Plants suited to hedging, both deciduous and evergreen. Each plant page gives the planting distance and shop prices by size.
82 plants from our verified database, by name. A plant is only listed when the data this list relies on is not in doubt. How our data is made
Taxus × media 2.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dark green, dense evergreen and one of the best plants for a clipped hedge: it grows in sun and deep shade alike, copes well with city air and…
Cupressus arizonica 3.5 m × 1 m after 10 years
A blue-grey, scale-leaved evergreen that is mostly sold in slim, columnar forms: a handsome specimen in a warm, sunny spot, a screen when planted in a…
Aronia melanocarpa 1.8 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
An undemanding, completely hardy fruiting shrub: flat heads of white flowers in May, clusters of black, astringent berries ripening in late summer and…
Sambucus nigra 4 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
A native, very fast-growing, spreading shrub or small tree that carries large, creamy white, strongly scented flower plates from late spring and…
Prunus spinosa 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A native, very thorny shrub that is covered in white blossom in early spring before the leaves, and one of the best wildlife hedges: impenetrable,…
Ilex × meserveae 2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dense evergreen shrub with glossy, blue-green, spiny leaves that is much hardier than English holly, so it works both as an impenetrable hedge and…
Forsythia × intermedia 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A fast-growing shrub with arching branches that are lined with golden yellow flowers in early spring, before the leaves appear. It is undemanding,…
Lonicera nitida 1.2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
Box honeysuckle is a small-leaved, glossy evergreen shrub that grows fast and takes clipping at almost any time, so it is used for low hedges,…
Spiraea × vanhouttei 2 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An old, proven flowering shrub: in May its arching branches are covered along their whole length with small white flower clusters, as if dusted with…
Amelanchier canadensis 3 m × 2 m after 10 years
An upright, multi-stemmed deciduous shrub or small tree that is covered in white flower clusters in April before the leaves open, ripens edible,…
Prunus laurocerasus 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A fast-growing evergreen with glossy leaves and one of the most popular hedging plants: it grows in sun and shade alike and takes hard pruning well.…
Prunus laurocerasus 'Novita' 4.5 m × 3.5 m after 10 years
For a fast-growing screen that stays leafy all year, 'Novita' offers large, glossy leaves, but needs regular clipping and watering while establishing.…
Chaenomeles speciosa 2 m × 2 m after 10 years
A dense, spiny shrub that reaches head height and flowers in early spring before the leaves: depending on the cultivar the white, pink or red blooms…
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Columnaris' 3.5 m × 1 m after 10 years
A false cypress that forms a slim, dense column branched to the ground, with steely blue-green scale-like foliage and stiffly upright branches. In ten…
Cornus sanguinea 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
Common dogwood is a tough native shrub of woodland edges: its white flower heads feed insects in early summer, the black berries feed birds, the…
Crataegus monogyna 4 m × 3 m after 10 years
A thorny large shrub or small tree that is covered in scented white blossom in May and loaded with red haws in autumn, much loved by birds. It makes…
Syringa vulgaris 3 m × 2 m after 10 years
A large, long-lived deciduous shrub grown for its strongly scented flower clusters in spring. It copes well with sun, heat and limy soil, and with…
Taxus baccata 4 m × 2.1 m after 10 years
Its dense, dark green foliage makes a useful evergreen hedge or a clipped garden feature, even in shade. It tolerates pruning well, but eventually…
Symphoricarpos × doorenbosii 1.5 m × 1.8 m after 10 years
This hybrid snowberry is an almost indestructible, dense shrub with arching branches: its tiny, inconspicuous flowers are popular with bees and are…
Santolina chamaecyparissus 50 cm × 90 cm after 10 years
An evergreen subshrub with silver-grey, finely cut, strongly aromatic foliage that grows into a tight little dome and carries yellow button flowers in…
Salix integra 2 m × 2 m after 10 years
Nurseries sell it almost only as the variegated cultivar 'Hakuro-nishiki': the spring shoots are dappled pink, white and green and turn mostly green…
