Hedge Height from Text Border

Blue =
0-24
inches
(0-60
cms)

Green=
24-72 inches
(60-180 cms)

Red =
72+
inches
(180+
cms)

Hedge Soil Moisture from Text Background

Wet Soil

Moist Soil

Dry Soil

Flowering months range abreviates month to its first 3 letters (Apr-Jun is April, May and June).
Click on thumbnail to change this comparison page to the Hedge Description Page of the Hedge named in the Text box below that photo.
The Comments Row of that Hedge Description Page details where that Hedge can be purchased.

Hedge INDEX link to Hedge Plant Description Page

Botanical Name / Common Name

Flower Colour

Flowering Months

Height x Spread in inches (cms)

Foliage Colour

A

B

Berberis darwinii
/ Barberry

Orange-Yellow flowers followed by spherical, blue-glaucous, black fruit

April, May

Fruit

144 x 144 (360 x 360)

Glossy Dark Green

Buxus semper-virens
/ Common Box

Whitish-Green flowers followed by shining Black seeds.

April, May

Seeds

192 x 120 (480 x 300)

Dark Green

C

Carpinus betulus
/ Common Hornbeam

Yellow

April

600 x 600 (1500 x 1500)

2.5-5 inch long dark green heavily textured with very impressed veins followed by yellow to yellow-green autumn colour

Crataegus monogyna
/ Common Hawthorn

Fragrant White flowers followed by spherical, glossy, dark Red Haws

May

Red Haws

360 x 300 (900 x 750)

Glossy dark green above and paler beneath with numerous thorns on the branches

Cupress-ocyparis leylandii
/ Leyland Cypress

Dark Brown female cones

...

1440 x 180 (3600 x 450)

Pointed dark green, grey-tinged leaves

D

E

Euonymus japonicus
/ Japanese Spindle

Light Yellow

May, June

144 x 72
(360 x 180)

Toothed glossy dark green

F

Fagus sylvatica
/ Common Beech

Red Female Flower, Brown Male Flower followed by Brown Masts

Brown Male Flower

Red Female Flower

May

Brown Masts

960 x 600 (2400 x 1500)

Silky-haired pale green juvenile becomes glossy dark green in the summer, then yellow to orange-brown in the autumn

Spring Foliage

Summer Foliage

Autumn Foliage

Fagus sylvatica atro-purpurea
/ Copper Beech

Red Female Flower, Brown Male Flower followed by Brown Masts

May

960 x 600 (2400 x 1500)

Glossy dark purple in the summer, then coppery in the autumn

G, H

I

Ilex aquifolium
/ Common Holly

White flowers followed by red berries in the female trees

May, June

Red Berries in female trees

960 x 300 (2400 x 750)

Dense ovate spine-toothed dark green foliage with grey bark

J, K

L

Lonicera nitida
/ Honey-suckle

Creamy-White flowers followed by glossy, blue-purple berries

April, May

Blue-Purple Berries

132 x 120 (330 x 300)

Broadly ovate glossy dark green above, lighter beneath.

M, N, O, P, Q, R, S

T

Taxus baccata
/ Yew

Yellow male cones in May followed by Green Seeds with red arils

May

840 x 360 (2100 x 900)

Dark Green

U, V, W, X, Y, Z

We all validate the need of a green environment, but nobody likes to wait for years for establishing this. A green solution for this problem is now available : the Mobilane Green Screen Security Fencing.

The instant Green Screen from Mobilane provides the following for your boundary requirements:-

• Instant security provided by a weldmesh galvanised steel security fence
• Instant privacy. The plants are pre-grown and trained around the uprights to the full height of the screen.
• Provides a green eco-friendly environment
• Very low maintenance
• Maximises the space available

Different types and sizes (3 feet 4 inches high- see below - or 6 feet high)are available with:-

• evergreen Hedera hibernica (Irish ivy), Hedera helix 'Glacier', Hedera helix 'Goldchild' or Hedera helix 'White Ripple',
• Carpinus (Hornbeam),
• Fagus (beech),
• Photinia fraseri 'Red Robin' or
• Pyracantha 'Darts Red'

Hedge Uses:-

Use as Screen:-

Beech Hedge behind low wall as Screen of Garden from Drive.

