Hedging and hedges – evergreen species

Evergreen hedges provide shelter and privacy all year round but the rank upon rank of deep green hedging is not to everybody’s taste so if you prefer something evergreen but a little different, the best non-coniferous evergreen hedging plants include:

• Aucuba japonica a’ – which is commonly know as spotted laurel – it has glossy, spotted foliage, a very Victorian looking plant
• Photinia x fraseri ‘- a beautiful plant that does best in mild districts, by producing brilliant red shoots, can be killed in the early years by a heavy frost
• Prunus lusitanica – better known as Portugal laurel

All these plants can be pruned once or twice a year in early spring or late summer. It’s better to cut these large-leaved evergreens with secateurs rather than shears or trimmers this avoids damaging the foliage.

If conifers are your thing, then go ahead, but remember that while they make fine hedges they must be pruned at least twice a year – once they get out of control they die back when pruned or look awful for many years and may have to be replaced. Chose from:

• Chamaecyparis lawsoniana - the Lawson cypress
• x Cupressocyparis leylandii - the infamously well-known Leyland cypress – produces a hedge in what seems like weeks because it is particularly quick to grow. It must be planted and maintained with care
• Thuja aplicata is the Western red cedar – thujas are wonderfully scented hedging material and as long as they are kept trimmed they look fantastic
• Taxus baccata the yew – unlike other conifers, if you inherit an overgrown yew hedge, it can often be restored by hard pruning in late winter.

Hedge gardening evergreen photograph by Dean+Barb, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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