The Best Plants for Hedges: 23 Types of Hedges (with Pictures) (2023)

Planting hedge bushes, shrubs or trees in gardens is more than just an aesthetic value. Many species of evergreen hedge shrubs create natural living privacy screens that block noise, wind, and prying eyes. Other types of deciduous flowering hedge plants can line backyards with beautiful colors and scents when the hedge is in bloom. You can also grow hedge plants along walls, fences, or even in front of the house to create an eye-catching curb appeal.

The best hedge plants

Some of the best plants for hedges are:

• Johannis herbs (Syrian hibiscus)—These bushy shrubs make beautiful hedging plants with dramatic, showy blooms when they bloom. An excellent plant for summer privacy screens.
• American Arboretum (Western Thuja'Emerald')—This Arborvitae variety is a popular evergreen conifer for a dense privacy hedge. The soft foliage and the upright, compact habit make it stand outThujascommon in residential gardens.
• common holly (Stechpalme aquifolium)—This plant is a popular hedge of security and privacy.Stechpalmenhave glossy, evergreen foliage of spiny leaves. Flowering in summer before producing red berries in winter brings color to gardens most of the year.
• Rotbuche (Fagus sylvatica)—beech treesare fast growing deciduous trees that can be trimmed into formal hedges. The green foliage gives way to beautiful copper and red tones in autumn.
• Hedge maple (Landahorn)—This flowering maple plant is a trendy, fast-growing hedge tree. This species can grow together with other hedge bushes to form dramatic informal boxy hedges.

The Best Evergreen Hedge Plants (with Pictures and Names)

Evergreen hedges provide lively privacy protection all year round. Many conifers are excellent choices because they have soft, dense foliage that forms protective natural barriers in your yard. Also, some evergreen foliage plants grow quickly and you can prune them into formal hedges.

Here is a list of the best hedge plants to grow in your yard and in front of your home.

Boxwood hedge plant (Buxus sempervirens)

The compact growth of the evergreen plantboxwood plantsand its small leaves make the plant perfect for clipped, formal hedges. These hedge shrubs are easy to prune and shape. And as their common name suggests, they're great for creating boxy privacy screens for year-round protection. Depending on the type of boxwood, hedges can be between 1 and 9 m high.

the sortBuxus sempervirens'Suffruticosa' is a dwarf hedge plant. The slow-growing, evergreen shrub is ideal for a low hedge, growing between 0.6 and 1 m tall. Boxwood shrubs are easy to shape when you want to add curb appeal in a front yard.

American Arboretum (Western Thuja‘Emerald’) – Evergreen hedge

Types of Arborvitaecreate somethe best privacy protectionsfor garden landscapes. The 'Smaragd' - also called 'Emerald Green' - is a cone-shaped evergreen tree with an upright habit. Thissecure treeskeep their shape without maintenance. As it grows up to 4m tall, regular pruning will help control its height.

Grow arborvitae plants as a natural privacy barrier in backyards to protect our neighbors from wind, noise and sniffing. Or you can plant in front yards as a show tree to add appeal to your home.

Other suitableThujaHedge plants include:

• Thuja standishii x folded'Green Giant'—A fast-growing cone-shaped tree that makes an excellent privacy screen or evergreen hedge.
• Western Thuja„Filips Magic Moment“— This golden yellow evergreen tree with its upright, dense, columnar habit is perfect for light, informal hedges.

cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)

The attractive properties ofcherry laurellike an evergreen hedge are its broad foliage and pretty white flowers. Cherry laurel hedge plants have a dense, bushy habit that creates ideal privacy or wind protection. Plant in full sun in your garden wherever you need a tall informal hedge that blooms in summer.

This hedge shrub grows between 4 and 12 m high. Regular pruning will help maintain the desired height.

Holly Hedge Büsche (Ilex)

Holly are large hedge bushes that make an effective privacy screen that also provides some security. Most holly species have jagged, stiff leaves that deter animals and intruders. Holly shrubs have a neat, compact habit that is ideal for narrow hedges.

