‘How can I tell if my beech hedge died in the summer heatwave?’

I planted a bare-root beech hedge in early spring of 2025. Unfortunately, a heatwave followed soon after. I did my very best to keep the plants watered throughout but they struggled. I suspect that some of them have since died. How can I tell, and what’s the best time to replace them? Shane M, Cork

Erratic weather patterns caused by climate change are increasingly causing problems for gardeners in terms of shortening the bare root planting season, because of the growing risk of drought and unseasonably warm weather in spring. Ireland experienced droughts or partial droughts in 2020, 2023, and then again in 2025, while the spring of 2026 also broke records in terms of recording temperature highs in many weather stations across the country.

Unfortunately for your beech hedge, 2025 was officially Ireland’s warmest and sunniest on record since 1900 as well as one of its driest, creating very challenging growing conditions for any newly-planted bare root specimens. Even already well-established plants struggled to cope with the increased pressure on their root systems, especially coming at a time when they were typically coming into leaf, sometimes resulting in dieback and stunted growth.

Depending on the level of plant stress experienced, it’s sadly very possible that some sections of your new hedge didn’t make it through this initial post-planting phase without damage and that some individual plants may have died. Signs of the latter include complete dieback of smaller branches, discolouring/greying stems, and plants becoming brittle to the touch with no signs of green plant tissue when you scratch away a small outer section of the bark. Others include signs of root rock or instability, suggesting that the plant’s root system didn’t establish as it should have. If in doubt, give it a gentle tug. If it comes up easily and the root ball shows no signs of any young, fine root hairs, then it’s almost certainly dead.

This is the best time of year to replace any dead beech hedging plants, allowing the new plants several months to bed down and get their roots in the ground while the soil remains damp and relatively cool and the plants are in winter hibernation. When choosing these, resist the urge to go for larger bare root specimens which face more of a struggle in terms of successful root establishment. Smaller, younger specimens, ideally 60cm-90cm in height, establish faster and more easily, typically overtaking larger plants within a few years. Typical spacing for a single-row beech hedge is three plants per metre, while for a double row hedge you should allow five, planted in a zig-zag with roughly 30cm between plants.

To help these replacement plants to establish, keep them in a cool, dark, sheltered spot until you’re ready to plant them and don’t let their vulnerable baby roots systems dry out. Dip their roots in a bucket of water immediately before planting into weed-free ground, making sure you do so to their original planting depth. Then firm them in gently with your foot and water them again. You’ll also need to take great care not to damage the root systems of any of the surviving young beech hedging plants while digging new planting holes, so take it slowly and use a garden fork rather than a spade.