Instant Hedge In Focus: Purple Beech
Rich Colour, Classic Form and Instant Impact
Purple Beech, or Copper Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’) is a really striking deciduous hedge. With its deep green-purple spring foliage, rich autumn tones and elegant habit, it brings a real sense of drama while still delivering the structure and privacy people expect from a mature hedge.
As part of our Practical Instant Hedge™ range, Purple Beech gives you that established look from day one, without the long wait for individual plants to knit together.
Why Choose Purple Beech for as a Hedge?
Purple Beech is a favourite with designers and homeowners who want something a little more distinctive than a traditional hedge. It has the timeless elegance of green beech, but with richer colour and a more dramatic presence throughout the year.
Distinctive foliage
Purple Beech is known for its dark green-purple leaves, which deepen into red-brown shades in autumn. Although this hedge is deciduous, the leaves hold on throughout the winter and often remain attached until spring. This helps the hedge give a good level of privacy in winter, along with a softer, more natural look than an evergreen hedge.
Purple Beech works especially well where you want the hedge itself to become a feature. It can give a formal boundary a more luxurious feel, create a bold backdrop for planting, or add contrast against lighter foliage, paving, gravel and stone.
Growing Conditions
Purple Beech is a versatile hedge, and is happy on most soils and thrives particularly well in chalk. It can tolerate sun or shade, making it useful in a wide range of garden layouts. However, it does not like seaside locations or wet ground, so it is best avoided where soil stays soggy or salt exposure is likely.
Growth and Maintenance
- Purple Beech is a medium-growing hedge, typically putting on around 10–30cm a year. That growth rate pace is part of its appeal, because it helps the hedge keep a refined shape with relatively little maintenance.
- A light annual prune is usually enough, with August being the preferred time for trimming. That keeps the hedge neat, encourages density and helps preserve a tidy form.
- Purple Beech Practical Instant Hedge is currently available in 1.2–1.4m and 1.8m heights, with each hedge supplied in one-metre long pieces.
Caring for Your Purple Beech Instant Hedge
Once planted, a little aftercare will help your hedge thrive and stay looking its best.
Water regularly during establishment, especially in dry spells, and avoid letting the roots dry out. Once established, Purple Beech is relatively straightforward to maintain. Keep pruning to once a year in the summer to retain the hedge’s shape and encourage dense growth.
A Stylish Alternative to Green Beech
If you like the classic look of beech but want more colour, Purple Beech is a natural choice. It offers the same timeless hedge form, but with a richer palette that changes through the seasons.
That combination of structure, colour and instant maturity makes it a standout option for statement boundaries, elegant screening and garden designs that need something just a little more distinctive
All hedges supplied by Practicality Brown are Plant Healthy certified, UK-grown, professionally maintained and supplied ready for planting, ensuring reliable establishment and excellent results.
Contact us today for more information on our Practical Instant Hedge™, or if you would like details of our planting service.













