Some holly bushes have variegated leaves if you want to create a bright, spiky hedge in your garden. Appropriate plants of the genusIlexcontain:

• Alaska-Stechpalme (Stechpalme aquifolium'Alaska')
• Drachendame Holly (Ilex × aquipernyi‘Meschick’)
• sky pencil holly (The Stechpalme carved"Heaven Pen")
• Dwarf Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria‘Nana’)

California privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium)

Privet is another plant species with many cultivars that make excellent evergreen formal privacy hedges. The reason privet plants are among the best types of hedge shrubs is because of their dense, fast-growing foliage. These trimmed hedges can be formal or informal and require regular pruning throughout the growing season to maintain their shape.

These tall hedge plants can grow between 3 and 4.5 m tall. The common privet (Common privet) is another type of privet popular for privacy checking.

Japanese Spindle (Euonymus japonicus)

Japanese spindle hedges can be evergreen or deciduous depending on the climate. Its yellow-green or white-green dense foliage forms a bright, bushy hedge. These small shrub-like trees only grow a few feet tall, making them best suited for low ornamental or formal hedges.

You can also grow Japanese spindle plantsGround cover for full sun, border plants or climbers on a wall or fence.

Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

Canadianhemlock treesare plants that love the shade but also grow well in full sun. Planted in a row, these imposing trees can form a privacy screen thanks to their dense growth. With the right pruning, you can train the evergreen trees to grow as a magnificent formal hedge.

juniper hedge plants (Wacholder)

Many medium-sized and low-growing junipers are ideal for creating lively privacy screens. Most juniper trees have needle-like leaves that can be prickly. When grown together in a row, the dense foliage creates a natural barrier to block noise or act as a windbreak.

The Best Deciduous Hedge Plants (with Pictures and Names)

Deciduous hedge bushes and shrubs lose their leaves in autumn and winter. As such, they don't provide the years of privacy that evergreen hedges provide. However, many homeowners choose deciduous hedges for their ornamental value. Flowering deciduous hedges are more informal than evergreens, but still offer some privacy and protection in winter.

Roses for hedge plants

ManyTypes of rose plantsmake perfect hedges as they have spiky stems, dense spring and summer foliage, beautiful flowers and a great scent. You can plant dog roses along the borders to add privacy to your front or back yard.

To encourage bushy growth and create a privacy screen, you need to prune rose bushes in their first year. To form a denser hedge of roses, plant two rows of rose bushes together.

Shining Abelia (Abelia × grandiflora)

The dense foliage of the glossy Abelia makes this medium-sized shrub perfect for hedges. This is a semi-evergreen hedge species that grows in full sun. The hedge blooms in late spring to fall with white, bell-shaped flowers that give off a pleasant fragrance.

Grow glossy Abelia shrubs as an informal hedge in front yards or backyards. They also grow well as a hedge along a fence line or as a single specimen shrub. The hedge grows between 1 and 1.8 m high.

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii)

If you are looking for a low-growing, colorful border hedge, then the Japanese barberry is an excellent choice. Bright red, yellow, or purple foliage adds eye-catching color to a front or back garden. Some Japanese barberry plant varieties have been specially developed for hedges. There are also varieties with variegated leaves to create bright informal hedges.

sweet mock orange (Philadelphia Coroner)

Also known as English Dogwood, this deciduous ornamental hedging shrub is ideal for creating an informal hedge in your garden. The stiff, woody branches grow upright and produce dark green, oval leaves and beautiful white flowers. When the hedge blooms, it fills gardens with fragrant summer scents.

You can grow sweet mock orange bushes as a border hedge or summer privacy screen in backyards. As an independent solitary plant, the shrub can decorate front gardens. The bushy shrub grows between 3 and 3.6 m in height.

Hedge maple (Landahorn)

Also known as a field maple hedge, this deciduous tree adopts a dense, broad-leaved habit to form an impressive formal hedge. The fast-growing hedge plant is medium-sized and forms 1 to 5 m high box hedges. Hedge maples are excellent privacy screens in spring and summer. Its foliage then turns a spectacular bright yellow color before falling.

rock cotoneaster (Zwergmispel horizontalis)

As the scientific name suggests, this deciduous shrub has a horizontal spreading habit. The flowering shrub has dense growth that makes an excellent low growing hedge or short privacy screen. This type of hedge is perfect for low-maintenance border hedges that do not require high growth.

Rock cotoneaster grows between 0.6 and 1 m high. You can expect small white flowers in late spring, followed by bright red berries in fall.

