Contact: Diane Relf, Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture
Posted April 1997
Whether of formally clipped evergreens or casually maintained flowering shrubs, hedges can be an important part of a garden. Hedges can provide privacy screening, backgrounds for other plantings, traffic control, or can serve as windbreaks. Select the proper plants for the best results.
Formal, clipped hedges can make a dramatic impact on the landscape, though they require a great deal of maintenance for the best results. Plants for clipped hedges should, most of all, tolerate shearing. They should have a dense growth habit and should grow fairly quickly, although fast growth also requires frequent clipping. If maintenance time is limited, select a slow growing species that requires more time to become a mature hedge, but will require less frequent pruning.
Select plants for informal hedges based on their ultimate height and the flowering or other characteristics desired in the landscape. Be certain to select plants that are suited to local climate and soil conditions, whether for a formal or casual hedge.
Barberries make an excellent low deciduous hedge with attractive red berries that often last through the winter. Various varieties are available which have green or reddish foliage and can be grown in sun or shade.
Russian olive has attractive gray green deciduous foliage and can be pruned to heights of 3 - 15 feet. Fragrant flowers in early summer are followed by yellow and silvery fruits that attract birds. Russian olive can tolerate dry and salty conditions and will grow in sun or partial shade. This plant is a very fast grower and requires lots of work to maintain as a formal hedge. As a casual, unpruned hedge it requires much less maintenance, but still requires significant amounts of pruning to keep it at less than its natural width of 15 feet or so.
Although it is deciduous, forsythia can be planted to form a dense informal hedge varying from 3 - 8 feet in height depending on variety. Grow it where you can enjoy the brilliant yellow flowers in early spring.
English hawthorn makes an excellent barrier hedge because of its dense habit and sharp thorns. Pruning will encourage the compact growth desired. The white blooms followed by red berries are highly ornamental. The deciduous foliage clings to the shrub until late fall.
Evergreens tend to respond poorly to clipping, but there are several that can be used in formal hedges. Various yews can be grown as clipped hedges; select a variety that will attain the desired height. Hemlocks make lovely hedges and can be freely clipped without worry of damaging the plant. Boxwood is also suitable for formal hedges.
Evergreens for informal hedges include holly, rhododendron, and azalea species. These plants are available in many heights and so by carefully selecting your variety, you can eliminate a great deal of pruning. The berries and flowers on these plants are attractive bonuses to the functional aspect of an informal hedge.
(Prepared by Ellen Silva, Extension Technician, Consumer Horticulture, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0327.)
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