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Formal Hedge Plants
Formal hedge plants (used for the hedges that look well tended with straight edges...) can be deciduous or evergreen. Some deciduous hedge plants hold their leaves (albeit dead) through some or all of the winter. This kind of hedging has the same attractions in terms of privacy that evergreen hedging does. However if wind protection is a consideration, then hedge plants that drop their leaves tend to make better windbreaks than evergreen/brown hedges as they reduce wind flow rather than block it entirely (which causes turbulence around the hedge). However hedging clothed in leaves (whether they are green or brown) looks less bleak.
Click on the highlighted formal hedge plant names in the lists below to go to the relevant shopping page on this site where you will find more information about each, including pictures and any specific planting instructions together with the sizes we stock and their prices.
Beech, Green.
Green Beech makes an outstanding formal hedge that has beautiful foliage in spring which turns a warm golden brown by late autumn and then is held through the winter.
A Green Beech, Fagus sylvatica, hedge is one of the best garden hedges there is: equally outstanding in a formal setting or as stockproof country hedging. When clipped, Green Beech hedging holds its leaves - which turn a beautiful russet colour in the autumn right through the winter. When it is allowed to grow to full size in a wood or a park, a large Beech tree makes a majestic specimen with soaring branches. Both in hedge and tree, young Beech leaves are bright green in spring darkening as summer wears on. The mostly smooth, sometimes rippled bark is a shade of elephant grey.
This page is here for you to buy Green Beech sapling trees in smaller sizes, between 0.3 and 1.8 metres tall (or between 1 and 6 feet). These are mainly used for hedging and are also ideal when used in large numbers in woodland and forestry planting. If you have time, we suggest that you go for smaller trees because they establish so rapidly. We also have much larger Green Beech specimen trees from about 3 metres upwards.
Is my soil suitable for growing Green Beech? A native to the UK, it is tolerant of any well-drained soil type. If it takes more than a day for surface water to drain away after heavy rains, then your soil is probably too heavy for Beech. Hornbeam, when planted as a hedge, has leaves that look almost the same as Beech's; it will grow in quite wet soil.
In some parts of the country, Green Beech replaces the Hawthorn that is usually found around a British field. Well grown Beech hedging is stockproof and once established it is perfect for the tops of banks. Fagus sylvatica loves the drainage and is good in wind.
Pruning your Beech Hedge:
With a new beech hedge, just nip off an inch or so - 2.5cm of the top of the central, leading stem of each plant on planting to help it bush out. Whenever a strong leader develops, nip off the top bud. Trim side branches to make them bushier. Beech hedging is best trimmed in midsummer. The ideal day for a haircut is overcast with rain on the way; full sun on the freshly cut leaves can cause the edges to brown and plants always like to have a drink after a trim. By removing a few leaves from all over the hedge at this time of year, you both keep it looking neat and encourage it to grip on tightly to the remaining foliage, which should stay on the branches until the following spring. With an established beech hedge, this is probably all the attention that it will need. If you do want to carry out formative pruning, do this in winter when the plants are dormant; you can cut them back hard if they are overgrown. Beech hedge plants are best planted in either a single row at 3 per metre or a double row at 4-5 per metre.
A mature beech hedge can be as big as you like - the tallest is in Scotland, by the road in a place called Meikleour. It is 100 feet tall in places. Your hedge can also become very wide, improving its ability to slow the wind and muffle sound from a busy road. Beech hedge plants are best planted in a single row at 3 per metre, 33 cms apart. For a really thick, animal-proof hedge, use a staggered double row at 5 per metre.
Are you looking to get a big beech hedge up in a hurry? For larger quantities of our bigger sized plants, have a look at the savings in our hedge pack section where we sell beech hedging in bundles of 50. Depending on your budget, you can choose between 80/100cm, 100/125cm or 120/150cm tall plants. These are well branched and will make the beginnings of a solid barrier in their first year - this is the cheapest way to get an "instant" green beech hedge.
Copper Beech (or Purple Beech).
Copper Beech / Purple Beech - Fagus sylvatica purpurea
Copper Beech is a magnificent if slightly slower growing purple form of Green Beech. The pink/purple spring foliage darkens to a rich copper in summer before turning golden brown in autumn.
To 20m. Treat as for Common Beech
We also sell these container grown for summer plantingclick the Potted Plants link on the left of this page to see our range. Identical hedging in all respects to green beech except for the leaf colour, which is almost pink in spring, darkening through burnished copper to purple. Copper beech looks good when mixed in the same hedge as green beech.
Box, Common.