Use to create Parterre Edge:-

Common Box used to create a parterre as a formal element with the soldier layout of the bricks in the path to create a formal style garden

Use as Stock Boundary:-

Common Hawthorn hedge in North Yorkshire in June which has been used to form a stock boundary to a field. The best hedge plant since it is easily raised from seed, transplants well when young and stands any amount of close clipping.

Use as Thorny Barrier:-

The Common Holly leaves provide an excellent thorny barrier against stock and human intruders.

Common Holly Hedge is the finest native evergreen hedge plant. Used here as a stock barrier for a field next to a road from Bedgebury in Kent during June. The grass verge reduces the waste products from the road being splashed onto the hedge during the rain.

Use as Security Barrier:-

Security Hedge as the Boundary to the road.

Chain-link Fencing used to prevent people or animals walking through the hedge as a security measure.

Use as Informal Boundary:-

Informal Honeysuckle hedge in July next to the boundary fence in a back garden.

Use as Windbreak:-

Leyland Cypress hedge in May used as a wind break for the valley below.

Use to divide garden into sections as Formal Edge of Garden Areas:-

Yew Hedges with yearly clipping can remain in good health for over 200 years. They also do well on calcareous soils, and because of its poisonous properties to stock it is used for interior hedges like the ones alongside to split up the garden.

Save time on growing by using already grown hedge sections as Garden Security Screens:-

Ivy (Hedera hibernica) Green Screen Hedge from Mobilane in a garden installed in May 2005

Ivy Green Screen Hedge from Mobilane in May 2006

Use hedge to screen graffitti as Anti-Graffiti:-

Graffitti on concrete wall.

Hedge from Mobilane 12 months later on 5th July 2005

Use to create Green Screen Wall for Factory Building :-

Erecting a Mobilane Green Wall in Mercedes Research and Development Plant.

Besides using Ivy as a hedge as shown above,
use it as a Ground-cover Mat for embankments:-

This Hedera hibernica (Irish Ivy) Helix Standard Mat creates the following instant ground covering solution:-

• Instant ground cover over steep banks and embankments, creating immediate results
• Easy handling and laying
• Plants established within 6-8 weeks
• After initial watering programme, only annual maintenance required eliminating any mowing/strimming
• Size - 3 feet 4 inches square sections
• Available all year round from www.hedera-screens.co.uk

Hedera hibernica Helix Standard Mats being installed at Leonberg on a steep slope.

Stock Friendly Hedging from Ashridge Trees
Native Hedging plants chosen to knit into a classic mixed country hedge that is suitable for horses and other livestock. Sold in packs of 50, these are strong 60/80 cm hedging plants ideal for farm or garden hedges and approved for grant-aided planting. Native hedging plants produce a hedge that should be ready for laying (Hedge Laying Society for further details) - if you want in about 4-5 years from planting although laying is only necessary every 20-25 years or so.
Like all newly planted hedging however, it will need to be protected from the animals for the first few years. The mix is 50% hawthorn and 10% each of 5 species from Crab Apple, Dog Rose, Dogwood, Field Maple, Guelder Rose, Hazel, Pear, Sweet Briar, Wayfaring Tree etc. Please note that they do not include Blackthorn because of the damage its spines can do to horses' eyes.
If stock friendly hedging is not essential for you, why not take a look at some of their other suggestions for native hedging mixes?

See Hedge Garden Use Page in Plants section for further details of other hedging plants.

Hedgenursery - who are the exclusive provider of Royal Horticultural Society Bare Root Hedging Plants with a range of over 1000 hedge plants sold direct to the trade and public - can provide details about the following:-

• Privacy or Screening Hedges
• Intruder Proof Hedges
• Formal Boundary Hedging
• Hedges for Polluted Urban Areas
• Noise Stopping Hedging
• Hedges for Exposed Sites/Wind Shelters
• Low Hedging ideas
• Hedges with Colour
• Hedges with Fragrance
• Hedges for Acid Soils
• Hedges for Chalk or Alkaline Soils
• Hedges for Wet Places
• Hedges as a backdrop to a Border
• Hedges for the Birds
• Attractive Hedge Stems
• Hedges for Bees and Butterflies
• Hedges with Fantastic Leaves
• Rural, Native and Conservation Hedging
• How to plant your hedge
• Caring for your hedge
• I have a rabbit problem

Hedges How to select, plant and grow a living fence by Jeffrey Whitehead (ISBN 0-7090-5566-8) shows hedge design; together with choosing, buying, planting and pruning of recommended hedge plants.

