European Hornbeam Live Tree – Carpinus betulus

Add structure, privacy, and classic elegance to your landscape with the European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). Known for its smooth gray bark, dense foliage, and excellent tolerance of pruning, this versatile deciduous tree is a beautiful choice for formal hedges, windbreaks, privacy screens, and standalone ornamental planting.

Available as a potted tree in a 5½-inch band pot and shipped in a 36-inch box.

European Hornbeam Features

• Botanical name: Carpinus betulus

• Common name: European hornbeam

• Plant type: Deciduous ornamental tree

• USDA hardiness zones: 4–8

• Mature height: Approximately 40–60 feet

• Mature spread: Approximately 30–40 feet

• Foliage: Dense, dark green leaves

• Fall color: Reliable yellow

• Pot size: 5½-inch band pot

• Shipping box: 36 inches

Beautiful Foliage and Winter Screening

European hornbeam features dense dark green foliage that turns yellow in autumn. One of its particularly useful characteristics is its tendency to retain many of its previous year's leaves through much of the winter, helping provide screening even after the growing season.

Its smooth gray bark develops a distinctive muscular appearance as the tree matures. Small, non-showy male and female flowers appear in April.

Versatile Landscape Uses

European hornbeam is a dependable choice for many landscape applications:

• Formal hedges: Tolerates heavy pruning and shaping.

• Privacy screens: Dense branching and retained winter foliage help provide screening.

• Windbreaks: Useful for creating protective landscape plantings.

• Standalone specimen: Attractive bark and structured growth make it a handsome ornamental tree.

• Wildlife gardens: Provides food and shelter for birds and small mammals.

Hornbeam wood is also historically valued for its strength and is used in furniture making and woodturning.

Growing and Care Information

European hornbeam adapts to a wide range of soil types, including chalk, clay, loam, and sand.

• Light: Full sun to partial shade

• Soil: Adaptable to many soil types

• Preferred moisture: Moist, well-drained soil

• Water: Drought-tolerant once established; tolerates moist and occasionally wet soils

• Pruning: Best pruned from late summer through mid-winter to avoid bleeding

• Hedge maintenance: Tolerates heavy pruning, making it suitable for formal hedge shaping

• Hardiness: USDA Zones 4–8

Shipping Information

• Ships as a potted tree in a 5½-inch band pot.

• Shipped in a 36-inch box.

• Free shipping to most locations.

• Larger boxes and shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, APO addresses, U.S. territories, and areas considered remote may require an additional freight surcharge.

• Orders may be held when temperatures are above 89°F or below 20°F until conditions improve.

All plants are inspected for quality before shipment. If your plant arrives damaged, please contact us promptly and include photographs of the shipping package and plant so we can help resolve the issue.

Bring the timeless beauty and practical versatility of European hornbeam to your landscape with this adaptable tree, ideal for hedges, windbreaks, screening, and ornamental planting.