Planning a hedge for autumn? Start with the job it needs to do: a formal boundary, evergreen screening or a mixed hedge with seasonal interest. The right choice depends on your soil, exposure, available space and the height you can maintain.
Compare current hedging choices
- Green Beech is a deciduous option for a clipped hedge, often retaining brown leaves through winter. It does not provide the same winter screening as an evergreen.
- Hornbeam is another deciduous hedging choice. Compare its site requirements and the supplied sizes with the conditions in your garden.
- English Yew is an evergreen choice for a dense, formal hedge. Allow space for ongoing maintenance and choose a well-drained site.
- For a mixed native boundary, explore the Traditional Mixed Native Hedging Pack. Its current listed mix is Hawthorn, Dog Rose, Field Maple and Blackthorn. Mixed hedges can provide food and shelter for wildlife; their character and seasonal cover differ from a single-species evergreen hedge.
Match planting time to the root type
Early autumn is a useful planting period for evergreen and semi-evergreen hedges. Deciduous hedges are generally planted from leaf fall, from mid-autumn into late winter. Bare-root plants are supplied while dormant; check the product's current root-type choices and availability before planning your work.
Delay planting when ground is frozen or waterlogged. Prepare a weed-free planting strip, follow the guidance for your chosen plants and keep new hedges watered during dry spells, especially while they establish over the first two years.
Plan before you order
Measure the length of the hedge, check the planting space and compare the actual supplied height and root type on each product page. Read our Hedging Planting Guide and Hedging Care Guide, browse current hedging, or ask our team for help choosing.
Further reading: RHS hedge planting, RHS hedge selection and RHS hedge habitats.