Fast Growing Evergreen Hedges: 5 of the Fastest Growing Hedges in the UK
An evergreen hedge in your garden can provide you with year-round interest and privacy, filter out noise and pollution as well creating as a great habitat for nature for the forthcoming months. Pot-grown evergreen hedging plants can be planted at any time during the year, but they do need to be well watered during the summer months while the roots of the plants are establishing. To help you choose the right hedging plant for you, here is the low-down of our top 5 evergreen hedges for your garden:
1. Cherry Laurel – One of the Fastest Growing Evergreen Hedges
Botanical Names: Prunus laurocerasus, Prunus laurocerasus ‘Rotundifolia’, Prunus laurocerasus ‘Novita’, Prunus laurocerasus ‘Caucasica’
Laurel is a fast growing evergreen hedge that provides a thick, lush, dense, glossy, dark green screen all year round. Laurel hedging suits many types of soil, except shallow chalky or very boggy soils. It represents good value and can grow 60cm (2ft) or more a year which makes it ideal for planting in an area where permanent privacy or screening needs to be established quickly. Laurel is one of the cheapest quick growing evergreen hedging plants and suits shady spots, though it is also suitable for full sun. It is tough and hardy and comes in a variety of sizes, making it ideal for instant hedging which you can buy in 4ft, 5ft and 6ft or taller plants.
Laurel hedges can be trimmed into formal box-shaped hedges or can be left to create a more natural hedge. They should be trimmed annually, and can be cut back hard if overgrown, where they will regenerate from old wood. Laurel is often seen growing under trees in stately homes where it enhances more formal gardens with its rich glossy foliage.
Top 5 reasons to buy:
- Dense glossy leaves all year round
- Suitable for most soils and positions
- Fast growing evergreen hedge
- Large sizes available for instant hedging
- Hardy evergreen hedge
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2. Leylandii – The Fastest Growing Hedge for Privacy
Botanical Latin Names: x Cupressocyparis leylandii, x Cuprocyparis leylandii, Cupressus x leylandii, Leylandii Green, Leylandii ‘Castlewellan Gold’, Leylandii ‘Excalibur Gold’, Leylandii 2001
Belonging to the conifer family, Leylandii can offer a quick solution for a privacy hedge at a very reasonable price. It is the fastest-growing evergreen hedging plant in the UK and keeps its foliage all year round. It is the least expensive of the evergreen hedging options, especially for those people wanting fast-growing hedging over 4ft. Leylandii is hardy and wind tolerant and suitable for planting in most soils except waterlogged. It is particularly suitable for areas of high traffic where its dense foliage filters out sound and pollution. Leylandii can be grown in full sun and partial shade and pruned annually either once or twice a year to create and maintain a formal evergreen screen or box-shaped hedge, much like a Yew hedge.
Leylandii is available with green or golden foliage. The most popular golden varieties are ‘Castlewellan Gold’ and ‘Excalibur Gold’, although Green Leylandii is the fastest growing hedge – much quicker-growing than the golden types of Leylandii. Green Leylandii generally forms a better hedge that is easier to maintain.
There are laws surrounding the maintenance of these fast-growing trees, and whilst they are a marvellous solution for low-cost evergreen hedging that can be kept at any height, do be aware that you need to maintain a reasonable height where they are near neighbours to avoid becoming a nuisance to others. They also form a much denser screen if they are trimmed every year.
Top 5 reasons to buy:
- Most cost effective evergreen hedging plant
- Fastest growing hedge UK
- Good screening for sound and privacy
- Hardy plant suitable for all soils
- Filters out air pollution and particulates
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3. Portugal Laurel – A Dense Evergreen Hedge Plant
Botanical Name: Prunus lusitanica, Prunus lusitanica ‘Angustifolia’, Prunus lusitanica ‘Myrtifolia’
Portugal Laurel is a flowering evergreen plant ideal for those wanting to keep a formal and tidy hedge. It provides year round interest, with fragrant white flowers and attractive red stems.
