Planting Single row of Beech as a windbreak?

[cessna]

I am thinking of planting a single row of Beech to act as a windbreak  on the west side of our very exposed garden to replace some Leylandii or whatever they are.  How far apart would you suggest I plant a single row of Beech  to act as a windbreak  "NOT AS  HEDGE",  I appreciate that  in years to come we may have to cut every other Beech out,so that we still have the view but still  have a windbreak. We are at about 700ft  on the Cotswolds ,very exposed to the west, I say our house is either "heaven or hell" because of the wind, but I always say "f you want a nice long distance view one has to tolerate the wind.Many thanks for any info . I AM NOT CONSIDERING  PLANTING NOW,but making plans for this Autumn.   

[monkeybusiness]

5 minutes ago, cessna said:

I am thinking of planting a single row of Beech to act as a windbreak  on the west side of our very exposed garden to replace some Leylandii or whatever they are.  How far apart would you suggest I plant a single row of Beech  to act as a windbreak  "NOT AS  HEDGE",  I appreciate that  in years to come we may have to cut every other Beech out,so that we still have the view but still  have a windbreak. We are at about 700ft  on the Cotswolds ,very exposed to the west, I say our house is either "heaven or hell" because of the wind, but I always say "f you want a nice long distance view one has to tolerate the wind.Many thanks for any info . I AM NOT CONSIDERING  PLANTING NOW,but making plans for this Autumn.   

How big/how much are you expecting to spend etc?

Have a look at hornbeam too - looks very similar to beech, tolerates poor ground, grows faster. 

[John Shutler]

9 hours ago, monkeybusiness said:

How big/how much are you expecting to spend etc?

Have a look at hornbeam too - looks very similar to beech, tolerates poor ground, grows faster. 

agreed, we planted a hornbeam hedge at home 6 years ago. up until last year when we reduced it had got to 11ft tall and has now been brought down to 6-7 ft

the plants were only 50-60cm tall when we planted them 

[MattyF]

Have used Holm oak and Scots pine as well for hedging if you fancy trying some thing different....
I would plant two lines staggered at 50cm apart and plant young whips 1- 2-ft sort of size.
If you prep the ground keep them watered and mulched they will establish them selves very quickly and out grow bigger plants unless you buy 6ft ready made hedge which will be expensive.

[tree-fancier123]

13 hours ago, cessna said:

How far apart would you suggest I plant a single row of Beech  to act as a windbreak  "NOT AS  HEDGE",  I appreciate that  in years to come we may have to cut every other Beech out,so that we still have the view but still  have a windbreak

so you want to see between individual  trees in a line to a view beyond, not look over the top of a hedge?

if so then if your budget can stand it buy taller specimens and plant 4 metres apart, or two metres apart if you want to mess about thinning every other plant in 5 years or so.

Edit- if you want to look between individual trees to a view beyond, then even at 4 metres apart you will be loosing a few as they mature .As it's a windbreak maybe the holm oak mentioned above is worth considering, an evergreen would shelter the whole year. You would need to do some research on your soil acidity and expected moisture to see what candidate species are most likely to flourish. On a hill it will probably get dry and you will need to water the beech a lot, even as they mature it is possible the beech won't like an extremely hot dry summer.

Holm oak may be more drought tolerant, I'm not 100%, but they are native to much hotter regions of europe than UK, they do seed across hillsides. (images of Ventnor, IOW)

Have a read of this free tree species selection guide

http://www.tdag.org.uk/uploads/4/2/8/0/4280686/tdag_treespeciesguidev1.3.pdf

holm oak is listed as drought tolerant, hornbeam as moderately drought tolerant (p353-354), but common beech is listed as moderately sensitive to drought.

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by tree-fancier123

[MattyF]

They will stay quite squat if exposed to wind too ...sorry should of read the OPs request a bit better on tree spacing in my original reply.

[Khriss]

Windbreaks need designing to meet the local condition, a line of trees isn't a very good wind break, one species may not do, winter winds are harsher so a mix of conifer and broadleaf may be needed. A wedge or spear formation may give better results and use less trees and perform quicker. Plus other surrounding topographical features will need assessing.   K

Edited May 26, 2020 by Khriss
Responded to this so I could use the word ' topographical ' for once ?

[Stere]

Trees dont like wind hence with a block of trees you see the canopy slopes up in height from the windward side, the trees there stunted compared to more sheltered location at the back.

 

Maybe consider a  hedge with another row of tree behind but then would block view.....

 

Holm oaks seem slow growing and hornbean fast from what ive seen with beech inbetween.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Stere

[Paul Cleaver]

if you go for Hornbeam -  Carpinus Betualus "Fastigiata" (photo attached)  would be good for a medium sized garden, they get to about 40 ft. For large garden, use Common Hornbeam

 

[Stubby]

I know life is a compromise but , .....I don't think you can have a view and a wind break  .  If you want trees with gaps and not a hedge ( you can see over )  You will end up crown lifting the trees to get the view and the wind will come whistling through the gaps . If you make a proper shelter belt you will stop the wind but see fuck all .

Edited May 26, 2020 by Stubby