Korean lilac (Meyer's syringe)

Lilac tends to be a sizable, spreading shrub. However, the Korean lilac is a compact shrub in the genusInjectionwhich is ideal as a hedge plant. The hedge shrub produces an abundance of purple flowers contrasting with the dark green foliage. In fall, the foliage of the Korean lilac turns a spectacular reddish-bronze color, adding color to the fall garden landscape.

Grow Korean lilacs in backyards as an informal flowering hedge or trim them into a dramatic formal hedge.

Rotbuche (Fagus sylvatica)

One of the most popular deciduous hedge plants is the common beech. This plant can be trimmed as a hedge to create an attractive privacy screen - even in winter. Because the beech is a large tree, extensive pruning is required to create a formal hedge. However, you can create a stunning formal hedge in any shape you want.

The leaf hedge has dark green foliage that changes to different colors throughout the season. Although the European beech is a deciduous hedge, it retains its bronze-colored leaves throughout the winter. This shrub plant also serves as a privacy screen in the winter months.

Arrowwood Viburnum (A toothed viper)

This small shrub is another hedging plant that is great for creating a summer privacy screen. One of the best arrowwood varieties is the "Blue Muffin". The glossy green foliage contrasts with clusters of white flowers in summer, and blue berries appear in late summer and fall.

Grow arrowwood plants as attractive border shrubs, flowering hedges or privacy screens.

Hornbeam (Birkenholz)

If you are looking for a high decorative hedge, then the common hornbeam is an excellent choice. Thehornbeambelongs to the birch family and is widespread in garden landscapes. This hedge tree has an average growth and forms an excellent privacy screen when in full foliage. The best height to growBirkenholzas an easy-care hedge is between 1 and 5 m.

Hornbeam hedges resemble a beech hedge in that they have copper-colored leaves in the fall. Despite being a deciduous hedge, it still offers protection from wind, noise and winter intruders.

Spirea Hinterhofhecken

Most shrubs of the genusspiralsare great hedge plants that are easy to care for. The hedges are bright and colorful due to the orange, red and yellow foliage. But not only the foliage makes this border hedge attractive; In summer, beautiful clusters of flower clusters appear on the hedge.

Plant it as a low growing hedge up to 1.2m tall or plant it as a specimen tree in a front yard to enhance the aesthetics of your property. These border hedges thrive in full sun.

Forsythie

Plants of this type of medium-sized deciduous shrub form attractive, luminous border hedges.ForsythieHedges are attractive in backyards for their brightly colored yellow spring flowers that appear in front of the foliage. You can plantForsythieShrubs as flowering hedges, mixed borders or specimen plants.

Depending on the variety, these hedge shrubs are between 0.6 and 3 m high. To create a year-round blooming privacy screen, growForsythieShrubs with other hedge plants.

Hydrangea hedge plants

Some of the most beautiful types of informal flowering shrubs for making hedges are hydrangeas. The roundhydrangea bushesform large spherical or conical inflorescences. Growing as a flowering hedge, they offer plenty of privacy and will fill your garden with color and fragrance in the summer.

Hydrangeas are stunning flowering hedge plants that come in many species. Choose from bushy hedges with blue, purple, white, or pink dome-shaped flower heads. Or choose other shrubs with cone-shaped flowers in various pastel shades.

Flowering quince hedges (Chaenomeles)

Quince flowering shrubs are excellent plants for informal hedges or colorful borders. Quince bushes of the speciesChaenomeles japonicaAndChaenomeles x superbano higher than 1.2 m. The flowering hedges bloom from late winter to early spring with colorful, fragrant flowers.

Because of their thorny branches, quince hedges also make great security barriers in your garden. Alternatively, you can plant quince shrubs as a bedding plant or as a specimen plant in your front or back garden.

Johannis herbs (Syrian hibiscus) hedge bushes

TheJohannis herbsis one of the most beautiful plants to use as a flowering hedge in a backyard. Without pruning they grow to between 2.4 and 3.6m tall, but you can train the lovely shrub to stay around 1.5m tall as a pretty hedge. In full bloom, the bushy hedge produces large, showy, trumpet-shaped flowers.

Plant Rose of Sharon bushes in a row to create a nice privacy screen, or trim them regularly if you want a formal hedge.

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