European Beech

European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) is the great deciduous shade tree of the northern hemisphere, and in the right Australian garden it is worth the wait. It reaches about 12m tall and 8m wide over decades, with a broad domed canopy of wavy edged leaves that turn copper and russet in autumn. Clipped instead, it makes one of the finest formal hedges available.

Why you'll love it

• Autumn colour with staying power. Leaves move from green through gold to deep copper, and a clipped hedge holds them through winter.
• A hedge or a tree, your choice. Left alone it becomes a 12m specimen. Planted 1m apart and trimmed, it forms a dense formal wall with fine twiggy structure.
• Genuinely hardy. Frost hardy, wind tolerant and able to cope with poor soil, so it suits cold gardens that defeat softer trees.
• Slow, and better for it. Steady growth means dense wood, a tidy shape and little corrective pruning.

Where it works best

Hedging. Plant 1m apart in a single row. The fine growth knits into a solid surface rather than a row of separate plants.

Shade and feature trees. Given room it becomes the tree everything else is arranged around. Allow at least 8m of clear space, away from buildings and services.

Driveways and avenues. Space trees 8m to 10m apart. Anything tighter and the crowns crowd into narrow one sided shapes.

Growing European Beech in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade, in cool temperate and the cooler end of warm temperate gardens: Tasmania, the Victorian and New South Wales highlands, the Adelaide Hills and the Southern Tablelands. It will not perform in subtropical or tropical humidity, or through a long hot dry summer.

Soil. Deep, well drained and reliably moist. It tolerates poor and chalky ground better than most, but not waterlogging: avoid clay hollows and plant on a rise if drainage is doubtful.

Water and feed. Reliable moisture decides whether beech succeeds here. Deep soak weekly through summer for the first three years, and water mature trees through drought. Mulch 75mm deep and feed once in early spring.

Pruning. Trees need little beyond removing damaged wood in winter. Hedges take one trim in midsummer, cut to the same line each year so the surface tightens.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in 300mm and 400mm pots for hedging quantities, and in 100L and 200L for an established tree straight away. The 300mm and 400mm plants are young and single stemmed, the sensible choice for a hedge run since they shape from the start. The 100L and 200L arrive as formed trees.

Stock delivered outside the growing season arrives leafless, which is normal for a deciduous tree. Growth is deliberate: budget on 20 to 40cm a year. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to plant and maintain a formal hedge
• Compare deciduous trees
• Browse plants with autumn colour
• Frost hardy plants for cold gardens

Common questions

Will it grow in Sydney or Brisbane?

Brisbane is out, and coastal Sydney is marginal at best. Beech needs a cool climate with reliable moisture to hold its foliage through summer.

How far apart for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. At that spacing the plants meet within a few seasons and the hedge can be held anywhere from 1m to 4m tall with a single annual trim.

Why do the brown leaves stay on the hedge in winter?

Clipped beech keeps its dead leaves until the new buds push in spring, which is why the hedge still screens through the coldest months.