Selecting the Right Plant for Your Needs
Choosing the right hedging plants for one landscaping application or climate is not necessarily the right plant for another, and this is particularly true when selecting hedging plants.
Choosing plants for a hedge sounds easy enough. Plenty of articles proclaim that a particular plant is the best hedging plant, and this is especially common when new varieties are released. However, with so many plants suitable for both small and tall hedges, the choice is almost endless. Selecting the right hedging plant can be a little more difficult than it first appears.
The key is to understand the natural growth habit and characteristics of the plant, along with a few other important factors. A plant that makes an excellent low border may be completely unsuitable for a tall privacy screen, while a plant that thrives in one climate may struggle in another.
Before choosing hedging plants for your garden, it pays to consider what you want the finished hedge to look like, how much space you have available, and the growing conditions in your garden.
Here is a checklist of factors to consider when selecting the right plants for your hedge.
Our Quick Checklist: Choosing the Right Hedging Plants
Before choosing your hedging plants, consider the following:
- Height: How tall do you want the finished hedge to grow?
- Width: How much space is available for the hedge to spread?
- Purpose: Is the hedge for privacy, screening, a windbreak or a decorative border?
- Foliage: Do you need a dense screen, year-round greenery or a more open growth habit?
- Flowering: Would you prefer flowers and fragrance, or a hedge grown primarily for its foliage?
- Climate: Will the plants tolerate your local temperatures, frost, heat and humidity?
- Light: Is the planting area in full sun, partial shade or full shade?
- Soil: Is your soil sandy, clay-based, well-drained or prone to waterlogging?
- Water: How much natural moisture is available, and are you prepared to provide supplementary irrigation?
- Maintenance: How often are you prepared to prune and maintain the hedge?
- Growth habit: Do you need an upright, narrow-growing plant or one that spreads more widely?
- Budget: How much are you prepared to spend on the plants, planting and ongoing care?
Once you have considered these factors, you will have a much clearer idea of which hedging plants are likely to suit your garden.
Factors to consider when Choosing Hedging Plants
1. Size – Height and Width
The first consideration is the finished size of the hedge, particularly its height and width.
It makes little sense to try to grow a very low hedge from a naturally tall-growing plant. A low border using evergreen magnolias is unlikely to be practical, just as lavender is not a suitable choice for a tall screening hedge.
Hedge heights can range from 0.5 metres or less for low borders to 10 metres or more for substantial screens and windbreaks. The available width is just as important. There is little point planting a wide-growing hedge where space is limited.
Consider the height and width you want the hedge to reach, and choose plants that can achieve this without requiring constant pruning to keep them within bounds.
2. Density of Foliage
How dense does the hedge need to be?
If you are looking for a hedge that provides privacy or screens an unsightly view, you will need plants with dense foliage and a growth habit that fills out well. A hedge with open or sparse growth may be perfectly suitable for a decorative border but less effective as a privacy screen.
Some plants naturally produce dense foliage, while others have a more open growth habit. Evergreen plants are often chosen for year-round screening, although their suitability will depend on the species and growing conditions.
Consider whether you need a solid screen, a windbreak, or simply a decorative hedge. The answer will help narrow down your choices.
3. Flowering or Non-Flowering Hedges
All flowering plants produce flowers, but some have much more noticeable blooms than others. Some are highly perfumed, some provide seasonal colour, and others are grown primarily for their foliage.
Are you looking for a hedge that flowers, or would you prefer one that provides a consistent green backdrop throughout the year?
Flowering hedges can add colour, fragrance and seasonal interest to a garden. However, if a formal, uniform appearance is the priority, a foliage-focused hedge may be more appropriate.
Also consider when the plant flowers and whether you are happy to prune it around its flowering period.
4. Climate
Climate is one of the most important factors when choosing hedging plants.
There is little point trying to grow a tropical plant as a hedge in Tasmania if it cannot tolerate the cold, just as a temperate-climate plant that struggles with heat and humidity is unlikely to thrive in the tropics.
Consider your local temperatures, rainfall, humidity, frost exposure and seasonal conditions. Some plants tolerate hot, dry summers, while others prefer cooler conditions or more consistent moisture.
Choosing plants suited to your climate gives the hedge a much better chance of establishing well and growing successfully over the long term.
5. Light Requirements
How much sunlight will the hedge receive?
Some hedging plants grow well in shade, while others require several hours of direct sunlight each day to thrive. There are also plants that perform well in filtered light or partial shade.
Consider how many hours of direct sun the planting area receives, as well as the amount of filtered light throughout the day. Remember that light conditions can change as nearby trees grow or buildings cast seasonal shadows.
Matching the plant to the available light will help avoid poor growth, sparse foliage and an uneven hedge.
6. Soil Type
Soil conditions can have a significant influence on the success of a hedge.
Some plants will grow in a range of soil types, including clay, sand and relatively poor soils. Others require a well-drained, humus-rich soil to perform well. Some are also particular about soil pH, preferring either acidic or alkaline conditions.
Before selecting your plants, consider the soil in the planting area. Does it drain freely, remain wet after rain, or become hard and compacted during dry weather?
Improving the soil may be worthwhile, but it is usually easier to choose a plant suited to the existing conditions than to continually modify the soil to suit a particular species.
7. Moisture Requirements
Water availability is another factor that will influence your choice of hedging plants.
