10 Evergreen Shrubs for Hedges: The Best for Home Privacy

Evergreen shrubs for hedges are a favorite if you want to buffer noise, block wind, or create a more private home. They come in a wide range of textures, evergreen or deciduous, loose or dense growth, and blooms or berries.

All these will grow into a beautiful hedge that is hardy and lasts long. This article will look thought a list of the shrubs that make an excellent evergreen hedge. 

The Best Evergreen Shrubs for Hedges

1. Boxwood

Boxwood is one of the best privacy hedges you can grow. It was adored by the aristocratic Europeans who used it to define their formal garden designs. It is commonly grown in North America as it is resistant to deer attacks. 

– Features 

It tolerates frequent pruning that allows you to shape it to your liking. You can also leave it unpruned to let it take its natural shape.

Boxwood is a popular border plant used for both formal and informal gardens. You can use taller varieties to create a dense wall-like hedge to block out everything undesirable. It has yellow-green leaves that keep their color all year round. 

– Growth Requirements

It thrives under full sun to part shade, and remember to provide rich, well-drained soils that allow water to flow through easily.

You will need to keep it evenly moisturized at all times. Boxwood thrives in hardiness zones four through nine. It grows up to three feet tall, making it ideal for most privacy hedges. 

These plants are easy to care for, especially once they are established. Provide them with a moderate amount of water and annual fertilization. Remember in order to keep it very tidy, you must prune them only when needed; they grow in excellent shape independently. 

2. Griselinia

This is a good choice if you are looking for a brighter hedge. This privacy hedge is suitable for a coastal region as it withstands strong winds. It is a New Zealand native shrub that thrives in North American gardens.  

– Features

It has apple-green, rounded foliage that produces a leafy hedge. This plant is salt-tolerant, making it perfect for seaside gardens. It is suitable to grow around swimming pools as it tolerates strong winds. Annual trimming produces a thick, dense hedge.

– Growth Requirements 

This evergreen shrub thrives in USDA plant hardiness zones seven and eight. It grows to about three to 19 feet high when the proper conditions are met.

Griselinia grows best in a south or west position facing the full sun. It is not very particular about the type of soil as long as it is well-drained. It tolerates most pH values – acid or alkaline; however, avoid the extremes.

Once this plant is established, it is easy to care for it. Water it intensely during the dry season, fertilizing it once a year in spring. Prune it to give it the shape you desire and control its growth. 

It becomes challenging to prune if you allow it to overgrow due to its thick, hard wood, especially if you prolong the process. The seeds, once ripe, drop and germinates, and to prevent overcrowding, remove the young seedlings and plant them elsewhere or discard the seeds before they germinate.  

3. Privet Hedges

The privet is one of the flowering hedge plants that bloom with white flowers, and it is even known as the Liqustrum. All the privets varieties are not evergreen, and those that are don’t grow in all hardiness zones. Check whether the evergreen ones grow in your area before you plant. Also, check to see if they are invasive in your region.    

– Features

Privet has lustrous, deep green foliage that makes a thick and dense privacy hedge. It also flowers with white blooms in late spring or early summer. These honey-scented flowers attract the birds to enjoy the black berries they love, and same goes for bees, that will visit your garden for a better pollination process.

– Growing Requirements  

This plant grows in hardiness zones four through seven, and in these zones, it can reach a height of 4 to 15 feet spreading from four to eight feet wide. Furthermore, remember that you should prove his full to partial sun to grow well. It tolerates most soil types, but it prefers well-draining soils.

Privets are easy to care for as they don’t need much work. Water them regularly when they are starting. They can tolerate some drought, but it’s best to keep them moisturized in the early days for robust growth. They take heavy pruning well and can take up the shape you choose to have. 

– Toxicity

The berries that the tree would produce are toxic to humans and pets, and be kept away from kids and pets. When ingested accidentally, the immunity of a human or a pet will be intoxicated, and it would be harmful, so please make sure you are cautious about this aspect.

4. Dwarf Golden False Cypress

Dwarf golden false cypress makes an excellent evergreen hedge. It is a lovely landscape evergreen shrub commonly grown across America. 

– Features

The dwarf golden plant is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more rounded form. It has a splendid texture making a great accent to your landscape, especially if you wish to have these shrubs at the edges of your house.

The foliage is golden yellow, fading to a yellow-green in summer. The leafage forms a slightly rounded mound, ideal for larger gardens and foundation plantings. 

