Carpinus betulus Rockhampton Red

An exciting new variety of Hornbeam discovered by chance on a UK tree nursery, Carpinus betulus ‘Rockhampton Red’ has the same growth characteristics as the widely grown common Hornbeam but the leaves turn from green to bright red and orange from late September. The colours persist until November when the leaves whither and turn to nut brown with many of them being retained till the next spring.

A super new plant with great potential for all the same purposes as the usual native Hornbeam­ – as a specimen tree, for pleaching, topiary or even as a very special hedge. Plant Rockhampton Red intermittently with common Hornbeam or other varieties of hedging for a ‘tapestry’ effect hedge. Also stunning as part of a woodland planting.

The bark is pale grey and develops ridges with age, the trunk can be short and twisting but when coppiced the many new shoots are tall and thin.  The pleated pale green leaves emerge from the pointed buds and darken with age. The female catkins, which grow on the same tree as the male, develop into papery green winged fruit. The small nuts are contained in a leafy bract.

The Carpinus betulus Rockhampton Red tree grows very well in a wide range of soil types including those which are poor and dry, chalky and even in heavy waterlogged soils, doing well in conditions that few other trees would tolerate. Copes well with windy and exposed conditions and so is suited to be planted for screening and wind protection.

The name Hornbeam derives form the hardness of its wood, ‘horn’ meaning hard and ‘beam’ meaning tree in old English. Coppiced for poles and made into charcoal, it was once common to see carefully formed stacks of hornbeam in woods ready for the charcoal burning process or for firewood. Hornbeam is a very long-lived species, and specimens of over 100 years of age are not uncommon. Fast growing at 30 to 60cms per year this tree can be pruned at any time of year, can reach 30 metres if left grow.

Orders are being despatched within 3-5 working days, delivery is 1-2 days after we despatch.

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 5-7 working 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)

Heavy Plants (Pallet Delivery)

Tall Plants 2.5m+ (Specialist Delivery)

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