The ultimate guide to hedging

Green Beech forms a dense hedge with fabulous copper foliage in winter
Image: Green Beech (Fagus sylvatica) from Thompson & Morgan

From choosing the best hedging plants to expert pruning techniques, our ultimate guide covers everything you need to know to create a beautiful, healthy hedge. An attractive way to screen your garden from wind, noise or nosy neighbours, garden hedges also provide much-needed habitat for birds and wildlife.

Browse our full range of hedging plants to find the perfect variety for your needs.

The benefits of hedging

This variety of pyracantha has white flowers followed by masses of berries
Image: Pyracantha coccinea 'Red Star' from Thompson & Morgan

Whether you want to support wildlife, improve security, increase privacy or divide areas of your garden, hedges are a versatile choice. They introduce a sense of structure, and can be precisely clipped into formal shapes or left to grow in a more natural style. A cost-effective alternative to rigid fence panels or walls, bare root hedge plants are one of the most affordable ways to start from scratch. 

For those who live close to busy roads, a well-chosen hedge can be a highly effective noise barrier. The dense foliage of popular hedging plants like English Yew (Taxus baccata) or Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is particularly effective at absorbing and scattering sound waves. And if you live in an exposed location, hedges make highly effective windbreaks. They protect delicate plants and create a sheltered microclimate that can extend the growing season and reduce the need for watering.

When it comes to wildlife, hedges provide invaluable food and shelter. The flowers of native hedging plants like Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) provide essential nectar for bees and other pollinators in the spring, while the berries and nuts that follow are a critical food source for birds and small mammals. Dense foliage offers a safe and secure place for birds to nest, while the leaf litter provides a perfect hideout for overwintering insects. See our wildlife hedge article for more tips.

What are the best plants for hedging?

Elderberry plants make an excellent edible ornamental hedge
Image: Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) from Thompson & Morgan

There are many different types from which to choose, including fast-growing, slow-growing, flowering, edible, deciduous and evergreen hedge plants. From the thorniest security to the most dramatic autumn displays of colour, you could also try one of our hedge plant collections for a professionally curated mix. Here are some of the best hedge plants for different purposes:

• Fast-growing hedging: Leyland cypress, Griselinia littoralis, Ligustrum ovalifolium.
• Formal and topiary hedging: Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), Yew (Taxus baccata), Ligustrum ovalifolium.
• Floral hedging: Cotoneaster, Viburnum opulus, Elderberry.
• Wildlife-friendly hedging: Hawthorn (Crataegus), Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Field Maple (Acer campestre).

For more help, read our guide to choosing the perfect hedging plants. But if you have tricky conditions, you might find our articles about the best hedges for clay soil or best hedge plants for chalky soil provide a useful starting point.

What size hedge plants should I buy?

The colourful foliage of Copper Beech makes an excellent backdrop for other plants
Image: Copper Beech from Thompson & Morgan

Once you've decided on the perfect variety for your garden, you can choose from the following size options: 

• Bare root hedge plants: These are young, dormant plants that are lifted from the soil without any compost or soil around their roots. Available from late autumn to early spring, they are the most economical and environmentally-friendly option. Their exposed root systems establish quickly, and they're ideal for large-scale projects or those on a tight budget.
• Root ball hedge plants: These are more mature plants that are lifted from the ground with a compact ball of soil around their roots. This root ball is loosely wrapped for transport. Root balls are only available during the dormant season (late autumn to early spring) and offer a more developed, bushy appearance than bare roots, reducing the time needed to achieve a substantial hedge.
• Pot grown hedge plants: These are plants that have been grown and cultivated in individual containers with compost. Unlike bare roots or root balls, they can be planted at any time of year as their roots are contained and undisturbed. While generally more expensive, they provide reliable results and can be easily stored on-site until you are ready to plant.
• Instant hedging: This is the ultimate solution for immediate impact, providing a ready-made, mature hedge from the moment of planting. Instant hedging is supplied in metre-long troughs or as individual, pre-clipped blocks of plants with established, inter-connected root systems. 

When to plant a hedge

The pretty gold-rimmed evergreen foliage of Golden Privet brightens up any garden
Image: Golden Privet from Thompson & Morgan

The best time to plant your hedge depends on which type of plants you choose: bare-root or potted. Bare-root plants are lifted from the soil in the dormant season (November to March in the UK) and should be planted as soon as possible after delivery. Planting them during their dormant period allows the roots to quietly establish themselves over the winter months, preparing them for a strong burst of growth when spring arrives. Just avoid planting in frozen or waterlogged ground.

In contrast, pot-grown hedging plants offer a far greater degree of flexibility. Because their root system remains undisturbed within the pot, they can be planted at any time of year, including summer. While they're often more expensive than bare-root options, their established root systems reduce the risk of transplant shock.