– Growth Requirements

This shrub needs full sun to partial shade to thrive. It grows in average to moist soils, but should be kept from drying up thoroughly. It is not very particular about the type of soil you provide, but it prefers acidic soils. Not only that, but it is tolerant of urban pollution, helping it thrive even in the city. 

Likewise, it is a low-maintenance evergreen shrub. You will need to prune back the season’s new growth and remove any dead parts of the plant.

Apply a mulch around the root to protect it from cold. In addition, note that the dwarf golden plant thrives in USDA hardiness zones four through eight. It grows to about ten feet tall and ten feet wide at maturity.  

5. Arborvitae 

It is common to find arborvitae on many hedge plant lists. Some types of this plant are tall, narrow trees, while others are shrub-like and rounded. Choose the type you want to grow for your edge. 

– Features 

This upright evergreen hedge has flat, lacy, yet aromatic needle-like leaves. They range from emerald green to gold. It comes in different shapes, mounded, pyramidal, conical, rounded, or pendulous, depending on the cultivar you decide. 

– Growth Requirements

Arborvitae thrives in zones two through eight, growing to 40 feet tall for the narrow trees and three feet tall for the shrubs. Remember to provide this shrub with full sun or partial shade in well-drained soil and medium moisture. 

Water your newly planted shrubs with about an inch of water each week. Keep the soil moist but not fully saturated. As the roots become established, decrease the watering schedule. Fertilize your plants if your soil is poor. 

– Different Varieties

Arborvitae is a genus of five species but here are the most common, there is the American Arborvitae which is also known as the Thuja Occidentalis or the Eastern Arborvitae. It tolerates growing in icy areas.

There’s also the giant arborvitae or scientifically the Thuja plicata which is even known as the western red cedar. This green giant grows best in coastal climates zones five through seven. On the other hand, there’s also the Platycladus, Thujopsis, and Chamaecyparis.

– Problems

Arborvitae is not deer resistant, and it may cause different issues in your garden. To elaborate the latter, the deer love to chew on this delicacy, and unfortunately won’t grow back once devoured, because they would get weaker. If deer are an issue where you live, then you can try and grow the giant species as it grows tall, as a solution.

6. English Laurel 

English laurel, also known as cherry laurel, makes an enormously fast growing hedge. It is native to both Europe and Asia and has been cultivated since 1576, and it has been made popular since. 

– Features 

English laurel has glossy evergreen foliage that makes a lovely large hedge, and it is a key reason why you would keep it on your garden edges. Moreover, it is one of the fastest-growing evergreen trees grown in the USA. 

Its rich evergreen foliage flourishes throughout the year, and note that this shrub is a popular hedge for those who want a lush, evergreen screen, because it has properties that make it so unique, such as keeping the privacy of a place due to its wide growth.

– Growth Requirements

Cherry laurel does well in direct heat and tolerates various soil types. It is drought resistant, but will need a good amount of moisture to make it in its initial days. It tolerates coastal salt, so growing it in this region becomes easy. 

In scorching places, it prefers some shade to keep it a little cool. This shrub would grow in USDA hardiness zones six through nine and can grow up to three feet yearly.

This hedge will need pruning at least one to two times per year. Any of the ones that are not pruned, would grow up to 40 feet tall, but keeping it around 10 to 12 feet tall makes it a perfect privacy screen. It recovers quickly from shearing, making it an excellent plant for regular pruning. 

7. Virescens Western Red Cedar

The western red cedar is a fast-growing hedge suitable for warmer regions where other arborvitaes might not survive. It has a unique branching habit that responds well to hedging. It is native to the Pacific Northwest and does well anywhere that is not too hot or too cold.  

– Features

Western red cedar has bright evergreen, glossy and aromatic foliage that is scale-like. It is a shrub that’s dense, which is what makes it one of the best evergreen privacy hedges. It creates a secure, safe, and comfortable nesting for birds.

– Growth Requirements

The western red cedar grows well in USDA zones five through eight. This plant prefers full sun, maintaining its green color all year long. It grows in deep, moist, and well-drained soils.  

This plant requires little maintenance. Pruning at least once a year is essential to maintain a well-cut hedge. You will need to fertilize it with a basic tree and shrub slow-release fertilizer at least once every year in the early spring. Apply mulch in the fall to protect the roots from cold and help them preserve water and keep the soil rich. 

