Plant a hedge with these reliable shrubs to boost outdoor privacy.
Arborvitae
You will almost alwaysfind arborvitaeonpopular hedge plant lists.
This upright evergreen has flat sprays of scalelike, aromatic, yellow-green to green foliage.
Credit: Jerry Pavia
Itcan also be left unprunedto take its natural shape.
This deciduous shrub has sharp spines, making it an effective hedging plant orprivacy screen.
Its flowers are followed by hard, edible, yellowish-green fruits that aredelicious in preserves and jellies.
Credit: Bob Stefko
Its dark green leaves turn purplish-bronze in autumn.
Many varieties of holly bear red or orange berries but may require a male pollinator nearby.
Some are deciduous, and others, like Japanese holly, are evergreen.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Varieties of hydrangea differ in size, flower shape, color, and bloom time.
Knowthe best time to prune your chosen variety’s stemsto ensure the best summer blooms.
Its greenish-white flowers bloom in late spring, followed by small pink fruits.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
This sub-tropical shrub thrives with little care in California and the Deep South.
It tolerates drought, heat, wind, and air pollution.
Its glossy foliage emerges bright yellow in spring and ages to chartreuse.
Credit: Justin Hancock
Clusters of fragrant, white flowers appear in summer.
In mid fall, fragrantwhite flowersbloom along its branches.
Thislow-maintenance hedge plantgrows slowly and can be sheared into a tidy wall of green in late winter.
Credit: Denny Schrock
It can be closely sheared to create formal hedges ortopiary shapes.
In spring, it bears white flowers with the scent of orange blossoms.
Name:Pittosporumselections
Zones:7-11
Korean Lilac
One of the easiest lilacs to grow isKorean lilac.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Also known as Meyer lilac, fragrant purple flowers cover this deciduous shrub in May.
It features cheery white flowers in spring and orange-red berries in summer.
They also don’t mind regular shearing, making them popular forformal hedgesand topiary.
Credit:Carol Freeman
However, protection from deer may be necessary, especially in winter.
‘Blue Muffin’ arrowwood viburnum (shown here) is a compact variety that matures to 5 feet tall.
These deciduous shrubs also grow densely, making them excellentprivacy hedge plants.
Credit: Denny Schrock
These tough hedge plants combine many of the best attributes of other roses.
For example, shrub roses are often strongly disease-resistant and some of theeasiest roses to prune.
But even if you don’t trim these beauties every year, they’ll still bloom like crazy.
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Credit: Costas Picadas and Dlux
