• leaf: ovate, serrate
• Flower: catkins
• Fruit: winged nutlet
• Hardiness: hardy
• Use: house tree, hedge, container plant

growth

With its shapely growth, the columnar hornbeam gives the garden an architectural component. The hornbeam column owes its elegant silhouette to expert finishing in the tree nursery. These properties make Carpinus betulus Fastigiata a highlight worth seeing in creative garden design:

• growth habit: columnar to pyramidal, later broadly ovate to spreading spherical.
• growth height: 10m to 20m
• growth width: 4m to 6m
• Annual increase: 20cm to 40cm

Over the years, the ravages of time have eroded the pyramidal-columnar growth. The vertically oriented branches gradually bend horizontally. It forms an ovoid crown with broad, spreading branches in the lower area and tightly upright twigs in the upper area.

Sheet

Its slender shape dresses the hornbeam in a decorative robe of foliage with these features:

• leaf shape: ovate, acuminate, rounded at the base to cordate or oblique
• special feature: double serrated leaf margin, prominent pairs of leaf veins
• sheet size: 4 cm to 10 cm long, 2 cm to 5 cm wide
• leaf color: dark green, yellow autumn colour
• arrangement: alternate

Characteristic of every hornbeam is that the deciduous leaves remain on the tree almost all year round. After the autumn coloration, the leaves turn brown and persistently stick to the branches until the next shoot.

blossom

In the previous year, the pyramidal hornbeam puts on its flowers on young shoots, which overwinter as buds. The inflorescence is familiar to us from many native birch plants, such as the picturesque one silver birch. These attributes shape the blossom of a columnar hornbeam:

• Flower ecology: monoecious separate sex
• Flowering time: April and May
• Male flowers: 4 cm to 6 cm long, pendulous, yellowish green catkins
• Female flowers: 2 cm to 4 cm catkins, initially erect, later pendulous
• Pollination: wind

Columnar hornbeams are grafted on a robust and slow-growing rootstock. As a result, the trees are lazier than the original species Carpinus betulus.

use

Numerous advantages recommend the planting of columnar hornbeams in the garden. The trees are hardy, undemanding, easy to care for, particularly pruning-tolerant and very decorative. This results in a colorful array of creative uses:

Thanks to a good-natured tolerance to cutting, Carpinus betulus Fastigiata are among the most popular hedge plants for small and large gardens. Be inspired by the tips in the following video for creative design ideas:

Using columnar hornbeam as a hedge - tips

Plant columnar hornbeam

The tree nursery offers refined hornbeam columns in pots or bales all year round. If the garden floor is not frozen or dried out, the shrubs can be planted in the bed without hesitation. The ideal time window for planting in a tub opens in April. Where and how to properly plant a columnar hornbeam, read the following sections:

Location

With regard to the choice of location, the columnar hornbeam is undemanding and modest. normal garden floor the native deciduous tree is satisfied with passable lighting conditions. A hornbeam column achieves optimum growth performance at this location:

• Sunny to semi-shady.
• Nutrient-rich, humus-rich soil, preferably loamy.
• Fresh to moist and well-drained.
• Exclusion criteria: acidic pH value less than 5, long-lasting waterlogging.

In a shady location, a columnar hornbeam does not go limp. However, due to the lack of light, loose, patchy foliage has to be lamented.

Plant columnar hornbeam standard

When standard the columnar hornbeam is a heavyweight. Working as a team, you master the planting without injury to the gardener or the tree. These tips sum up everything important:

• The planting pit is twice as big as the root ball.
• As a starting fertilization, the excavated soil is enriched with compost and a third horn shavings.(€9.00 at Amazon*)
• The distance to property line corresponds to the legal requirements (usually at least 2 m).
• A support post protects the high trunk from windthrow.
• The planting depth corresponds to the planting depth in the tree nursery (observe the soil mark on the trunk).

Tread the soil well. Ideally, shape around the tree disc a casting ring. Sludge the newly planted tree generously.

Plant a columnar hornbeam hedge

The best time to plant a hornbeam hedge is in autumn. For a straight hedge, stretch cords for orientation. Adjust the correct planting distance to the planned growth height and growth width. For a seamless privacy hedge plant three shrubs per meter.

