Your hedge is the backdrop to your garden, so it's important to choose a variety that's both functional and visually appealing. Discover the best evergreen hedges for different situations, from fast-growing privacy hedges to hedges for wildlife.
A hedge is a big investment, and it's worth considering your full range of options before buying hedge plants. Evergreen hedges are very popular as they keep their foliage year round, giving you privacy and greenery even in the cold winter months. In this guide, I'll cover the best evergreen hedges to use for different purposes and in different situations. Many of these hedge plants have multiple benefits and are versatile enough to use in most UK gardens.
Ready to shop? Browse our full range of bare root and potted evergreen hedge plants.
Best fast growing evergreen hedge
Leyland cypress (Cupressocyparis leylandii) is the fastest growing hedge, and a good option if you need a tall, dense hedge quickly. It can grow up to 90 centimetres a year and reach a height of 30 metres if left unchecked. In case it's not obvious, this is one plant you can't leave to do its thing!
A leylandii hedge requires regular pruning to keep it at a manageable height and spread. Overgrown leylandii hedges are difficult to renovate, as cutting back into old growth will leave unsightly brown patches. When well maintained, Leyland cypress hedges are a cost-effective way of creating a tall privacy barrier in larger gardens.
If you want a quick growing evergreen hedge that won't take over your garden, look at Photinia 'Red Robin', green privet (evergreen in mild areas) and cherry laurel.
Best evergreen hedges for privacy
If you are looking for privacy, you want a tall hedge with dense foliage. Most likely, you also want something that's relatively fast growing. Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is the best evergreen hedge for screening in most gardens. It takes a year to develop roots and establish, but then grows quickly. Depending on the size of plant you start with, you can grow a two-metre high hedge in 2–4 years (less if you buy mature plants).
Pruning cherry laurel regularly gives you a bushier hedge and prevents it from getting out of control. Unlike conifers, you can prune laurel back hard. In fact, it's pretty indestructible! It will grow well in sun or shade, and its foliage provides winter cover for birds.
Pyracantha is a good alternative for adding privacy to front gardens. It will happily grow on its own or alongside a wall, and its thorny stems make it an excellent security barrier.
Read more about choosing hedges for privacy.
Best evergreen hedge with flowers
There's a surprisingly large choice of evergreen flowering hedges, but my top pick is a pyracantha, such as Pyracantha 'Golden Charmer'. Clusters of small, white flowers bloom in late spring and early summer, attractive bees, hoverflies and other pollinators. But the flowers are just the prelude to pyracantha's main show, which comes in late summer when the golden-orange berries add a burst of colour to your garden. The berries remain on the hedge well into winter, providing food for garden birds.
Pyracanthas grow reasonably quickly, and form a neat hedge 2–3 metres high. This golden firethorn earns its name with spiky branches that are an excellent deterrent to intruders – just don't forget to wear thick gloves when pruning!
Other evergreen hedges that flower include Osmanthus x burkwoodii (scented spring flowers) Portuguese and cherry laurel (spring flowers), privet (summer flowers), Elaeagnus × ebbingei (autumn flowers) and Viburnum tinus (winter flowers).
Best native evergreen hedge in the UK
Holly is one of the best native trees for evergreen hedges. Ilex aquifolium is the native species, but there are various interesting cultivars available, including Ilex 'Argentea Marginata', which has cream edges to the dark green leaves. Holly is a great choice for a wildlife hedge, as it provides cover and food for birds and shelter for invertebrates and small mammals.
If you want your holly hedge to be festooned with berries during the winter, make sure you plant a mix of male and female holly trees. Only the female plants produce berries, but they require a male plant nearby for pollination.
Other options for native evergreen hedges include yew, Scots pine and wild privet (in warmer areas).
Best low maintenance evergreen hedge
While evergreen hedges are wonderful, some species require a fair amount of work, primarily pruning. As a general guide, the faster growing the shrub or tree, the more pruning it requires to keep it in check. If you want a low maintenance, fast-growing hedge, you are going to have to compromise!
It's not a common hedging plant in the UK, but Viburnum tinus is worth a look if you want the best of both worlds. This evergreen shrub is best grown as an informal hedge and only needs pruning once a year, in later winter or early spring. You can give it an additional trim in early summer if you want a more formal look. It grows well in full sun or partial shade and can cope with deeper shade, though you may get fewer flowers. Viburnum tinus has a moderate growth rate of up to 45 cm per year.
Other evergreen hedge plants that only require pruning once a year include yew, box, holly and euonymus.
Best plants for a mixed evergreen hedge
Using a mix of evergreen plants for your hedge makes your garden more diverse and visually interesting. When choosing plants for a mixed evergreen hedge, select varieties that grow at a similar rate to prevent more vigorous plants from taking over. You'll also need to take into account soil and light preferences.
Euonymus is an excellent choice for a low-growing mixed evergreen hedge that will look cohesive but varied. Plant Euonymus 'Emerald Gaiety' and Euonymus 'Emerald 'n' Gold' for a colourful evergreen hedge that will thrive in sun or shade.
If you want a taller hedge, the combination of holly, yew and Viburnum tinus will give interest in different seasons. You could also mix in some beech, which, while technically deciduous, often holds its dead leaves through the winter months.