8. Schip Laurel

Schip laurel or skip laurels is a popular shrub for an evergreen, fast-growing hedge. It grows tall quickly, making it a tall, narrow hedge requiring pruning at least once a year to shape it. This shrub has a few more manes that you might come across that, including cherry laurel, schipka cherry laurel, schipa laurel, skip cherry laurel, and skip laurel. 

– Features

A skip laurel is an upright evergreen shrub that is goblet-shaped growing. It has dense, glossy green leaves and teeth near the apex as the leaf narrows down. These flowering hedges bloom in spring and have denser flowering racemes. The leaves are perpendicular to the stem and slightly droop. 

– Growth Requirements

Laurel does well in heat and shade. It is also cold-tolerant, taking winters with such grace. It grows fast, requiring less watering.

This plant is tolerant of alkaline soils, that are dry in texture in addition to poor soils, pollution, and will even be resilient in heavy pruning. On another note, this plant would thrive in USDA hardiness zones five through nine, growing up to two feet per year to reach 10 to 15 feet tall and five to seven feet wide.   

It is moderately tolerant to salt in the minerals, but is intolerant to a heavy load of fertilization. on the other hand, note that it has a rapid growth rate with competitive roots. This plant tolerates pruning and shade nonetheless, it needs to be watered regularly, especially in hot summers.

Water these plants weekly or more times, especially in extreme heat. Remember that they would require pruning every year, if you do it once, that would be great, this is to shape them to what you want them to look like.

9. Mountain Pepper

Mountain pepper is native to Tasmania and is a trouble-free plant that grows in mild climates.

Note that even birds are highly attracted to this tree because of its berries, and will come to eat them at times. This plant works well as a hedge plant, holding it as a focal point in your garden. Mountain pepper is also known by other names, the pepper berry and native pepper.

– Characteristic 

This large evergreen shrub has oval green leaves contrasting beautifully with the bright pink-red stems making such an attractive tree. This is a flowering hedge with cream-yellow and white flowers that bloom in the spring.

Small red berries follow the flowers, turning black as they ripen and have a sweet taste with a lingering heat. The leaves and berries are edible. 

– Growth Requirements

This plant thrives in USDA hardiness zones seven through ten, growing to 13 feet tall and eight feet wide. The best soil to grow mountain pepper is moist and well-drained, enriched with organic matter. 

It thrives in cool and warm temperate, and you can also provide this plant with full sun to partial shade while protecting it from the afternoon sun. Feed these plants early in the spring and late autumn with an organic slow-release fertilizer to keep them robust. Note that you must water them regularly and this will help to keep the soil moist.

10. Portuguese Laurel

Portuguese laurel is a gorgeous, fast-growing evergreen hedge that works best for warm, coastal areas. It grows fast and is easy to maintain due to its spreading habit.  

– Features

This hedge has the right thickness, which makes it one of the best hedges for noise-block, wind-block, and privacy. With the beautiful green foliage that it covers the edges of your garden like a fence, the shrub will grow strong and stand tall protecting your privacy.

– Growing Requirements 

Portuguese laurel would thrive in warmer climates and does well in drought, salt, and smog. It thrives in a wide variety of soils, including poor soils.

It can take full sun and partial shade with grace. It is quite simple to grow in average, moist, well-drained soils. You can propagate this plant from softwood stem cuttings.

This pretty hedge grows in USDA hardiness zones seven through nine and grows up to 20 to 30 inches tall. Pruning at least once a year is crucial as it makes this hedge very dense. With less maintenance, this plant makes excellent fast growth.  

Conclusion

This list of evergreen shrubs for hedges is comprehensive, giving you the plants’ names and growing areas and conditions.

Before you jump in and make your choice, here are a few things you should remember

• The list gives you options that can be hard to choose from, but we have made it easier for you by choosing Portuguese laurel, English laurel, and schip laurel, as they are of the same family and provide some of the finest dense hedges. 
• All these plants are easy to grow and take good pruning; don’t overdo it to enable the plant to keep growing. 
• Most of these plants are easy to grow even in poor soils, but you might have to add some organic manure or slow-release fertilizer to improve your soil. 
• Ensure you only prune when needed to avoid killing the plant or slowing its growth, but as most of them require, you must keep the soil moist but not overwatered, and provide adequate sunshine. 

Finally, remember to be patient with your growing hedge and give it several years to mature. Let us know how it’s going over there as you grow your hedge.