Trees and Shrubs as Screens
The Spruce / Paige McLaughlin
Evergreen hedges make wonderful privacy screens.
Tall hedges serve as windbreaks and provide shade for garden plants.
Some evergreens with sharp pointed leaves or thorns can act as a barrier to discourage animals and pets.
The Spruce / Paige McLaughlin
Most evergreens produce insignificant flowers if any at all.
Consider the following 10shrubs to create evergreen hedgesthat meet your needs.
Besides making great hedges, boxwoods are a favorite tree for a topiary.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
The tiny, evergreen leaves remain tidy when clipped.
Korean boxwood is proving to be hardier than the English varieties.
Prune in late spring, as new growth darkens.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Size varies with species and it prefers full sun to partial shade.
Boxwood is toxic to animals.
Yew
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Yew makes a dense hedge that responds well to pruning.
Valery Kudryavtsev/Getty Images
Overgrown yew hedges can often be restored by hard pruning in late winter.
Many yews used for foundation plantings remain squat.T.
baccatagrows to 6 feet tall and 16 feet wide, making it great for hedging.
The Spruce / Autumn Wood
The uniformity of a yew hedge makes a great wall for enclosed gardens.
It is a slow-to-medium grower.
Yew is toxic to humans and animals.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
you’ve got the option to grow it in almost any soil condition from sand to clay.
It forms a pyramid shape and requires no pruning.
It is pest-resistant and evendeer-resistant.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
For a quick hedge or windbreak, plant these plants 5 to 6 feet apart.
For a more gradual hedge, plant 10 to 12 feet apart.
These fast-growers can reach 60 feet tall and 20 feet wide.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Only the females set berries, but you will need a male to cross-pollinate.
Some new varieties do not require two sexes.
Hollies prefer acidic soil and the addition of peat or garden sulfur may be necessary.
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
TheAmerican hollyis more widely adaptable than English holly.
Hollies can be lightly pruned any time of year.
All holly berries are toxic to humans and animals.
The Spruce / Gyscha Rendy
This drought-tolerant plant likes full sun to partial shade.
Plant firethorns 3 to 4 feet apart.
Prune if necessary, after flowering.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Leyland Cypress
The Leyland cypress is a column-like evergreen with flat scale-like leaves.
It makes a tough privacy screen or windscreen that is salt tolerant and grows best in full sun.
Many new cultivars are being bred for bluer color, variegation, and more feathery foliage.
It can reach a height of 60 to 70 feet and a spread of 15 to 20 feet.
This evergreen is slightly toxic to people and animals.
This tree is a standout, especially when used to light up a shady area, which it prefers.
Variegata is a female and requires a male for pollination, to produce red berries.
Good choices include ‘Mr.
Goldstrike’ and ‘Maculata’.
This laurel likes moist soil but can handle periodic dry spells.
It is a slow grower that can be pruned in early spring to summer.
It will reach a height of 6 to 9 feet and a spread of 3 to 5 feet.
Several cotoneaster species are evergreen or semi-evergreen.
There are several varieties;C. lucidusgrows up to 10 feet tall,C.
glaucophyllusgrows 3 to 4 feet tall with a 6-foot spread, andC.
franchetiigrows 6 feet tall with a 6-foot spread.
Berries are toxic to humans and animals (but not to birds).
However,Nandina istougher than its delicate foliage would suggest.
White spring flowers come in hydrangea-like panicles and are followed by bunches of red berries.
The foliage blushes red for fall and winter.
It is a medium-to-fast grower and can be pruned before new growth.
Expect a height of 5 to 7 feet and a spread of 3 to 5 feet.
Privet
A classichedge plant, not all privets are evergreen.
The dense foliage responds extremely well to pruning and can be pruned after flowering.
Most have white summer flowers followed by black berries.
Privet is very adaptable and will grow in just about any conditions from full sun to shade.
These fast growers reach a height of 15 feet and a spread of 5 to 6 feet.
To keep privet tidy, it may require pruning monthly or every six weeks during the growing season.
Privet is toxic to people and pets.
How to Trim
Think of each plant in the hedge as an individual shrub.
Each should have its own growing space without excessive crossing of branches with its neighbor.
Thin the interior or center of each shrub to eliminate large crossing branches.
To create a simple uniform shape with squared or rounded edges, trim the sides before reducing top growth.
This also helps prevent a narrow base with a flared top, which can leave unsightly gaps between plants.
Trim the sides of the hedge down to where woody growth begins.
New stems are soft, green, and removed fairly easily.
Collect and compost or dispose of all trimmings.
Leaving them on the hedge can lead to insect and disease problems.
This is when to do the heaviest pruning.
For shrubs that grow rapidly, trimming throughout the growing season is done mostly for appearance.
It’s fine to remove dead or diseased branching and foliage anytime.
However, with few exceptions, avoid pruning in winter when plants are brittle.
Winter pruning can damage healthy tissue, creating vulnerability to disease and insect infestation.
Even when done judiciously it can cause stunting.
Here are a few other considerations:
Leylandii cypress is the fastest-growing evergreen hedge.
Rapid growers like Leyland cypress and arborvitae form a solid privacy hedge within two to three years.
Evergreen hedges are resilient throughout the year in that they retain their color and leaves.
Choose the right ones for your growing zone so they are cold-hardy and drought-tolerant where necessary.
Poisonous and Non-Poisonous Plants.National Capital Poison Center Poison Control.
Poisonous and Non-Poisonous Plants.National Capital Poison Center.
x Hesperotropsis leylandii.North Carolina State Extension.
Red berries at this time of year.Veterinary Poisons Information Service.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
NC State University Cooperative Extension.
