Bare root
November to March
Lifted while dormant with no soil around the roots. The cheapest way to plant a long hedge, and it establishes well — but the window is short and it must go in while the plant is asleep.
Before you buy
Planting advice
The right plant, in the right place, at the right time of year. Here is what we would tell you on the phone.
When to plant what
The type of root a plant comes with decides when it can go in the ground.
Root-balled
October to March
Lifted with a ball of soil wrapped in hessian and mesh. How most instant hedging and larger specimens move. Reserve early — it is lifted to order once the season opens.
Pot grown
Any time of year
Grown in a container, so the roots are undisturbed and it can go in whenever suits you. Water it properly through its first summer and it will not look back.
Autumn and winter are the best time to plant
The ground is still warm, the plant is dormant and the rain does the watering. A hedge planted in November is away before a hedge planted in May has settled.
See what is ready →
Choosing the right plant
How much sun does the spot get?
Yew, holly and laurel are content in shade. Bay and olive want the sun. If you are not sure, send us a photo of the spot and roughly which way it faces.
How tall do you actually need it?
Buy close to your finished height for screening, and a little under it for a hedge you want to thicken. Our heights are measured honestly — where a height is above the pot, the listing says so.
How quickly do you want it to fill?
Instant hedging gives you a finished line the day it goes in. Bare root gives you the same hedge for a fraction of the price, three or four years later.
Box, blight and the box tree moth
Box has had a hard decade. Box blight thrives in wet, still conditions, and the box tree caterpillar can strip a plant. The RHS advises that the safest route, where you can, is to choose an alternative.
We still supply box, because clipped box is unmatched and plenty of gardens grow it perfectly well. But if yours is a damp, enclosed spot, or you have lost box before, ask us about:
- Yew (Taxus baccata) — the classic substitute for shape and density, and happy in shade.
- Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) — the closest look to box, though it wants a moist, acidic soil to do well.
- Euonymus and Lonicera nitida — quicker, cheaper and forgiving for low hedging.
Tell us what happened to the last one and we will tell you honestly what we would put there.
After it arrives
- Get it in the ground, or keep it watered. If it has to wait, stand it somewhere sheltered and keep the rootball damp — never let it dry out.
- Plant it at the depth it was grown. The top of the rootball sits level with the soil, not below it.
- Leave the mesh on a root-balled plant. Cut the top ties away once it is in the hole; the hessian and mesh rot down and hold the ball together meanwhile.
- Water deeply, not often. A proper soak once or twice a week beats a daily splash, right through the first growing season.
- Clip little and often. Formal shapes hold their outline best with a light trim in early summer and another before autumn.