Elaeagnus × ebbingei 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A vigorous, dense evergreen shrub with leathery leaves that are glossy dark green above and silvery beneath, bearing tiny, barely visible but strongly…
Ilex aquifolium 2.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A slow-growing, dense evergreen shrub or small tree with glossy dark green or variegated leaves edged with spines, at its best in winter when the…
Lavandula angustifolia 60 cm × 80 cm after 10 years
An evergreen, grey-leaved, scented subshrub covered for weeks in early summer with purple, blue, pink or white flower spikes that bees and butterflies…
Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote' 60 cm × 1 m after 10 years
'Hidcote' forms a compact mound of silvery foliage topped with fragrant, dark-purple flowers that attract bees. It works well along sunny borders,…
Fagus sylvatica 5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A huge woodland tree with smooth grey bark and deep shade that makes a fine specimen in a large garden and, when clipped, a classic hedge: the hedge…
Carpinus betulus 6 m × 4.5 m after 10 years
It makes a dense hedge that responds well to clipping, but grows into a large shade tree if left unpruned. The foliage turns yellow in autumn, and…
Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata' 6 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A dense hornbeam with upswept branches that is a slim column when young, which makes it a good vertical accent in a border and, planted in a row, a…
Ulmus minor 7 m × 4 m after 10 years
A native, fast growing tree of floodplains and lowlands that reaches 20 to 30 metres and copes well with drought, chalky soil, city air and occasional…
Acer campestre 4.5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A native, undemanding small to medium tree that copes with drought, lime and clay, city air and hard clipping, and turns a good yellow in autumn. Left…
Pyracantha coccinea 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A dense, fiercely thorny evergreen shrub with clusters of white flowers in late spring and masses of red or orange berries from autumn to late winter,…
Rosa Floribunda Group 90 cm × 70 cm after 10 years
The floribunda (the small-flowered polyantha roses belong here too) is a low, bushy rose that carries its flowers in clusters at the shoot tips and…
Ribes sanguineum 2.2 m × 1.8 m after 10 years
A fast-growing, upright then arching, thornless ornamental shrub that is covered in April, as the leaves emerge, with hanging clusters of crimson,…
Chaenomeles × superba 1.2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A low, spreading, thorny deciduous shrub that covers itself in large, waxy, mostly red flowers in early spring before the leaves, when little else…
Fargesia nitida 3 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A clump-forming bamboo: unlike running bamboos it does not send out far-reaching rhizomes, the clump only thickens slowly, so you can plant it without…
Abelia × grandiflora 1.2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A semi-evergreen shrub with arching branches and glossy leaves that carries small, white, pink-flushed, scented bell flowers from early summer until…
Santolina rosmarinifolia 60 cm × 80 cm after 10 years
A Mediterranean subshrub with bright green, thread-fine aromatic foliage that forms a dense cushion and is covered with pale yellow button flowers…
Spiraea × cinerea 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dense, rounded bush with thin, arching shoots that are covered along their whole length with tiny snow-white flowers in April, before the leaves…
Viburnum opulus 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A fast-growing, large native shrub with lobed, maple-like leaves, flat white lacecap flowers in May and June, red autumn foliage and glossy red…
Osmanthus heterophyllus 2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
An evergreen shrub with glossy, dark green, spiny leaves that look like holly, bearing tiny white flowers in autumn whose scent carries a long way…
Berberis × media 1.3 m × 1.4 m after 10 years
A dense, rounded, thorny barberry with small glossy leaves that mostly stay on the bush in a mild winter and turn bright red and bronze in autumn.…
Hyssopus officinalis 60 cm × 45 cm after 10 years
A low, aromatic, woody-based subshrub that draws bees and butterflies with spikes of blue, or less often pink or white, flowers from early summer into…
