A shrub is a woody, freestanding plant that naturally has multiple main stems.

Through pruning, many shrubs can be grown as a tree form with a single main trunk, and vice versa, many trees can be pruned & trimmed into a shrubby form, which is how hedges are made.

Rose bushes are natural shrubs that can be grafted as a tree stem lollipop rose, and even low shrubs with thin, weak wood like lavender can be pruned as little “trees”, we don’t sell those, you see them at the front in Morrisons and Lidl. Both of these unnatural shrub-into-tree shapes need a stake for support.

If a plant does not have woody stems and dies back in winter, then it’s either a herbaceous perennial if it lives for over 3 years, or an annual / biennial plant that dies after flowering.

What’s the Difference Between Ornamental and Hedging Shrubs?

In the plant selling industry, it’s common to refer to cultivated ornamental shrubs and their wild species hedging shrub versions.

For example, you can buy cultivated Viburnum ‘Dawn‘, and wild Viburnum opulus, Guelder Rose.

They are typically, but not necessarily, used for different garden design roles,

• Ornamental shrubs look great sculpted in borders, often singly or in threes for a natural look, or rows and squares for formal gardens.
• Wild species hedging is planted in bulk, close together at 3+ plants per metre, so the overall effect is impressive, and they form a security barrier.

Price wise,

• Hedging plants are cheapest. Field grown at a larger scale from seed, often available bareroot in Winter for the best value.
• Ornamental shrubs are grown from cuttings in pots on a nursery, which is much more expensive than a field!

But the choice is yours!

• You are free to make a hedge with luxurious, named shrub cultivars like Berberis ‘Chocolate Summer’, and then grow a wild species like Berberis darwinii as a clipped border shrub.

Dogwood is a common hedge plant as a wild species: Cornus sanguinea for a native hedge, Cornus alba otherwise, which we only deliver bareroot in Winter.
But Dogwood’s ornamental forms like Midwinter Fire, Spaethii, or Elegantissima are usually hard pruned to a low stool each year. They’re so popular that they’re sold both bareroot in Winter, and potted year round.

While you could have a dogwood hedge of Cornus Elegantissima, or hard prune wild Cornus alba in your border, there are some reasons why you might not:

• The hard pruning regimes that bring out some ornamental shrubs’ best features are not suitable for a secure or tidy hedge.
• Some ornamental shrubs shine as specimens with space to spread, which is lost when clipped as a true hedge. We don’t sell it, but Pagoda Dogwood, the Wedding Cake Tree, is an example.
• Some wild shrubs have “bad habits” in a border, perhaps root suckers or seeds.