Best small evergreen hedge plants
Common box (Buxus sempervirens) is the traditional hedging plant for low-growing hedges and topiary in formal gardens. Its dense foliage and slow growth make it ideal for shaping, and it only needs trimming once or twice a year (unless you prefer it not to have a stem out of place!). You can keep your evergreen box hedge small to edge flowerbeds or let it grow to a full-height hedge.
Euonymus 'Green Spire' has a similar look to boxwood and is also a good choice for a low-growing hedge. If your garden is very hot and sunny, an upright rosemary, such as Rosemary 'Miss Jessopp's Upright', would be a good drought-tolerant option.
Best evergreen hedges for birds
Wild privet (Ligustrum vulgare) is one of the best hedge plants for birds and other wildlife. Its shiny black berries are poisonous to humans, but loved by thrushes, waxwings and other garden birds. This variety of privet is native to the UK and supports the privet hawk-moth, as well as attracting pollinators in summer with its fragrant flowers.
Wild privet is semi-evergreen in the UK, meaning it will lose its leaves in cold winters. It's a good choice for an evergreen hedge in mild parts of the country, but if you want a hardier variety, opt for green privet. This isn't a native species, but it still provides shelter and berries for birds. Green privet is tolerant of pollution, making it a popular evergreen hedge for urban homes.
Holly and yew also provide food for birds and are reliably evergreen, even through the coldest winters. Cotoneaster × suecicus 'Coral Beauty' is a good choice for a low or wall-top hedge.
Best evergreen hedge for wet soil
Portuguese laurel (Prunus lusitanica) is the best evergreen hedge for clay soil and moist conditions in most gardens. It's a tough plant that grows well in exposed conditions, doesn't mind shade and adapts to different soil types. It produces small white flowers in spring, followed by red berries in autumn. Portuguese laurel is slower growing than cherry laurel and has smaller leaves, giving it a neat appearance that suits small gardens.
While technically a deciduous hedge plant, hornbeam hedges often hold on to their dead leaves in autumn, providing year-round privacy. Hornbeam is very resilient and can tolerate both wet and dry soils.
Best dense evergreen hedge
Evergreen hedge plants are the best choice if you want dense foliage for privacy, security or noise reduction. Yew (Taxus baccata) is a very dense evergreen hedge that can cope with any light level from full sun to deep shade. It's great for wildlife and one of only three conifers native to the UK.
The downside to yew is that it's slow growing. If you need a dense evergreen hedge fast, then Leyland cypress may be a better choice. However, you need to be prepared to prune it regularly, and it needs plenty of sun to grow well.
Best evergreen hedge for noise reduction
Evergreen hedges help absorb and scatter high-frequency sounds, like sirens and barking dogs. They're less effective at stopping low-frequency traffic noise, so if this is your priority, combine your hedge with a fence to get maximum noise reduction, as well as greenery and privacy.
For a hedge to be an effective noise barrier, it needs to be tall, wide and dense. Western red cedar (Thuja plicata 'Atrovirens') is an excellent choice as it's fast growing and the overlapping foliage extends all the way down to the ground. Plant a double row, if you have space, and trim the hedge regularly to encourage bushy, dense growth.
Yew is also a good choice for noise reduction, but it's slower growing, so it will take longer to reach your desired height. If you prefer broad-leaved evergreen hedges, then cherry laurel is your best bet for noise reduction.
Best evergreen hedge for shade
Many evergreen shrubs and trees grow well in partial or light shade, but if you want to plant a hedge in a very shaded garden, then yew (Taxus baccata) is the top choice. It will thrive even in full shade and though it's slow growing, you'll get a lovely, dense hedge.
Laurel is also a good option for shade and thrives in my north-facing garden. It will grow slower in the shade than in a sunny spot, but will keep its dense, glossy green foliage without getting leggy. Portuguese laurel copes better with dry shade and looks more formal when neatly trimmed, whereas cherry laurel is faster growing and has larger leaves.
Related articles
Find out more about growing and maintaining evergreen hedges in these guides:
FAQ
What is the best evergreen hedge for privacy?
Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is an excellent evergreen hedge for privacy, as it grows quickly and has dense foliage. If you prefer the look of a conifer or want a narrow hedge, then Western red cedar (Thuja plicata 'Atrovirens') is fast-growing and can be clipped to a tight, tall shape.
What is the quickest growing evergreen hedge?
Leyland cypress (Cupressocyparis leylandii) is the fastest growing hedge with a growth rate of up to 90 cm per year. Bear in mind that it will keep growing unless pruned regularly, and its mature height is around 30 m. It's best used when you need a tall, dense hedge fast. Cherry laurel is a broad-leaved evergreen hedge that also grows quickly.
What is the cheapest evergreen hedge?
Privet is the cheapest evergreen hedge. Bare root hedging plants are much cheaper to buy than potted plants, but they're only available in winter. Wild privet (Ligustrum vulgare) is the cheapest option, but it often loses its leaves in cold winters. Green privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) is a more reliable year-round choice. Norway spruce and Scots pine are cost-effective plants for very cold parts of the UK.
