Many of the species used in Stewardship Hedgerows are deciduous and so through the winter months are devoid of foliage. Hornbeam or Carpinus Betulus is a leaf retaining shrub or tree like Green Beech and so is ideal to use within a Stewardship mix to give a little extra protection for wildlife through the winter months.
It differs from Green Beech in the leaf style as the foliage has a more serrated edge and the leaf veins are more prominent and Hornbeam will tolerate more adverse conditions such as wet or shaded ground, and requires pruning in late summer or early autumn to promote leaf retention which in turn provides shelter and nesting sites for birds and small animals.
A hard wood, the hardest we grow in this country, hence the name ironwood, it is a good choice to include in a Stewardship mix even for stock proofing as it is so robust, also some farmers will use it for coppicing to provide hardwood poles and it also burns well and is good for charcoal making.
In the days before cast iron Hornbeam was used for cog wheels in mills, piano keys, and butchers blocks and anything that required an exceptionally hard-wearing surface and in days gone by apparently a tonic was made from Hornbeam which was said to relieve tiredness and the leaves used to stem bleeding and heal wounds. In springtime the leaves of Hornbeam emerge as the freshest of green colours to lift ones spirits in the early part of the year, turning in late summer to a clear buttery yellow colour before fading to its winter brown colour.
A friendly heads up about our stewardship Hornbeam hedging products……
Products in our Farm Stewardship Hedging section are priced on a wholesale basis for larger scale farm and professional users and so in the spirit of wholesale, a minimum order value of £250 (excluding VAT) applies. We still accept orders below this value, but we must point out that they will automatically attract a £49 (excluding VAT) delivery charge to cover our packing, administration and delivery costs fully on these low margin products.
If your order is significantly under £250 it would almost certainly be more economical for you (after the delivery cost has been applied) to order from our main Hornbeam Hedging page where the plants may cost a little more but delivery is free on orders over £60 (ex VAT).
Delivery leadtimes update- March/April 2024
We are working at maximum capacity to fulfil all orders as quickly as possible but owing to unprecedented demand some orders will take longer:
– Orders containing only bare root plants – delivery is currently within 5-7 days
– All other orders – delivery is currently within 2-3 weeks
Delivery is free for most orders above our free delivery thresholds, these are displayed above our prices in the product listings and summarized below. If you don’t need that many plants it’s not a problem, you can choose to pay our delivery charge and only order what you need.
Delivery is convenient – no signature is required so you don’t need to wait in, we will leave your parcel in the safe place that you nominate.
Delivery is fast – because we pick orders daily from our own growing beds your plants only travel the small hop to our packing shed before being sent to you, they are usually delivered within 3-7 days.
Delivery is reliable – we have been selling and delivering Hedging Plants to our customers nationwide since 1992. We have a lot of experience in packing them safely and only use tried and tested delivery partners.
Smaller Plants (Parcel Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Up to £90 | £15.00 |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £90 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | £24.00 |
Heavy Plants (Pallet Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Up to £420 | £72.00 |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £420 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | £72.00 |
Tall Plants 2.5m+ (Specialist Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Under £1800 | Please call us |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £1800 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | Not available |
Exceptions to our delivery charges are Scottish Highland and Isle of Wight delivery areas where we need to charge a little extra to cover the cost of deliveries to these outlying areas. We don’t currently delivery to other offshore addresses including Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.
Tall plants over 2.5 metres have to be delivered by our own specialised transport, our delivery area is limited to mainland England and Wales only.
Please note there is a minimum order value of £50 for orders containing smaller plants and £250 for orders containing heavier plants
Complete delivery information can be viewed on our Delivery Information page
