Hedges

What kinds of plants will work as hedges?

Many plant materials can be used as a hedge. Your choice should be based on your needs and experience. If you are a new gardener, or someone with limited knowledge or time, you will probably want to just use a plant from the list or ask for advice on a commonly used hedge plant. These plants have been proven successful over the years, and should work fine for you. For those of you with a bit more practice and confidence in your green thumb, go ahead and use your imagination. Just because it’s not widely used doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.

What care will maximize the health and lifespan of my hedge?

Water is usually a key issue, especially with longer hedgerows. It is recommended that you run drip irrigation the length of your hedge, so all plants get adequate water. Oftentimes sprinklers will miss some plants, and you won’t notice problems until one plant starts to die. Fertilize with a good shrub fertilizer just be sure to follow the directions on the package. Pruning is also very important. Keep on top of it! Too often people will let a hedge go for years with no pruning, and then experience poor results when they decide to finally cut that overgrowth off. This often results in a row of stumps. The trick is to mold your hedge as it grows by yearly pruning. If you even shear a little off a year, your hedge will respond by branching, and become denser and more vivid. When your hedge gets to be the ultimate size you want, keep it there! Yearly shearing will result in a more uniform, denser, healthier, and longer lasting hedge.

Suggested Hedging Material We Commonly Carry

We cannot guarantee availability based on our website, please call to ensure variety is still in stock or going to be this season.

Tall – 10′ or more

Benefits: Very fast growing with fragrant blue flowers. Easily pruned to be more narrow and drought tolerant.

Draw backs: Needs good draining soil. Can be damaged by temperatures less than 10 degrees.

Description: Small dark green glossy leaves. This plant gets covered with small blue flowers in the spring which the bees love. Takes heat and drought well. Would do well on a slope.

Tips: Habit is more dense with shearing. It is drought tolerant but it will need water to get established.

Benefits: Easily pruned to be the size and shape you want. Glossy green leaves with fragrant white flowers.

Draw backs: Needs pruning if you want to keep narrow. Not as tall as a conifer tree.

Description: Shiny waxy leaves with fragrant white flowers in the spring followed by black berries. Easy to grow in most soil types and sun exposure.

Tips: Can shear to prune but you will cut leaves in half giving in a less refined look. Pruning individual branches will give better results but takes more time.

Benefits: Easily pruned to be the size and shape you want. Salt tolerant. Fixes nitrogen. PNW Native.

Draw backs: Can get quite large with time and does not tolerate cold temperatures well.

Description: Very versatile and easy care shrub with shiny green leaves and very small black fruit which attracts birds. Tolerates a wide variety of soils. Fast growing and drought tolerant.

Tips: If planted in hot inland area, it will do best with moderate watering during hot spells.

Benefits: Fast growing without getting too large. Attractive flowers.

Draw backs: Can be hard to prune as branches get thick with age.

Description: Glossy deep green leaves. Racemes of very fragrant white flowers bloom freely and abundantly in spring, attracting butterflies. Red berries ripen black and attract birds.

Tips: Prune individual branches off if needed as leaves look chopped when sheared.

Benefits: Provided tall screening while still staying more narrow than most trees. Having more width allows you to still get privacy without having to plant as many plants. You can also shear these to keep them more narrow. A great alternative to an Arb hedge for those that want a different look.

Draw backs: Is cone shaped so there is less screening at the top.

Description: A variety bred from our native Western Red Cedar to stay narrow for the smaller average yard. Rich and dark green in color with a dense habit.

Tips: If pruning, do so each year after the new growth has pushed out. Maintain at the width desired instead of letting it grow out too far and having to prune back harshly.

Benefits: Stays narrow and dense

Drawbacks: Can not grow in shade or under trees successfully

Description: Often used for a tall hedge that naturally stays narrow. Can be sheared to make look more formal or to keep even more narrow. When shearing it is important to maintain it at the desired height or width. If you try and cut back more than the first 3-4” you start to see the brown interior. Shearing is best done in the in the spring or early summer on the new growth.

