Wayfaring Tree Hedge Plants

• Variety: Wayfaring Tree, the native Viburnum of chalk country
• Latin name: Viburnum lantana
• Sold as: Bareroot hedge plants, 40/60, 60/80 and 90/120cm tall
• Growth: Vigorous and bushy. Clips well in a mixed hedge
• Spacing: 3 plants per metre, or 6 in a double staggered row
• Leaves: Deciduous. Broad, grey-green and downy underneath
• Flowers: Domed heads of small white flowers in late spring
• Berries: Red, ripening to black, with both colours on the bush at once
• Thorns: None
• Position: Full sun or partial shade. Exposed or sheltered
• Soil: Any, from well-drained to moist. Chalk is its natural ground
• Native: Yes
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Hardiness: H7, hardy in the severest British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Wayfaring Tree is a vigorous, thornless native shrub for a mixed country hedge, and it is at its best on chalk. Domed white flowerheads in late spring turn to berries that ripen from red to black, so the bush carries both colours at once. It is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list and rated H7.

Wayfaring Tree Hedge Plants

The Wayfaring Tree, Viburnum lantana, is a large native shrub or small, bushy tree that is great for mixed country hedges. It'll grow on any soil or situation apart from waterlogged sites and inner-city roadside.
Wayfaring Tree is good for hedges up to about 5 metres high and will reach the same height if it grows freely as a tree.
It's a natural companion to Viburnum opulus in a mixed hedge, and we grow two more ornamental varieties that can also make good hedges, Viburnum bodnantense Dawn and the evergreen Viburnum tinus Eve Price. Browse our selection of native hedging plants or view our full range of hedging.

Bareroot hedge plants are only delivered during winter (Nov-April).

Choosing a size:
When you are ordering Wayfaring Tree plants for a hedge, we generally recommend that you use plants that are graded at 40/60cm or 60/80cm. They're cheaper than large plants, easier to handle and they'll establish well in poor conditions.
Use the larger, 90/120cm tall plants if you want a tall hedge quickly or for instant impact as a specimen tree or bush.
All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

Spacing a Wayfaring Tree hedge:

Plant Wayfaring Tree hedging at 3 plants per metre, 33cm apart.
You can also plant it at 6 plants per metre in a staggered double row, with 33cm between each plant along the row and 40cm between the rows.

General description of Wayfaring Tree plants:

Viburnum lantana is a large, deciduous, native shrub. It has easily recognizable leaves: large and hairy, with deep veins. These turn brilliant crimson in autumn. The fragrant, white flowers in spring are carried in rounded clusters that are between the size of a fist and an outstretched hand. These ripen into strings of red fruit that turn black as they mature, which are eaten by several types of bird.

History & Trivia

These plants are native to Britain in a range south of about Yorkshire and are fine to plant in sheltered sites further North. An old name for Wayfaring Trees is hoarwithy. The berries are edible in an emergency and our ancestors would have eaten them, preferably well cooked, if there was nothing else around. We don't recommend trying them; they're likely to make you sick if they aren't really ripe.

Other names include cotton or coven, lithy and mealy tree, or twistwood.

Planting Companions

On chalk, plant it with Hawthorn, Hazel and Common Dogwood, which all like the same ground. Hazel, Dogwood and the Guelder Rose linked above are thornless too, if the hedge runs beside a path. Dust the roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge for Hedging?

Hedging is not a sideline here: your Wayfaring Tree is grown for us as hedging by specialist growers. Bareroot plants are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months. Ashridge has sold plants since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wayfaring Tree or Guelder Rose: what is the difference?

Wayfaring Tree has oval, grey, downy leaves and berries in two colours. Guelder Rose has lobed leaves like a Maple and red berries. Wayfaring Tree is the one for dry chalk, Guelder Rose for damp ground.

Will it grow on chalk?

Yes, and better than most. It is a chalk and limestone plant by nature, and it also grows on clay, loam and sand.

Why are the berries two colours at once?

They ripen unevenly, from red to black, so you see both on the bush together.

Can you eat the berries?

No. They are for the birds, and not for eating.

Is it thorny?

No. It is one of the thornless natives, which makes it a good choice beside gates and paths.

How did it get its name?

From where it grows. Wayfaring Trees line the old chalk paths and drove roads, so a traveller heading home saw them the whole way.

When are the plants delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the plants are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your plants are lifted and sent once the season opens.