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Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 4-8
- Spacing: 20-30'
- Exposure: Sun/Part Shade
- Deer Resistant: Yes
- Show more ›
Columnar European Hornbeam
Shipping Summer of 2021
If clean lines and simple, uncluttered landscapes appeal to you, then Columnar European Hornbeam is your kind of tree. This stately, medium-sized ornamental tree grows naturally into a perfect, manicured-looking, wide-oval form without any pruning at all. A row of Hornbeams makes an elegant living wall, and this long-lived, resilient tree accepts heavy shearing if you decide to keep it clipped as a hedge. Columnar Hornbeam’s thick shell of foliage will give you privacy screening for a long season, as the leaves hold late in the year. Before dropping, though, the foliage turns warm shades of gold and topaz—befitting a regal and refined tree such as this.
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 4-8
- Spacing: 20-30'
- Exposure: Sun/Part Shade
- Deer Resistant: Yes
- Show more ›
The Story
Because of its rock-hard wood (“horn” alludes to hardness, while “beam” is an Old English word for “tree”), Hornbeam has played many roles in human life. Through the ages, it has found its way into tool handles, butcher blocks, spokes, yokes, and piano keys. These days, it is more likely to live out its days as a hedge or screen. Often planted on the grounds of royals, this tree lends an air of sophistication to any home, indicating that a person of exquisite taste must certainly reside within!
The Details
Planning a formal-looking landscape design? Then you must incorporate this tree. It has a distinct, bold shape and attractive yellow leaves in the autumn. Its bold shape and very uniform, upright growth place it in a class of its own. Also makes a unique street tree.
How to Grow
A caveat: that slender, young Columnar European Hornbeam will get big—40 feet tall and 25 feet wide. It’s not a fast growing tree, so it won’t happen overnight, but if you plan on keeping this plant at a certain size, be prepared to do some clipping. Otherwise, this tree is low maintenance and easy to please. Give it a sunny site and soil that doesn’t stay soggy, and it will be happy. It can even play the part of hard-knock city tree, shrugging off pollution, poor soil, and drought.
More Info
Size Guide

Scale

Size B

Size C
This graphic shows the approximate size and form of the Tree you are viewing.
Size B Trees:
8-10' tall. Grown in our #15 tree container. This tree is substantial immediately and will make a great addition to any landscape.
Size C Trees:
10-12' Tall. Grown Balled and Burlapped. This is a BIG tree. If you're looking for immediate landscape impact, this is the one.
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