Common Box is slow growing so best for smaller evergreen hedges of 30+ cms (although it can grow to several feet in height) and as a formal hedge plant in herb gardens and rose borders. Shade and dry soil tolerant.
A Green Beech, Fagus sylvatica, hedge is one of the best garden hedges there is: equally outstanding in a formal setting or as stockproof country hedging. When clipped, Green Beech hedging holds its leaves - which turn a beautiful russet colour in the autumn right through the winter. When it is allowed to grow to full size in a wood or a park, a large Beech tree makes a majestic specimen with soaring branches. Both in hedge and tree, young Beech leaves are bright green in spring darkening as summer wears on. The mostly smooth, sometimes rippled bark is a shade of elephant grey.
A well maintained Box hedge can - after many years - be a magnificent sight. There is one in the parish of Babington that is about 6 metres tall, but you will have to be extremely patient for yours to get that tall. Box hedging is ideal for projects between 30 cms and a metre high. If you are plagued with deer, a Box Tree hedge is a good choice, as they seem to have no taste for it.
Box Tree Flowers & Seeds: Box produces little yellowish, flowers in March / April - these really are nothing to write home about and can't be seen from a little distance as they are hidden between the leaves. Since most box hedges are kept well trimmed, very few flower buds will be there to bloom anyway. All the same, you should see some bees popping in for a bite to eat. As far as we know, the small seeds aren't eaten by any larger animals.
Boxwood itself is prized for inlay work, being very hard and close grained with a warm yellow tone that polishes very well. Boxwood is also used to make the best mallet heads, both for the carpentry shop and the croquet lawn, and most of us can remember the old yellow boxwood school rulers, sometimes with the list of kings and queens on the back.
Box Trees are considered a sacred plant in Georgia, where Box twigs are taken to church on Palm Sunday to bring protection to the home and good luck to the family. Although it is poisonous to humans, boxwood oil was used in the past to try and cure epilepsy and leprosy, sadly without success, and had some use in lowering the fever caused by malaria - despite that, never ingest any part of the Box Plant. Homeopaths believe that it is a treatments for rheumatism. The box hedges of country mansions were traditionally clipped on on Derby Day in the first weekend of June, although we think that is 2 weeks too late. We don't know why Derby Day was considered special: we suspect that it was because everyone was at the races, leaving the garden free for the gardeners to do the work and tidy up before everyone got home.
Planting, Pruning and Caring for a Box Plant Hedge: Box trees require a well drained soil, but are otherwise not at all fussy and loves a bit of chalk. As your new hedge is reaching its desired height, you almost don't need to to trim it at all: Box is a slow growing plant and naturally very bushy, so really be sparing with the shears or you will be in for a long wait! Just nipping off the very tip of each stem once a year is more than enough. Because it grows so slowly, Buxus sempervirens is also excellent as either potted or ground grown topiary. In a long hot, dry summer (if we ever get one!) all types of box can get sun scorched if they are in full sun all day. This is a bit unsightly, but won't really harm your hedge at all. To avoid this, it is advised not to use overhead sprinklers: the water droplets on the leaves can concentrate the sun's rays. It is essential to pick an overcast day to trim the hedge, as the newly cut growth is very vulnerable to scorch. Box Hedging
Planting Distances: Plant your Box hedge using 5 plants per metre - 20cms apart - in a single row. The Box plants in the trough - pictured above - are 30/40cms sized plants photographed immediately after planting.
Cypress, False or Lawsons.
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana - sometimes called False Cypress is a large fast growing evergreen tree that makes an excellent screen or windbreak. It clips well so Lawson's Cypress can also be grown as a hedge. The slightly drooping foliage is darker than that of leylandii while a Lawsons Cypress hedge will grow nearly as fast.
This is an excellen all-round conifer - although usually used in hedging, Lawson's cypress grows well in windy areas, is shade tolerant and makes a magnificent screening tree.
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana grows to 30m
The thinking person's Leylandii. If you need a hedge ina hurry, this is a fast growing evergreen hedging conifer, much darker in colour and a bit more forgiving of mistakes than leylandii when being trimmed as a hedge. We don't promise, but you neighbour is less likely to be upset by a Lawsonia hedge than you know what... For a formal hedge clip in early spring and early autumn.
Holly.
Green Holly Hedge Plants - Ilex aquifolium
Native British Holly - Ilex aquifolium - is a lush evergreen shrub that will grow into a medium sized tree if left untrimmed. Holly bushes have spiny, glossy green leaves and bright red berries from late autumn to early winter, carried by the female plants. Holly makes a beautiful, low-maintenance hedging plant by itself and also goes very well with either beech or common laurel in a mixed hedge. It is a great plants for attracting wildlife into the garden, especially during winter, and is totally safe for farm animals and horses.
