The native hornbeam - a profile

Content

• The native hornbeam - a profile
• Wanted poster of hornbeam
• The hornbeam is not a beech
• Use in the garden
• Ecological benefits of hornbeam
• History of the hedge beech
• Tips

The hornbeam is actually not a beech but a birch plant

The native hornbeam - a profile

Despite its name, the hornbeam is not a beech. It belongs to the birch family. Hornbeams are native to our latitudes and occur in the wild. The hornbeam is popular as a stand-alone tree or as a hornbeam hedge in the garden, in the cemetery or in parks.

Next article Instructions for planting hornbeams

Wanted poster of hornbeam

The hornbeam is not a beech

The hornbeam got its name because of the similarity with the leaves of the red beech. It is therefore often confused with the real beech.

Use in the garden

The hornbeam is often kept in the garden as a hedge plant. Since she carries the foliage for a long time, she forms a dense visual protection almost throughout the winter.

The leaf coloring is very decorative. In the spring, tender green leaves, which turn darker in summer. In autumn, the hornbeam leaves shine in yellow. The leaves are lighter on the underside than on the top.

In the wild the hornbeam is often found as an undergrowth for very tall trees. She can handle shadows well and can handle almost any soil. Only waterlogging does not tolerate it for a long time, even if it survives even short-term floods unscathed.

Ecological benefits of hornbeam

Hornbeams are often adopted by blackbirds and other birds to build nests in it.

In the garden, there are usually no fruits on hornbeam hedges as the hedge is cut in spring. Most inflorescences are removed.

History of the hedge beech

In the 18th century, the hornbeam, whose name derives from the Old German word for hedge beech, enjoyed great popularity in baroque gardens. There, the robust hornbeam was used to cut entire labyrinths, figures, archways and much more.

A particularly beautiful example of garden design with hornbeam is the baroque garden of Schleißheim Palace, where many of these old hornbeams can still be visited today.

Tips

The hornbeam wood is one of the hardest woods in Europe. In the past, the hornbeam was therefore used in vehicle construction. Today, the wood is occasionally used as a parquet in musical instruments, but mostly as firewood due to the less decorative grain.