Which plant for a hedge
What takes clipping, how close to plant, and what not to plant on a boundary.
A hedge is not one decision but three: how high it has to screen, how many times a year you want to cut it, and how much light the spot has. Below are the species the Verdlo catalogue marks as hedging, with mature height and the spacing that closes into a line.
Hedging plants in the catalogue
European beechFagus sylvatica
European hornbeamCarpinus betulus
White cedar 'Brabant'Thuja occidentalis 'Brabant'
Emerald arborvitaeThuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'
English yewTaxus baccata
Hicks yewTaxus × media 'Hicksii'
Wild privetLigustrum vulgare 'Atrovirens'
Cherry laurelPrunus laurocerasus 'Rotundifolia'
FirethornPyracantha coccinea 'Red Column'
Hedge cotoneasterCotoneaster lucidus
Common boxBuxus sempervirens
Rugosa roseRosa rugosa
Dwarf purple barberryBerberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea Nana'
Spacing and height
The spacing below is for a clipped hedge: what counts is the width after cutting, not the spread of a plant left alone. A free beech is ten metres across; a beech in a hedge is sixty centimetres. Larger nursery stock goes wider apart, and one-year whips go closer, up to three to the metre.
| Plant | Mature height | Spacing in the row | Takes shade |
|---|---|---|---|
| European beech (Fagus sylvatica) | 15 m | 0.6 m, 2 per metre | yes |
| European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) | 10 m | 0.6 m, 2 per metre | yes |
| White cedar 'Brabant' (Thuja occidentalis 'Brabant') | 5 m | 0.6 m, 2 per metre | no |
| Emerald arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd') | 4.5 m | 0.6 m, 2 per metre | no |
| English yew (Taxus baccata) | 4 m | 0.6 m, 2 per metre | yes |
| Hicks yew (Taxus × media 'Hicksii') | 3.5 m | 0.6 m, 2 per metre | yes |
| Wild privet (Ligustrum vulgare 'Atrovirens') | 3 m | 0.6 m, 2 per metre | yes |
| Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus 'Rotundifolia') | 3 m | 0.6 m, 2 per metre | yes |
Worth thinking about before planting
- Leave room for the width: a hedge planted half a metre from the boundary is growing in the neighbour's garden in three years.
- A clipped deciduous hedge is cut twice a season and a conifer once; yew takes cutting back into old wood, thuja does not.
- No yew in a hedge beside a play area: it is severely toxic, and Verdlo leaves it out of a plan when you say children use the garden.
- Birds nest from March to August, so hard cutting happens outside that window.
In Poland a neighbour may cut branches and roots that cross onto their plot. That is not a reason to plant against the boundary; it is a reason to count the mature width before buying.