A Holly hedge is enormously hardy, wind-resistant and will grow well in seaside or industrial areas. It is tolerant of deep shade and is very happy under large, deciduous trees that block out most of the sun during the summer. Because Holly is in leaf all year, it has adapted itself to resist the stresses of snow piling up on its branches and strong, wintery winds catching the leaves. It's shield-like leaves are very effective at "filtering" wind and reducing its force, without creating turbulence like a fence or wall would, and Holly is often planted to make an exposed garden more sheltered all year round.
Holly is on the RHS list of plants that resist honey fungus well and is an excellent choice as a replacement for hedges or trees that are being attacked by it.
Trim Holly once a year, when most or all of its berries have gone. Don't be afraid of cutting back too much if it is overgrown - Holly plants readily produce new growth from old wood so they will always regrow to cover up a major operation. Holly leaves are responsive to their environment; the high up leaves on a tall tree are safe from being eaten and lose their spines. A yearly trim of your hedge will make the leaves produce more spines. As with pruning any large, spiny plant, we suggest that you wear eye protection.
Rabbits love Holly bushes: A newly planted Holly hedge is a favourite target for rabbits, who are inclined to bite young, green holly plants off at ground level. If you have rabbits in your area, ensure that your saplings are well protected with spiral guards for the first year or two. If you have a big rabbit problem, the 80/100 size plants are less vulnerable to being nibbled.
These holly hedging plants are grown from seed and are too young to have berried. In our experience, more than half of the plants in a large batch will turn out be female, though we can't promise this. For another way to ensure a bit of variety, you could add in some Variegated Holly.
The wood of holly is almost pure white, hard and polishes well. It is much prized for use in furniture, especially for inlay work. It is also good firewood.
Planting Holly bushes:
Your plants will grow in any well drained soil, including chalk. The best time to plant them out is in early spring. Holly sometimes drops its leaves after being transplanted. This isn't a problem, but as it prevents the plants from losing moisture through their leaves, it's best not to water your plants much if this happens and you have heavy clay soil in your area. Its maximum height as a tree is about 20 metres, but it is much more often seen as a large bush, 8 or so metres high.
Evergreen hedging with familiar prickly leaves that grows almost anywhere, looks good at Christmas and adds a measure of security. Works well mixed in a hedge with Cherry Laurel. Holly comes green or variegated.
Holm Oak.
Sometimes called Holly Oak. This is a cross between an oak and a holly. Not very prickly, clips really well, tough as old boots, wonderful in windy spots and by the sea and makes a fantastic evergreen hedge.
Holm Oak - Holly Oak - Quercus ilex
Holm oak is probably the finest broadleaved evergreen in the UK. It is a large, densely leaved, roundheaded tree with dark green, holly like foliage, rough bark and catkins in June. Holm Oak is a good seaside plant, not only as a tree but also as an excellent windproof hedge. It is versatile, equally at home as a large topiary subject and as a specimen tree in parkland or on the edge of woodland. Quercus ilex is much faster growing than English Oak, Sessile Oak or Turkey Oak. Pot grown. To 30m
Hornbeam.
Deciduous and a very similar hedging plant to beech but hornbeam is better on heavy soils that drain badly and makes an outstanding formal hedge in the shade.
Hornbeam Hedge Plants - Carpinus betulus
Our Hornbeam hedge plants (Carpinus betulus) are available in a range of sizes to suite your pocket and patience.
Like beech, a Hornbeam hedge is an outstanding addition to a formal or semi-formal setting. The glossy green leaves turn golden yellow in autumn and then brown in winter, when they are held until December if the hedge is well clipped. Being shade tolerant, Carpinus betulus is a better choice than beech for planting as a barrier under existing trees. It ability to grow in wet places - (where beech absolutely will not) makes Hornbeam is a most useful tree for poor planting conditions.
Grown naturally, Hornbeam is a medium sized native tree that makes an underused but beautiful parkland specimen while, when trained, hornbeam is one of the most popular trees for pleaching and pollarding. Carpinus betulus is also a coppice tree but is most widely used to create hornbeam hedges. The Hornbeam on this page are grown for this purpose, although given time and attention they can be grown on into any of the other forms.
Hornbeam wood is enormously strong and much less likely to break in high winds than most other trees. To 20m
We also sell Hornbeam hedge plants container grown for summer planting - click the Pot Grown Hedging link on the left of this page to see our range. Please note that all the hornbeam on this page are grown for hedge and forestry planting. Although they may be suitable for growing on as ornamental standards, pleaches and other trained forms, they are not sold as such.