Practicality Brown Ltd, Iver Stud Nursery, Iver, Bicks. SL0 9LA
Tel: 01753 652022. Email: sales@pracbrown.co.uk. Practicality Brown Limited state the following:-

"Why plant an instant hedge?

• Shelter, reducing wind strength better than a solid barrier
• Filter: absorbing dust and noise
• Privacy: as an effective visual screen
• Security: a prickly hedge is a great deterrent
• Beauty and interest from seasonal changes
• Background texture and colour complement other plants
• Wildlife: food and shelter for insects, birds and mammals
• Weather-resistance: much better than fences or brickwalls
• Economy long term compared with fencing and brickwork
• Long-lived: hedges can last hundreds of years
• Easy to maintain: see our notes on maintaining your instant hedge

Practicality Brown Limited have been supplying and planting UK grown Elveden instant hedge in the UK since 2002 and as a guide to help you maintain your hedge, we have produced the following information based on our experiences.

IRRIGATION - The amount of water available to your hedge roots depends on the water retention capacity of the soil (e.g. sandy, or clay soil) and cannot be exactly planned. It is important that you observe the hedge foliage for signs of drought so that your watering regime can be adjusted as necessary.

External signs of drought are that the foliage wilts and sometimes rolls or turns. Please note that it is also easy to over water your hedge and if you notice leaves turning yellow or unseasonal leaf drop then it is likely to be over watered in which case immediate action should be taken to cut back on watering. If the surface looks dry but you have symptoms of over watering then you need to check the moisture content 300 - 400mm below ground level by digging a small hole beside the hedge rootstrip.

The following table shows you the necessary amount of water required per linear metre per week by a newly planted Elveden instant hedge. This should be continued until the hedge has established, which is usually 24 months after planting. Watering can then be reduced as required by the hedge.

Please note that this is a guide only and your observation of the hedge is most important.

FEEDING. We advise that you feed your Elveden instant hedge annually with a quality nutrient blend fertiliser and the best application time for this is early spring although any time of the year is beneficial. Our own 20-20-10 Top dress blend which is an 8 month fully coated controlled release fertiliser with a balanced analysis and an increased trace element package is suitable for all year round use on Elveden instant hedge."

Hedges Direct ( Tel: 01772 603300 or email helpdesk@hedgesdirect.co.uk) is completely dedicated to hedges, who are a specialist grower of a huge range of hedging plants, in all sizes from 30cm to 3m. These hedging plants are available nationally by ordering online or by phone. They are in partnership with a very long established privately owned group of nurseries with over 10 acres, growing well over 500,000 plants each year. 
They can supply very large quantities to commercial buyers or £50 worth of beautiful plants to the individual gardener.

Mobilane (UK) Limited, PO Box 449, Stoke on Trent, Staffs. ST6 0AE.
Tel: 08702 427710, Email sales@mobilane.co.uk produce

• Green Screens (3 feet 4inches high by 4 feet long or 6 feet high x 4 feet long with hedging plants grown and trained around the upright to the full height of the screen, and grown in a bio degradable pot. The instant security is provided by a 5mm weldmesh galvanised steel security fence through which the hedging plants grow)for hedges, stand-alone-screens, security hedges and graffitii-removal hedges. The Betafence internal security screen (from the largest supplier of security fencing in Europe) comes with a 10 year guarantee and an expected life of 45 years. Mobilane sell over 4 miles of screens per month throughout Europe and only have 40 Kilometers in stock at any one time.
• Ground covering mats of Lonicera pileata, Hedera hibernica and Symphoricarpos albus to provide ground cover over steep slopes and embankments with immediate results. This is used where maintenance of a grassed bank would be difficult, time consuming and dangerous to access, and
• Green Walls erected up the outside of buildings using the Green Screens.

can be installed by www.hederascreens.co.uk or yourself.