Shrubs for Hedging

Flowering

• Peonies make spectacular and often fragrant hedges for sunny locations. Daylilies will infill an area quickly with multiple sprays that open a new flower each day. Hydrangeas, roses and lilacs (especially Preston and Dwarf Korean) make spectacular hedges that don't need trimming like cotoneaster or privet hedges.

  Most perennial shrubs are drought tolerant, but benefit from extra water during dry spells. Use slow-release fertilizer for mature plants. Some bloom 20 years before needing to be dug up and divided, others live for 100 years.

Evergreens

• Plant evergreens for hedges that stay green all winter to provide a privacy screen or boundaries for driveways or a noise- or wind-break. Eastern white cedar is hardy to zone 2 and grows in sun or part shade as long as the soil is neutral to alkaline and well-drained.

  Juniper is hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture zone 3 and forms cones that are attractive in formal hedges. Yew is hardy to zone 4 and tolerates sun or shade. There are tall, columnar, dark green cultivars with bright red berries, compact cultivars for 6-foot hedges and green cultivars with gold tips that prefer sun. Boxwood is good for small hedges in sun or shade to zone 5 and has dark-green and blue-green cultivars.

Two to Avoid

• Burning bush is an annual that grows quickly from seed into dense, narrow-leaved, light green hedges that turn bright red in the fall. Grown on the dry prairies, they will self-sow and take over a garden.

  Japanese knotweed, or Quebec or Mexican bamboo, grows rapidly to 6 feet, forming a dense arching hedge with small pink or white flowers. It is invasive because its wandering rhizomes are uncontrollable once established and should not be planted in a garden.

Site Suitability

• Hedges create organic and attractive screens for privacy or boundaries, but they can become extremely dense and impenetrable, so plant them where you don't need to cross them, or include gates or openings where you need to pass.

  Hedge plants grow in sun or shade, poor or rich soils. Reduce maintenance and increase the chance of success by planting varieties that suit your conditions. Also consider your available space; some hedges grow nearly tree size.

  Once established, perennial hedges need little maintenance except pruning to keep them shaped and neat. They are ideal for areas of the garden that need greenery or flowers, but aren't a central focal point.