Cherry Laurel, or Common Laurel.
Cherry Laurel is an evergreen hedge plant, larger leaved and a lighter green than its cousin below. The best hedging to reduce traffic noise and light.
Laurel Hedge Plants - Prunus laurocerasus Rotundifolia - Cherry or Common Laurel
Common laurel - regularly misspelt laural, or Prunus laurocerasus Rotundifolia, are such popular hedging plants in the UK that they are known in other countries as English Laurel. It is easy to see why it is so widely used - cherry laurels are large, swift growing shrubs or small trees that will thrive almost anywhere, with glossy evergreen foliage that makes an outstanding barrier against wind, sound and light. Because Common Laurel is also pollution tolerant it is probably the best roadside barrier hedging plant there is.
In early summer they produce masses of flowering stalks - called racemes that attract every bee and butterfly in the area. The flowers develop into cherry-like fruit - laurel is a member of the cherry family which are pretty and popular with birds, though they are toxic to just about everything else. Possibly the best thing about a cherry laurel hedge is that it it provides such a dense barrier that nothing will grow under or immediately around it, which saves you having to do any weeding. The cultivar Prunus laurocerasus Rotundifolia is especially bushy and its wide, oval leaves tend to be evenly formed, which is why we think that this cherry laurel makes a better hedging plant than other varieties.
While it is best known as an all round hedging plant, common laurel also makes a good shrub for dark and dingy corners or sites that are over shadowed by big trees where little else will grow. It provides superb cover for game and cherry laurel is bound to attract nesting birds.
A note of caution: Almost every part of the common laurel is poisonous - bundles of crushed laurel leaves were used in ancient times to poison water supplies. It is therefore unsuitable for use around herbivorous animals. The fruit is visually attractive but fortunately, it is the seed, not the flesh that is dangerous and it all tastes so utterly foul that people just spit it straight out.
Planting Cherry Laurel
As long as drainage is good, Prunus Rotundifolia will grow in almost any soil type, even very dry and poor ones. Just remember that Cherry Laurel is an evergreen and so is never truly dormant. This means it needs watering, even in winter - if it is dry - while it establishes. Do this judiciously as very wet soil will cause the roots to rot. Cherry laurel is a true understory plant that does not mind very shady spots and is happy under other trees.
Cherry laurel pruning and care: Once established Laurel hedge plants need no special care, but they will love a mulch every year of well rotted organic material. Carry out pruning and clipping between June and August to reduce the risk of mildew attack.
Common laurel hedging plants should be planted at 2 per metre. Left to its own devices, a cherry laurel tree will reach about 6 metres, 20 feet, with a spread of about 4 metres, 13 feet.
Cherry laurel diseases: In a mild, humid summer, common laurel can be affected by a fungal infection known as "shot hole" that creates holes in the leaves. This isn't a serious problem and we don't recommend using chemicals. Just improve air circulation by thinning the branches a little and making sure it is not planted too close to a fence or wall. Avoid getting the leaves wet if you are using sprinklers.
If you are about to buy laurel hedging, but you are feeling impatient, we do sell larger container grown specimens in the Potted Hedge Plants section of our site
Laurel, Portugal.
Smaller leaved and a darker green than cherry laurel Portuguese Laurel is a fantastic flowering evergreen hedge plant where dense light and sound proof hedging is needed
Portuguese Laurel - Prunus lusitanica
Portuguese Laurel hedging (sometimes also called Portugal Laurel) Prunus lusitanica) is probbaly more elegant than common laurel. Portuguese Laurel differs from the Common or Cherry Laurel in several aspects. It has smaller leaves - which makes it easier to trim your hedge neatly - and its pretty red stalks and pink tinged new growth stand out against the dark green, glossy mature foliage. Like most Laurels, it grows happily in both full sun and dense shade, perfect for problem areas, but unlike the others, Portuguese Laurel also grows freely on chalky soils.
If it is not trimmed hard, Prunus lusitanica will produce small white flowers in June, which rise up in cone shaped racemes and give off a fine scent, similar to hawthorn. The flowers are followed by inedible berries that turn from red to purple - Portuguese Laurel berries are poisonous so it is fortunate that they taste awful. It is more drought resistant than other laurels and despite its temperate name, it also hardier. As with all laurel, Portuguese Laurel provides excellent winter cover for birds and game.
Laurels are pollution resistant and their thick leaves are better at blocking sound and light than many other hedges, so they are a top choice for shielding your garden from road noise - they are a first rate wind break for the same reason. A Portuguese Laurel would also make a good choice as a shrub or tree in difficult spots in the shade of a wall or a larger tree. Laurels originate from the Western Mediterranean area and parts of North Africa, but they are amazingly hardy and can stand anything a British winter can throw at them.