How to plant a hedge

The flaming colours of 'Red Robin' bring spring to life
Image: Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin' from Thompson & Morgan

Hedges are usually planted in one of two ways: a simple line or a staggered row. The single row takes a little longer to fill in as it uses fewer plants. The staggered double row creates a thicker final hedge that quickly provides privacy. 

Each variety of hedge plant has a different spacing requirement, provided in our product descriptions. When ordering plants from the T&M website, our helpful Planting Distance Calculator helps you work out how many plants to buy for the length of hedge you want. You'll find it on the product pages. 

Here's a quick hedge-planting guide: 

• Mark out your hedge line with string.
• Dig the trench and prepare the soil by adding well-rotted manure or compost. 
• Lay your plants out at evenly spaced intervals, according to the variety. Measure and cut a cane to provide consistent planting distances. 
• Spread the roots of each plant in the trench and backfill with soil. 
• Plant to the same depth as the plants were grown before – check the soil line on the stem for guidance. 
• Firm gently with your boot to remove air pockets around the roots. 
• Trim the plants to the same height for a neat finish. 
• Water the plants well to get them off to a strong start. 

For more comprehensive advice, read our full article on how to plant a hedge. If you're buying bare root plants, our guide to planting a bare root hedge has some useful tips.

How and when to prune your hedge

Pruning a privet hedge
Image: Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) from Thompson & Morgan

Pruning helps you maintain a healthy, dense, and attractive hedge. Its primary purpose is to control the plant's shape and size, ensuring it remains within the desired boundaries while promoting a thick, uniform appearance. By regularly trimming the outer growth, you encourage the plant to produce new shoots from its base and interior, which results in a much bushier hedge. This is particularly vital for creating a classic, formal look. Pruning is also crucial for the overall health of the hedge. It helps to remove diseased, damaged, or dead wood, preventing the spread of infection and allowing for better air circulation and light penetration throughout the plant. 

Knowing when to prune is just as important as knowing how to do it. The timing largely depends on whether your hedge is a formal, evergreen variety or a more informal, flowering type. For evergreen hedges like Box, the best time to prune is from late spring to late summer. This allows you to achieve a clean, crisp shape as the plant is actively growing. You can perform light trims once or twice during this period to maintain a tidy appearance. Yew is best trimmed between August and October. Read our guide to pruning Box and Yew for specific tips. 

Flowering hedges like Cotoneaster should be pruned immediately after they have finished flowering. For example, a hedge that flowers in late spring should be pruned in early summer. 

Native deciduous hedges like Hawthorn should get a general tidy-up in late winter when the plant is still dormant.

How to care for your hedge

Low-growing hedges like St John's Wort are an interesting way to divide your garden
Image: Hypericum calycinum (St John's Wort) from Thompson & Morgan

For a strong and healthy hedge, it's important to water correctly – both overwatering and underwatering can cause significant problems. While your hedge is establishing itself, it will need more water. However, a little and often approach is never as effective as a deep, thorough watering that encourages roots to grow downwards. Take care not to overwater, as waterlogged soil starves the roots of oxygen and causes root rot, a serious and often fatal condition. 

Your hedge's appearance is a strong indicator of its health, and signs of nutritional deficiencies are often easy to spot. A pale, yellowing colour across the entire plant can signal a nitrogen deficiency, as nitrogen is crucial for lush, green foliage. In contrast, yellowing between the leaf veins, particularly on newer leaves, may point to a lack of iron or manganese, which are common issues in alkaline soils. A hungry hedge will have weak growth, and its overall vibrancy will decline. A quick soil test can help to identify specific deficiencies, followed by the application of an appropriate slow-release fertiliser or a dose of sequestered iron to improve nutrient uptake.

How to treat pests and diseases

Sweet Bay makes an excellent and fragrant hedge
Image: Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis) from Thompson & Morgan

Hedges are susceptible to a range of pests. Aphids, in particular, can be a common nuisance, clustering on new growth and sucking the sap, which can cause distorted leaves and stunted growth. A healthy hedge should usually withstand a minor aphid infestation, and beneficial insects like ladybirds are natural predators of aphids. Other pests, such as vine weevils and scale insects, can also pose a threat. Regular inspection of your hedge allows for early detection and intervention, often with simple, non-chemical solutions like a strong jet of water or insecticidal soap.

One of the most significant challenges for UK gardeners is Box Blight, a fungal disease caused by Cylindrocladium buxicola and Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum. It manifests as brown or black spots on the leaves, followed by black streaks on the stems, and can quickly lead to widespread defoliation and dieback. It thrives in warm, humid conditions and spreads rapidly. While there is no definitive cure, a combination of cultural practices like improving air circulation, avoiding overhead watering, and removing and destroying infected material, can help manage its spread. 

We hope this has given you plenty of ideas for your new hedge. Need more? Our hedges masterclass is a great source of inspiration, while our dedicated hedge advice hub brings together all of our helpful resources.