Best Hedge Plants for Shade

If you look in our Hedging category filtered for Full Shade, you will see mostly evergreen plants, and some tough native plants.
Most garden owners are looking for lush evergreens along a visible boundary, but Hornbeam is a good formal choice for shady areas where sun-loving Beech won't grow well.

Best Evergreen Hedge Plants for Shade

• Yew - The King of Hedges
• Green Privet - The most reliable, easy-going, reasonably vigorous evergreen hedge
• Holly - Prickles and a dark, brooding presence, unless you use a variegated variety, which can be electrifying
• Common Cherry Laurel - Large handsome leaves and a lot of vigour
• Pyracantha - The only truly thorny evergreen option for shade, great bright berries for later season interest
• Western Red Cedar - Thuja plicata is a good alternative to Yew: not quite as shade-tolerant, and less forgiving, it can still be encouraged to grow back from old wood with careful treatment.
• Shrub Honeysuckle: Lonicera nitida - It's the most common hedge plant for car parks for a reason! It's not as pretty as the plants above but still a rugged choice for out of sight places

Special Mention

• Box - Slow growing but very shade-tolerant as long as there is good air flow to decrease humidity
• Sweet Box - You can squeeze them around the base of hedges for their fragrance
• Mahonia - Another car park staple, this large shrub is not suitable for a clipped hedge but still makes a dense thicket. Its leaves look best in sheltered areas, strong winds tend to damage them.

Best Deciduous Hedge Plants for Shade

• For formal hedges, Hornbeam is the premium choice for shady sites, and it tolerates pretty much any soil
• For native country hedges, Hawthorn, Hazel, and Wild Privet are probably the best native plants for a seriously shady North-facing slope. The Hazel will grow fastest, so prune it a bit harder than the others to help them keep up.
• Pink Snowberry - Symphoricarpos chenaultii is shade-tolerant and grows in almost any soil.

Special Mention

• Elderflower will grow almost anywhere, including full shade. It's great for wildlife, and makes a rugged, informal hedge. It's not most people's first choice for their front garden, but its more ornamental varieties, Black Lace or Aurea, are prettier than the wild species when they are in leaf.

Browse all our Hedging Plants.