If you would prefer a Laurel with bigger leaves and lighter foliage, please have look at our Cherry Laurel.
Portuguese Laurel hedging plants should be planted in a single row at 3 per metre, about 50 centimetres apart. Your plants will arrive well branched and bushy, so they will not need pruning in their first year.
Privet, Gold.
As for green privet, evergreen but a variegated hedge plant, with gold/cream margins on the leaves.
Golden Privet Hedging Plants - Ligustrum ovalifolium aureum
Golden Privet - Ligustum ovalifolium Aurem - is also called Variegated Privet. It is a vigorous evergreen bush, an outstanding hedge plant, with all of Green Privet's hardy qualities and bright, pale golden colouring on the leaves. It clips very well and grows fast, forgiving the odd slip with the hedging shears, and the dense foliage tolerates roadside pollution. It can be used in a mixed hedge with Green Privet. It flowers well in summer it left untrimmed and is often used for topiary.
Planting and Care:
Golden Privet does well in almost any well drained soil except chalk. It tolerates quite deep shade and dry conditions. Privet sometimes loses its leaves in a cold winter and this is rare in sheltered urban sites.
Plant a Golden Privet hedge in a single row at 3 per metre, with 50 cms between each plant. Best for hedges of 1 or 2 metres, your plants will get much higher if you let them and a fully grown specimen plant can be about 6 metres tall. You can hard prune them in winter if they are overgrown.
Privet, Green.
Evergreen formal hedge plant that loves places other plants regard as hell. Ideal for roadside, polluted, dry, dusty and shady spots. Perfect in town. Clips beautifully
Green Privet Hedge Plants - Ligustrum ovalifolium
Green Privet - often misspelled Privit (Ligustrum ovalifolium) has evergreen, medium-sized dark green leaves and fragrant white flowers in mid-summer. Privet hedges are absolutely outstanding screens, which is why Privet and private share a common root - no pun intended for good reason. The dense foliage of a Privet hedge makes it impenetrable to curious eyes, privet grows rapidly forgiving the odd slip with the hedging shears and as it tolerates atmospheric pollution a Privet hedge is perfect for town and roadside hedging. When you add its ability to grow in just about any soil and in sun or shade it is easy to see why Privet hedging is so popular.
Being evergreen in all but the hardest winters, green Privet also provides cover for game and small animals. Oh, and it is an essential plant for those of us with children with stick insects as Privet is about all the little monsters - the insects that is - will eat.
Buy Privet hedge plants with an eye to planting in a single row with about 3 plants per metre. For a little more variety, add a little Golden Privet into the hedge - 10-15% is fine. Clip when needed. To 3m
Western Red Cedar.
Slower growing than False Cypress, but Thuja makes a wonderful, evergreen aromatic hedge. Clip in early spring and again in autumn.
These are all good hedging plants, just remember that (with the exception of yew - see below) conifer hedges need bi-annual clipping. If they are not trimmed regularly they are hard to get back under control.
Western Red Cedar - Thuja plicata this is a vigorous, large, evergreen tree with flaky bark and rich green aromatic leaves. The rot resistant wood of the Western Red cedar has been used for a wide range of purposes from garden sheds to Native American canoes. Great for hedging and screens, the Western Red cedar can withstand clipping, and is tolerant of shade and chalky soils. Clip in June/July and again in September. To 30m
Yew.
The king of the formal hedge plants. Yew hedging grows surprisingly quickly until the leader has been cut off. Once established yew usually only needs clipping once a year. Very hard pruning in mid winter easily restores old and badly maintained yew hedges. A well clipped yew hedge is a thing of great beauty and adds style, form, structure and value to a garden in a way that no other hedging plant can.
Yew Hedge Plants - Taxus baccata - Bareroot
These are field grown yew hedging plants - for size and strength, which are suitable for planting out between November and March. Bare root yew hedging is very much cheaper than container grown yew plants and establishment rates are excellent.
Yew is one of the oldest British native trees, dating back at least to the last Ice Age. It can be grown either as a specimen or it is ideal for formal evergreen hedging of 120cm - 4’ or bigger and larger topiary, forming a very dense plant in either sun or shade. Yew hedge plants grow well in a variety of soils including shallow chalk but all yew dislikes wet soils.
We also grow yew hedge plants for summer planting or for those in a hurry - if you want to plant when it is warm or you are in a bit of a rush then our Potted Yew Hedging may be just the thing. |
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