You may live in a naturally dry area, or the soil may be particularly free-draining and unable to retain moisture for long. Alternatively, the planting area may remain damp for extended periods.
Consider how much water the plants will require once established and whether you are prepared to provide supplementary irrigation during dry weather.
Would you be willing to install a drip irrigation system to grow a particular type of hedge, or would you prefer plants that can cope with the natural rainfall in your area?
Selecting plants with suitable moisture requirements can reduce ongoing maintenance and help prevent problems associated with either drought or waterlogged soil.
8. Maintenance Requirements
Maintenance is a big consideration, particularly when choosing between a formal hedge and a more natural screen.
If you want a formal hedge with a neat, defined shape, be prepared to prune it regularly. Depending on the plant and the desired finish, this may mean clipping two or three times a year, or even more frequently for some fast-growing species.
If you prefer a low-maintenance hedge, choose plants that naturally grow to the required size and shape without constant trimming.
Remember that low maintenance does not mean no maintenance. Most hedges will still require some attention, including watering while establishing, occasional pruning and the removal of dead or damaged growth.
The best choice is a hedge that suits both your garden and the amount of time you are prepared to spend maintaining it.
9. Growth Habit – Height Versus Width
The natural growth habit of a plant is particularly important when space is limited.
Do you need an upright hedging plant that grows upwards rather than outwards? Plants with a columnar or fastigiate growth habit can be useful where a tall, narrow hedge is required.
Growth habit can vary considerably between species and even between cultivars of the same species.
For example, Buxus sempervirens ‘Graham Blandy’ has a naturally upright, narrow growth habit, whereas the common form of Buxus sempervirens is generally more rounded and spreading.
This is why it is important to look beyond the plant’s species name when selecting hedging plants. Different cultivars can have quite different growth characteristics, making one more suitable than another for a particular application.
10. Cost
Cost is another factor worth considering, particularly when planting a long hedge that requires a large number of plants.
Smaller plants generally cost less to purchase, although they will take longer to reach the desired size. Larger plants can provide a more immediate result but will usually require a greater initial investment.
The choice of cultivar can also affect the price. Some varieties are more readily available or easier to propagate than others, while newer or less common cultivars may cost more.
If you have a particular type of hedge in mind, it is worth comparing the available cultivars before making a decision. For example, if you want a camellia hedge, a lavender hedge or another specific type of planting, ask whether there is a more economical cultivar that will provide the same general effect.
Also consider the number of plants required, their recommended spacing and any ongoing costs, such as irrigation, pruning and replacement plants.
The cheapest option is not always the most economical in the long term, particularly if the plant is poorly suited to the site.
Size.
Here we are talking about the final height of the hedge. It is a little pointless trying to grow a very low hedge from naturally tall growing plants, a low border from evergreen magnolias is not likely to work, and neither is a tall hedge from lavender. Hedge heights range from .5m and less to 10m +. And of course the width, not much use planting a wide growing hedge in a narrow space.
Density of foliage.
If you are looking for a hedging plant which will create a screen that cannot be seen through its a different ball game to selecting open growing plants
Flowering or not
Now all plants actually flower, some just have bigger, and bolder flowers than others, some are perfumed, some are not. SO are you looking for the toy of hedge that flowers?
Climate
Not much use trying to grow a tropical plant as hedge in Tasmania, or a temperate growing plant that can not handle humidity in the tropics.
Light
Some plants grow well in shade, others do not. How many hours of direct sun, and how many hours of good filtered light will the hedge get?
Soil
Again, some plants will grow just about anywhere, clay, sand or poor soils, other require a humus rich soil, and some are even particular about soil ph
Moisture requirements
Again this will influence your selection, it may be that you live in a naturally dry area, or that the soil is particularly free draining and does not hold moisture. Are you prepared to put in a drip irrigation system so that you can grow a particular type of hedge?
Maintenance
This is a big factor, if you are after a formal hedge, that requires clipping 2 – 3 times a year, be prepared to maintain it. If you are after allow maintenance hedge, then choose the right plants.
Height X Width
Now here we are taking about the growing habit, do you require an upright type of hedging plant, one with a columnar or fastigiate habit. These are plants that naturally grow ‘up’ rather than ‘out’. And this can differ in the same species, for example, the cultivar Buxus sempervirens ‘Graham Blandy’ for example is an upright type, Box hedge, Buxus sempervirens itself is not upright.
Cost
A number of factors come into play here, it is logical that smaller plants cost less, however in many cases different cultivars will also cost more or less as well, so ask the question, if you are after a camellia hedge, or a lavender hedge or any other, is their a different cultivar that is cheaper ?
Choosing Hedging Plants – Pick Right Plant For Long Term Success
Selecting the right hedging plants is about more than simply choosing a plant that looks good. The best choice will depend on the intended height and width of the hedge, foliage density, flowering characteristics, climate, light, soil, moisture requirements, maintenance and budget.
Take the time to consider these factors before making your selection. Choosing plants that suit both the site and the purpose of the hedge will generally result in a healthier, more attractive and easier-to-maintain planting.
With so many hedging plants available, there is usually more than one suitable option. The trick is to find the plant that best meets your requirements rather than relying on a general recommendation that may not apply to your garden.
Hedging Plants | Lilly Pilly Hedging Plants | Conifer Hedging Plants | Buxus / Box Hedges | Best Hedging Plants