Tips: The larger the plant you start with the more water it will take to get established and Arbs don’t bounce back once they’ve gotten too dry. A simple solution to this is to set up a soaker hose going down the newly planted row both across the front and the back. This way you can water your hedge deeply without water run-off and they get the water they need evenly.

Benefits: Provided tall screening while still staying more narrow than most trees. Having more width allows you to still get privacy without having to plant as many plants. You can also shear these to keep them more narrow. A great alternative to an Arb hedge for those that want a different look.

Draw backs: Is cone shaped so there is less screening at the top.

Description: A variety bred from our native Western Red Cedar to stay narrow for the smaller average yard. Rich and dark green in color with a dense habit.

Tips: If pruning, do so each year after the new growth has pushed out. Maintain at the width desired instead of letting it grow out too far and having to prune back harshly.

Benefits: One of the fastest growing evergreen conifers.

Drawbacks: Gets very large and wide, can look hacked if sheared, and more thirsty then other conifer species.

Description: A very vigorous, upright-growing evergreen with a pyramidal form. Tolerant of poor soil, takes pruning well.Likes well draining soil.

Tips: Be prepared for the size this will reach down the road.

Medium – 6-10′

Benefits: A shade loving shrub with beautiful flowers.

Draw backs: Can take some time to get tall.

Description: There are two different types of Camellias, sasanqua varieties and japonica varieties. Both have shiny dark green leaves with showy flowers. Sasanqua varieties tend to bloom in the fall and winter, have smaller leaves, and smaller flowers. The smaller leaves do lend themselves to shearing better, though you can prune both varieties. Japonica varieties tend to have larger leaves, large rose like flowers and bloom late winter to spring.

Tips: Prune japonica varieties by hand for a more refined look. Both the plant and flowers hold up better planted near a house under an eave.

Benefits: Color year round. Easy to grow being tolerant of heat and poor soil. Easy to prune.

Draw backs: Can grow in shade but will lose definition in variegation.

Description: Dense upright shrub with colorful leaves. Very easy to grow.

Tips: Remove any reverted stems that appear all green.

Benefits: Year round interest with dark green leaves, red stems, dark pink buds, white flowers, and metallic blue berries.

Draw backs: Avoid overhead watering as they can get powdery mildew.

Description: Upright growing shrub with many points of interest. These can handle drought as well as sandy soil or heavy clay.

Tips: Use the berried stems in winter arrangements.

Small – 3-6′

Benefits: Shade tolerant and come in a large variety of colors. They make a tidy hedge.

Draw backs: Can burn in hot sun and can be affected by lacebug.

Description: Dense growing with a rounded habit. The entire plant gets covered with blooms in the spring. Leaves sometimes have an attractive red tint in the winter. If left unpruned, these can get 5’ h x 4’ w over time.

Tips: Prune or shear right after the blooms are done

Benefits: Rounded formal looking habit. Easy care.

Draw backs: Slow growing.

Description: Attractive green leaves with a formal habit even without being pruned. Very easy to grow and often used border flower beds giving them a more tidy look.

Tip: Avoid planting in soggy soil.

Benefits: Easy care and tolerant of urban conditions. Drought tolerant with multi-seasonal interest.

Draw backs: Tall varieties can get leggy though if you don’t like that, just get a compact variety that stays bushy.

Description: Feathery growth with an upright habit and fall colors year-round. Come in a variety of shapes and sizes so you can find one to fit your needs perfectly.

Tips: Fits well in a NW style garden with rocks and evergreens.

Benefits: Both shade and sun tolerant. Compact rounded habit with white blooms and red new growth.

Draw backs: Slow growing.

Description: Dense growing with a formal appearance. White flowers have some fragrance and bloom after other pieris are done.

Tips: Blooms and new growth are slow to appear so be patient. This does very well under a Japanese maple or other shade tree.

Benefits: More compact selection of cherry laurel but with same handsome form and characteristics.

Draw backs: Slow growing.

Description: Compact habit with racemes of very fragrant white flowers. Red berries ripen black. Takes pruning very well.

Tips: Prune after flowering in spring.