{"id":611956982086,"date":"2025-11-11T15:58:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T15:58:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/blogs\/uncategorized\/choosing-and-planting-potted-hedging\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:42:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T08:42:28","slug":"choosing-and-planting-potted-hedging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/blogs\/hedging\/choosing-and-planting-potted-hedging\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing and planting potted hedging"},"content":{"rendered":"

Container-grown hedging plants – plant all year round.<\/h2>\n

Generally speaking, hedging is put in the ground over winter, using young bareroot plants when they are dormant.<\/p>\n

However, some circumstances call for a more instant, mature hedge \u2013 which is where container-grown (or potted) hedging plants play their part.<\/p>\n

Why choose potted hedging?<\/h2>\n

Among the most common reasons for choosing pot-grown hedging is the need for instant privacy or screening when moving to a new home, to repair a damaged or dying hedge, or to fill a small gap in your borders.<\/p>\n

However, perfectly valid excuses also include “being an impatient gardener” or simply “wanting a bit of a change!”<\/p>\n

The humble hedge can play many roles within a garden \u2013 most commonly as an attractive living barrier along a garden boundary to keep unwanted visitors out. Or, to keep excitable children and pets in!<\/p>\n

More often than not, privacy and security are the primary considerations when choosing your hedging plants.<\/p>\n

Benefits of pot-grown hedging<\/h2>\n

Although hedging is most commonly sold as ‘bare root’ plants for ease of transport, pot-grown plants have the benefit of being able to be planted year-round (as opposed to being limited to the dormant period between late autumn and early spring).<\/p>\n

And as they have been growing in a pot all their lives, their roots are fully formed and undisturbed, meaning that with the right preparation and care, they can be quicker to take to their new homes.<\/p>\n

There are many hedging plants to choose from, and it’s quite important to select the right plants for the job, depending on your needs, the local environment, the planting location, and soil condition.<\/p>\n

Large hedging or quick screening<\/h2>\n

If a very large hedge or screen is required, a conifer hedge in the form of the ubiquitous leylandii<\/a> (cupressocyparis leylandii), or the slightly darker green Lawson’s cypress<\/a> (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), or the broadleaf evergreen Common laurel<\/a> (Prunus laurocerasus), are all great choices.<\/p>\n

Their evergreen form, coupled with the speed with which they grow, make them popular options for gardens that require a good level of privacy quickly.<\/p>\n

Evergreens generally tolerate most soils and aspects. But vigour should not be underestimated; the High Hedges Act was specifically drawn up as a result of neighbourly feuds over potentially giant Leylandii.<\/p>\n

Hedging of this type is usually planted between 60-150cm apart; closer if it is to be kept clipped and further apart if it is to grow on into a large screen of trees. Plants can be clipped up to 3 times throughout the growing season, and it’s very important to do so as if you let these hedges grow unchecked, and need to cut them back hard, they will not reshoot from old wood.<\/p>\n

(oh, and whenever you clip any hedge, please check for active birds’ nests before you start!)<\/p>\n

Urban hedging<\/h2>\n

Popular choices for an urban environment are privet<\/a> (Ligustrum), yew<\/a> (Taxus baccata), box<\/a> (buxus sempervirens), beech<\/a> (fagus sylvatica) and hornbeam<\/a> (Carpinus betulus).<\/p>\n

These (with a few caveats here and there) will thrive in a wide range of soil conditions, in both sun and shade, and are not significantly affected by pollution or poor, compacted soils. They can all be kept tightly clipped to create a lovely dense hedge (beech and hornbeam are less tightly defined, but can offer a more interesting and lively texture as a result).<\/p>\n

As with most medium-sized hedges, plant them at 3 per metre in a single row. Plants can be pruned 2-3 times over the growing season to keep them tidy. Sparse, straggly plants respond well to being cut back hard, re-shooting quite happily.<\/p>\n

Hedging for coastal conditions<\/h2>\n

Coastal conditions can be particularly challenging for plants. Sites are often exposed, soil is poor and sandy, and the air is salty.<\/p>\n

If you live near the coast, good choices for hedging include Portugal laurel<\/a> (Prunus lusitanica), Viburnum tinus<\/a>, holly<\/a> (Ilex aquifolium), and Pyracantha (Red Column<\/a> and Orange Glow<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Each of these will make a neat, compact hedge with plenty of visual interest.<\/p>\n

Better still, all of these are good providers of food and habitat for wildlife.<\/p>\n

Holly and Pyracantha also have the benefit of spiky protection if you’re looking for a hedge to keep unwanted visitors at bay.<\/p>\n

Hedging for security<\/h2>\n

Most hedge plants can be grown to provide a solid, secure boundary. But where a truly impassable barrier is required, thorny hedging is your best option.<\/p>\n

A fantastic spiky shrub to use for this purpose is barberry (we especially like red Japanese Barberry \u2013 Berberis thunbergii ‘Atropurpurea’). It forms an informal hedge of around 2-3 metres high.<\/p>\n

Holly and hawthorn are popular alternatives, but barberry is a plant with lots of year-round interest: in spring it produces attractive little yellow or yellow-orange flowers, which turn to colourful berries in summer; and with stunning coloured leaves turning shades of red, orange and purple in autumn.<\/p>\n

Barberry will cope with most well drained soils and can be planted in full sun or partial shade. Plants should be spaced at 3 per metre. As quite an informal hedge, it requires minimal pruning and can be clipped back lightly after the fruits have faded.<\/p>\n

Larger gardens and countryside plots<\/h2>\n

For the larger countryside garden a mixed native hedgerow has terrific benefits. Aesthetically it provides a barrier that is truly in keeping with the surrounding countryside and leads the eye gently to the landscape beyond the garden.<\/p>\n

But more importantly they provide a vital home and food source for many forms of wildlife that are struggling with an ever decreasing habitat.<\/p>\n

Suitable plants would include hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, hazel, dogwood, viburnum, wild roses, oak, beech, hornbeam, yew, and holly.<\/p>\n

A country hedge can be planted at 3 plants per meter in a single row. However, if a thicker wider hedge is desired you can plant 6 plants per meter in a staggered double row.<\/p>\n

Native hedges are usually pruned every other year, to allow their blossoms and fruits to develop more naturally and fully, and to create as little disturbance as possible to the creatures that call it home.<\/p>\n

We have a range of mixed hedging packs<\/a>, available during the bare root season from November to April, including:<\/p>\n