Ostrya Carpinifolia Pleached Hop Hornbeam Tree

Ostrya Carpinifolia Pleached Tree
European Hop Hornbeam is a striking deciduous tree best known for its attractive foliage and highly-decorative catkins. These specimens have been trained as pleached trees – a square crown on top of a 2 metre clear trunk.
Ostrya Carpinifolia has leaves that are oval and ridged, quite similar to common Hornbeam. The foliage turns a yellowish-green in the autumn. And as the name suggests, the eye-catching catkins produced in the spring resemble hops: these long, hanging racemes follow a display of creamy white flowers. Read our blog on Pleached Tree Care & How To Plant Pleached Trees
And while no one can deny that Ostrya Carpinifolia is a beautiful ornamental tree in its own right, When trained in an elegant pleached form, Ostrya Carpinifolia best features are enhanced. Pleached Hop Hornbeam features a raised square crown above a straight bare trunk. This traditional look is achieved by cutting the crown when the tree is still young and training it into a square shape with the help of bamboo frames. As the tree matures, it retains this shape.

How Hardy is Ostrya Carpinifolia Pleached
A European native, Ostrya Carpinifolia does well in our climate. This deciduous tree is fully hardy in the United Kingdom- once established, it can withstand winter temperatures that are well below zero.

How To Use Ostrya Carpinifolia Pleached
The pleached form of this deciduous tree makes it ideally suited for above-fence screening or as it also known, stilted hedging or pleached hedge. You can combine the Pleached Hop Hornbeam with a regular hedge for a striking structural display, or use on its own, for instance to line walkways, visually extend the height of your walls, or ensure privacy on your property.

How To Care For Ostrya Carpinifolia Pleached
Pleached Hop Hornbeam is adaptable and tolerates most conditions. For best results, plant this tree in moist, fertile soil and in sun to partial shade.
The difficult work of training Pleached Hop Hornbeam has already been done. This specimen needs minimal care and maintenance to thrive. A trim once or twice a year will be more than enough to keep that gorgeous square crown in top shape.