The leaves on a Portugal Laurel are much smaller and darker green than those on a Cherry Laurel and the hedge does not grow quite as quickly, though it is still a fast growing hedge (up to 50cm or 20 in per year). The colour and interest throughout the seasons makes it an ideal alternative. It grows in all free draining soils in full sun or shade. The stems of Portuguese Laurel are red in the winter providing a beautiful contrast with its dark green leaves. Portugal Laurel hedging plants look similar to Bay Laurel but are much hardier so can withstand the coldest of winters (-20°C) without losing their leaves. Portugal Laurel is easy to maintain and forms an excellent evergreen garden hedge that can be kept to any shape or size.
Top 5 reasons to buy:
- Pretty, dark green leaves throughout the year
- Evergreen, quick growing hedge
- Striking, dark-red stems with white flowers
- Grows in most soils and positions
- Easy to shape and maintain
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4. Thuja – A Hardy Fast Growing Hedge
Botanical Names: Thuja plicata, Thuja plicata ‘Atrovirens’, Thuja plicata ‘Excelsa’, Thuja plicata ‘Martin’, Thuja occidentalis ‘Brabant’
Thuja plicata and Thuja ‘Brabant’ are fast-growing conifers that create an evergreen hedge and will grow in all soils except those that are waterlogged during winter.
Thuja plants are extremely hardy and will tolerate strong winds and temperatures down to -25°C. Both varieties of Thuja tend to be bushier than Leylandii when you buy them in the pot or as a root-balled hedging plant. Although they are very slightly slower growing than Leylandii. Thuja plicata is still one of a few very fast growing hedges in the UK. Leylandii and Thuja both form a very similar, dense hedge though Thuja will generally shoot back from old wood if overgrown. Thuja has aromatic, fruity foliage when brushed against and if trimmed once a year they will create a fantastic field or garden hedge.
Thuja plicata tends to be quicker growing and has a darker green foliage that turns bronze in cold winters or in windy locations, whilst Thuja Brabant is slightly paler green in colour than Thuja plicata.
Top 5 reasons to buy:
- Fast growing conifers
- Grows in most soils
- Tolerates strong winds and low temperatures
- Forms a dense hedge
- Shoots back from old wood
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5. Griselinia – A Quick Growing Coastal Hedge
Botanical Name: Griselinia littoralis, Griselinia littoralis ‘Green Horizon’
If you’re looking to create privacy, shelter, and year-round structure in your garden, Griselinia littoralis should be high on your list. This vibrant shrub has become one of the most popular choices for people who want a fast growing evergreen hedge that looks good all year round.
When people search for the fastest growing hedge, they usually want quick results. Under the right conditions, it can grow up to 60cm per year, making it one of the most reliable quick growing hedges available. It is also available in our Instant Hedging Troughs range that create an immediate screen.
Unlike deciduous alternatives, Griselinia holds its glossy apple-green leaves all year round. As far as evergreen hedge plants go, it provides consistent coverage and a clean, contemporary look.
Griselinia is easy to maintain. It responds well to trimming, allowing you to keep it formal and neat or slightly softer and more natural. Once established, it’s hardy down to approx -13°C, tolerant of coastal conditions, and generally trouble-free. It is a good choice for gardeners who want a fast growing evergreen hedge.
Griselinia hedging plants will grow in any free-draining soil in full sun or partial shade. It can grow up to 5m (15ft) if left untrimmed but will make a neat hedge if maintained as low as 3-4ft high.
Top 5 reasons to buy:
- Apple-green leaves all year round
- Ideal for coastal locations or next to gritted roads
- Fast growing evergreen hedge
- Dense hedge to ground level
- Contemporary look that is easy to shape and maintain
If your goal is to establish a strong boundary fast, Griselinia remains one of the quick growing hedges that delivers a beautiful, classy screen.