Berberis thunbergii 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dense, spiny, undemanding deciduous shrub grown mainly for its green, burgundy, yellow or variegated foliage, vivid autumn colour and red berries…
Ilex crenata 1.2 m × 1 m after 10 years
A small-leaved, glossy, spineless evergreen that looks deceptively like box when clipped, so it is planted in its place for low hedges, edging and…
Kerria japonica 2 m × 2 m after 10 years
An undemanding deciduous shrub that covers its arching stems, which stay bright green all winter, with golden yellow flowers in April and May;…
Euonymus japonicus 2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
An evergreen shrub with glossy, leathery leaves that takes clipping well, so it works as a low to medium hedge, a screen or a container plant, and…
Viburnum tinus 2 m × 2 m after 10 years
A Mediterranean evergreen viburnum with dark, glossy foliage that flowers from late autumn in mild winters, otherwise from late winter into spring:…
Lavandula × intermedia 90 cm × 1 m after 10 years
A bigger, more vigorous hybrid than true lavender: a grey-green, aromatic subshrub that carries long-stemmed, strongly scented flower spikes in summer…
Viburnum rhytidophyllum 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A large evergreen shrub with long, deeply wrinkled dark green leaves that screens all year, so it is excellent as a tall, loosely kept screen or…
× Cuprocyparis leylandii 8 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A very fast evergreen that gives you a tall, dense privacy hedge within a few years, but only choose it if you have the room and the time. It grows…
Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
Large flower panicles change from lime green to creamy white and pink, bringing colour from midsummer into autumn as a specimen shrub or an informal…
Philadelphus coronarius 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
A large, upright then arching deciduous shrub grown for its white, intensely sweet-scented flowers in late May and June: plant it near a patio or seat…
Physocarpus opulifolius 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
An undemanding, fast-growing deciduous shrub with arching branches, rounded clusters of white or pinkish flowers in May and June and reddish, inflated…
Spiraea nipponica 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dense, tough shrub with arching branches that are covered along their whole length with clusters of tiny white flowers in late spring and early…
Mahonia aquifolium 1.2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A slow-growing evergreen shrub with glossy, holly-like, spiny-edged leaves that copes with shade and part shade under trees, where few other shrubs…
Ligustrum ovalifolium 3 m × 2 m after 10 years
An undemanding hedging shrub with glossy dark green leaves that thickens up quickly, grows in almost any soil and copes well with city air. It keeps…
Photinia × fraseri 'Red Robin' 3 m × 2 m after 10 years
Glossy evergreen leaves and bright red new shoots make this a colourful hedge or a striking standalone shrub. Give it sun or partial shade, shelter…
Prunus lusitanica 3.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
A dense, elegant evergreen shrub or small tree with glossy dark green leaves that are narrower than those of cherry laurel, reddish young shoots and…
Viburnum × pragense 2.5 m × 2.2 m after 10 years
A fast-growing, dense evergreen shrub with glossy, dark green, veined leaves; in late May it carries flat heads of creamy white, lightly scented…
Lonicera pileata 60 cm × 1.5 m after 10 years
A low, wide-spreading, dense shrub with small glossy dark green leaves that makes a dependable ground cover in sun or shade, on banks, under trees…
Aronia × prunifolia 1.8 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
An undemanding, very hardy berry shrub: white flower clusters in May, glossy purple-black berries in early autumn and bright red leaves before leaf…
Salix purpurea 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A willow of river banks with thin, pliable purplish shoots that grows into a 3 to 5 metre bush in the wild, but gardens almost only get its dense,…
Photinia × fraseri 3 m × 2 m after 10 years
An evergreen shrub for hedges and specimens whose new shoots emerge bright red and mature to glossy dark green; trimming in spring and summer brings…
Aronia arbutifolia 2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
An upright, slender shrub grown for its flaming red autumn foliage and for the glossy red berries that stay on the stems well into winter; white,…
Cornus sericea 2.5 m × 3 m after 10 years
