How To Choose The Best Hedge For Your Home

An instant hedge is pre-grown as a mature hedgerow which creates an immediate, impressive impact, whether its evergreen instant hedging for privacy screening or the seasonal interest of a mature deciduous hedge.

Which Hedge?

Practical Instant Hedge™ is available in various species and sizes, up to 1.8m high, so how will you choose which one is best for your garden? The first choice is whether you would like an evergreen or deciduous hedge.

Evergreen hedges maintain their foliage throughout the year. This provides screening, privacy and shelter all year round. Despite their name, an evergreen hedge isn’t just one colour, they are many different varieties to suit your individual taste.

Deciduous hedges shed their leaves in the winter. They offer year-round seasonal interest from flowers, coloured foliage, or autumn fruits.

There are many varieties of mature hedge here that will help make your garden the perfect outdoor space – please see the individual product pages for more information on the specific characteristics of each hedge.

Hedge Selecting Guide

Use this table to help select the most suitable instant hedge for your project.  Practical Instant Hedge™ is available in heights ranging from 80cm to 1.8m high and is sold in 1m long pieces.

 

Species Latin Foliage Pruning Annual growth Aspect Soil acceptance pH Leaves
White Cedar Thuja occidentalis ‘Brabant’ Evergreen Once in August Average 20-40cm Sun to shade All well drained Acidic to alkaline Shiny light green needles
Hornbeam Carpinus betulus Deciduous Once in July or August Fast 30-40cm Sun to partial shade All except the poorest Neutral to slightly acidic Dark green turning yellow-brown. Often remain into spring
Common Beech Fagus sylvatica Deciduous Once in August Slow 10-30cm Sun to shade All except dry Acidic to alkaline Green turning yellow-brown. Often remain into spring
Purple Beech Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’ Deciduous Once in August Slow 10-30cm Sun to shade All except dry Acidic to alkaline Green-purple turning red-brown. Often remain into spring
English Holly Ilex aquifolium  Evergreen  Once in August  Slow 5-15cm  Sun to shade  All well drained Acidic to alkaline Thorny, shiny dark green that are pale green underneath
Oval Leaf Privet Ligustrum ovalifolium Semi-evergreen Regularly in Summer Fast 40-60cm Sun to partial shade All well drained Slightly acidic to alkaline Mid-dark green on top and yellow-green underneath
Photinia ‘Red Robin’ Photinia fraseri Evergreen Regularly in Summer Fast 30-40cm Sun to partial shade All well drained Acidic to alkaline Shiny dark green. New shoots are crimson-red
Common Laurel Prunus laurocerasus Evergreen Once in July or August Fast 30-40cm Sun to shade All except shallow chalk Neutral to slightly acidic Large shiny green. Thick and leathery
Portuguese Laurel Prunus lusitanica Evergreen Once in AugustAverage 20-40cm Average 20-40cm Sun to shade All except the poorest Acidic to alkaline Ovate and dark green
Yew Taxus baccata Evergreen  Once in August  Slow 5-20cm  Sun to shade  All except peat  Slightly acidic to alkaline Shiny dark green needles that are pale green underneath
Native Mix (Hazel, Blackthorn,  Hornbeam, Common Privet and Hawthorn) Deciduous Once in July Fast 30-40cm Sun to partial shade All except the poorest Neutral to  slightly acidic Various
Blue Holly Ilex meserveae Blue Maid/ Prince Evergreen Once in August Slow 20-30cm Sun to partial shade All well drained Acidic to alkaline Blue green spiny
Burkwood Osmanthus Osmanthus burkwoodii Evergreen Regularly in Summer Average 20-40cm Sun to partial shade All well drained Any Dark green oval

 

Contact Us

Please use the enquiry form with details of the hedges that you are interested in and we will provide you with a bespoke quotation.

Ready grown, instant hedges in various species, and shades of green growing in rows at Practicality Brown

Practical Instant Hedge™ growing at our nursery in Iver, Buckinghamshire