Plant columnar hornbeam in the tub

The columnar hornbeam in the bucket is decoratively in the limelight as a green reception committee at the house entrance or as a sleek privacy screen on the balcony and terrace. This is to be considered when you plant Carpinus betulus Fastigiata in a tub:

• substrate: nutrient-rich pot plant soil without peat content, optimized with coconut fibers and lava granules.(€14.00 at Amazon*)
• pot size: two to three fingers fit between the root ball and the edge of the pot.
• Important: there are several holes in the bottom of the bucket for water drainage.
• drainage: a layer 5 cm high expanded clay, potsherds or grit.
• planting depth: plant as deep as before, with a 3 cm to 5 cm high distance to the edge of the bucket as a watering rim.

Please pour thoroughly until the water runs out from under the bucket. Pour away any water that has accumulated in the saucer after 10 minutes to prevent waterlogging.

digression

Clear stem, heister or shrub - differences

Maintain columnar hornbeam

The columnar hornbeam is very easy to care for. Watering when necessary and initial fertilization will satisfy the noble hornbeam. The extent to which you practice pruning depends on your gardening decision. Please read these important care tips:

Pour

Water a planted hornbeam with normal tap water when the garden soil has dried noticeably. In a bucket in a sunny location, the deciduous tree often requires a good sip of water. Ideally, you should visit your hornbeam column daily with a watering can, primarily on hot summer days.

Fertilize

Start fertilizing in March or April to stimulate growth. Distribute 3 liters of mature compost soil and 100 grams horn shavings(€9.00 at Amazon*) on the root disk. Rake in the organic fertilizer and water again. From March to September, give a liquid fertilizer for green plants monthly in the tub.

To cut

The columnar hornbeam is just as tolerant of pruning as the pure species. Fortunately, a grafted hornbeam develops its columnar stature without a regular pruning. When hedge or topiary guarantees regular pruning care for dense, compact growth within the desired framework. The following table provides an insight into common cutting options:

As can be read in the profile, the columnar hornbeam buds in the previous year. As a result, each pruning reduces the number of catkin blooms, much to the chagrin of wild bees.

Popular Varieties

If the majestic Carpinus betulus Fastigiata is too big for your garden, it's worth taking a look at other grafted hornbeam columns from the nursery with garden-ready growth:

• Lucas: new, slow-growing columnar hornbeam, pyramidal, densely leafed, 4-5 m tall after 10 years.
• monument: slow-growing, narrow variety, perfect for hedges, 4-6 m high, 1.5 m wide.
• Frans Fontaine: stiffly upright when young, later very dense, narrow, ovoid crown, height of growth 6-10 m.
• columnaris: Fresh green foliage, elegant, columnar, stature height 8-12 m, stature spread 6-10 m, beautiful in tubs.

FAQ

When does the crown of the Carpinus betulus standard reach two meters in diameter?

It takes a good 10 years for the crown of a columnar hornbeam to reach a diameter of 2 meters as a standard. You can speed up the process with a yearly grooming routine. Prune all shoots back slightly to an outward-facing bud each late winter.

Is the columnar hornbeam suitable as a container plant with a privacy function?

Columnar hornbeams can easily be kept in the bucket for many years. It is important to note that you repot the trees every two to three years in a larger bucket with fresh soil. Regular watering and Fertilize. In the tree nursery you can get columnar hornbeams as hedge elements with a height of 100 cm to 150 cm, which you can grow to 200 cm or higher.

Can I keep a hornbeam as a pillar permanently at a height of 1.20 m and a width of 40 cm?

Columnar hornbeams are very tolerant of pruning. Cut back the plant twice a year to achieve the desired dimensions. Complete the main cut at the end of February on a frost-free day. Cut back this year's growth at the end of June around St. John's.

How does the pruning of a columnar hornbeam to the standard work?

On a young plant, select the strongest shoot as the future trunk. You guide this leader upwards, ideally with a support post. Over the years, cut off the thickest side shoots directly on the trunk. Once the leader has reached a height of 2.20 to 2.50 meters, cut off the top. The columnar hornbeam then branches at this point to form a standard with a crown.