A vigorous, multi-stemmed shrub grown for its winter stems: bright red in the species, yellow-green in the widely sold 'Flaviramea', while the dwarf…
Fargesia robusta 3.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A clump-forming bamboo that does not run: the clump only thickens slowly and stays where you plant it, so it needs no rhizome barrier. It is one of…
Juniperus scopulorum 4 m × 60 cm after 10 years
Rocky Mountain juniper is sold as narrow, columnar, blue-green or silver-blue forms (Blue Arrow, Skyrocket): in ten years they reach roughly four…
Salix rosmarinifolia 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A fine-textured, airy willow shrub with narrow, rosemary-like grey-green leaves that are silvery and downy beneath, and small catkins in spring that…
Hibiscus syriacus 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
An upright, vase-shaped deciduous shrub that carries large, hollyhock-like flowers from midsummer into autumn, when most shrubs have finished. It…
Fargesia rufa 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years
A clump-forming bamboo that does not run, so you can plant it without a root barrier: the clump widens slowly but never wanders through the garden. It…
Potentilla fruticosa 1.2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A dense, rounded little deciduous shrub that flowers almost without a break from late spring until the first frosts. It is undemanding and copes…
Rosa Shrub Group 1.5 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A large, varied group of roses that grow into big, loose bushes; modern shrub roses and English roses belong here. Use them as specimens, at the…
Caragana arborescens 3.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An extremely cold-hardy and drought-tolerant upright large shrub or small tree that copes where others give up: on poor, sandy or limy soil in…
Deutzia gracilis 1 m × 1.2 m after 10 years
A low, tidy deciduous shrub with arching stems that is almost hidden under pure white, lightly scented flower clusters in late spring. It suits the…
Amelanchier lamarckii 6 m × 6 m after 10 years
This airy small tree or multi-stemmed shrub brings white spring blossom, edible summer fruit and bright autumn colour. It suits specimen planting,…
Diervilla sessilifolia 1.2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A low, tough deciduous shrub that spreads slowly by suckers and grows in almost any soil, taking drought and even dry shade under trees, so it is…
Euonymus europaeus 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An undemanding large shrub or small tree with green twigs whose main season is autumn: the leaves turn red and purple, and the pink capsules split…
Weigela florida 2.5 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
An easy, dependable deciduous shrub that is covered in funnel-shaped pink, red or white flowers in late spring and early summer, often with a…
Thuja plicata 5 m × 2 m after 10 years
A fast-growing evergreen with glossy dark green, scale-like foliage that smells of pineapple when crushed. For hedges it is mostly planted as the…
Ligustrum vulgare 3 m × 2.5 m after 10 years
Wild privet is a native, undemanding and very drought-tolerant shrub and the classic material for a clipped hedge: it grows fast, takes any amount…
Berberis julianae 2 m × 1.5 m after 10 years
A dense evergreen barberry with glossy spiny-edged leaves and three-pronged thorns 2 to 4 cm long: clipped or left free it makes a practically…
Satureja montana 40 cm × 50 cm after 10 years
A low, woody-based, semi-evergreen herb with glossy, narrow, peppery-scented leaves that you can use fresh or dried in the kitchen. From midsummer its…
How to plan a garden, step by step
A garden is best planned in six steps: survey the site (light, soil, water, winter), decide what you will use it for, set the framework that still shows in winter, then lay out the border in layers, tall at the back and low at the front. Choose plants so that something flowers from spring to autumn, and finally work out the number of plants and the cost from the planting distances. Our garden planner works by the same rules.
Fast-growing hedges: how much each grows in a year
The fastest hedge plant is the Leyland cypress, growing about 90 cm a year, followed by cherry laurel 'Novita', firethorn and western red cedar at about 50 cm a year, then privet at 40 cm. How long a 180 cm hedge takes to screen depends more on the size of plant you buy: several years from small plants, one or two summers from large ones, but at many times the price per metre. The tables use the current shop prices in your country.
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