11 Unconventional Hedge Ideas for Your Landscape

Why make a hedge? Maybe you’d like to split your property from a neighbor’s, or you’d like to add formal structure to your garden. Hedges are excellent for dividing, lining, and designing. They have a range of uses:

Your needs will dictate which hedge is best for you and your garden. Evergreen species work well for creating privacy and security, while deciduous ones offer attractive flowers and fruits. 

Maintenance is another consideration—you’ll want to use low-maintenance shrubs if you dislike pruning or lack the time to trim them consistently. You can also grow a loosely shaped hedge instead of a tight, formal one. 

Start with one of these 11 winning hedge plants. They’ll surprise you with flowers, fruits, and interesting leaf shapes. Although they’re unconventional, they’re superb in the home garden! 

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American Holly

	botanical name Ilex opaca
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 40-60’
	hardiness zones 5-9

American holly is an evergreen, native species that works well as a tight or loosely trimmed hedge. It has spiny leaves, red berries, and white flowers. Because this is a U.S. native species, it helps a range of wild creatures! 

American holly blooms feed pollinators, and the fruits feed birds, squirrels, and other small mammals. You’ll create year-round privacy and aid the local environment when you grow a native holly hedge.

Shear your holly in the spring after it blooms to maintain a tight shape. This species reaches epic proportions, and it may grow to 60 feet tall. It’s perfect for large yards with plenty of open space. Use it to divide up the garden or to add privacy to an open yard. 

Beach Rose

	botanical name Rosa rugosa
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 4-6’
	hardiness zones 2-7

Beach roses are rugged, hardy, and tough! Their sharp thorns prevent unruly critters from entering the site. While their thorns are unruly, their blooms are absolutely delightful. They’re pleasing to the eye and have lovely aromas. 

Unlike most other roses, beach types tolerate shearing after they bloom. Chop them severely for a tight shape or loosely for an open one. 

The beach rose species Rosa rugosa tends to be invasive in eastern parts of the U.S. Consider using a variety or cultivar of the species that is less invasive, like Robusta or Rotes Meer.

Crab Apple

	botanical name Malus spp.
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 14-44’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Believe it or not, you can use flowering crab apples in hedges! These decorative trees stay shorter in maturity than American hollies, making them perfect for tighter spaces. You’ll have pink-white blooms in spring, tiny apples in summer, and woody stems in the winter. 

Crab apples don’t take kindly to shearing; instead, prune overgrown and crossing branches to maintain the shape you desire. Create a round hedge, or let the trees grow tall for a living barrier. 

Crab apples need chilly temperatures in the winter to bloom and fruit properly. They’re perfect for cold gardens in temperate zones. 

Escallonia Pink Princess 

	botanical name Escallonia x exoniensis ‘Fradesii’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5-6’
	hardiness zones 7-9

Pink Princess escallonia, or ‘Fradesii,’ is an evergreen species for mild climates. In spring, dozens of pink bloom clusters emerge from its stem tips. Let them open and flower, then shear your plants to maintain the hedge’s shape. 

Tolerant of salt spray and humidity, Pink Princess works well in coastal gardens where other shrubs struggle. Plant many en masse on the border of your property, and shear them regularly to keep them tidy and compact. 

You can also choose to have a few plants spaced out in different shapes. Make round balls, square blocks, or thin pencils. 

Forsythia

	botanical name Forsythia spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-10’
	hardiness zones 5-8

Forsythias fill spring gardens with bright yellow blooms. Their flowers emerge before most other shrubs, offering early color in dreary winter landscapes. They open along the naked stems and make a spectacular show.

Like with crab apples, you’ll use pruning cuts to manage forsythias instead of shearing them. Prune the branches hard after the yellow blooms fade. Avoid making cuts from summer through winter, as the shrubs are growing their flower buds for next year.

Forsythias tend to stay under 10 feet, making them ideal for short spaces where other shrubs fail. ‘Lynwood Gold’ is an exceptional variety that grows upright, while ‘Karl Sax’ is a shorter cultivar for small spaces. 

Lilly-Pilly Tree

	botanical name Syzygium smithii
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 10-25’
	hardiness zones 8-11

Lilly-pilly tree hails from Australia! It’s uncommon in the U.S., though it shouldn’t be. It features white flowers and pink, edible berries in the winter. It’s not frost-hardy, making it an ideal hedge option for gardeners in mild climates. 

Avoid shearing these trees to ensure they grow plenty of blooms and berries. Instead of shearing, prune the rank growth as it appears throughout the year. Lilly-pilly trees can reach upwards of 20 feet tall if you let them. Keep them shorter with habitual pruning. 

Mexican Orange

	botanical name Choisya ternata
	sun requirements Full sun to full shade
	height 5-8’
	hardiness zones 7-10

Mexican orange is a flowering shrub with blossoms that smell like citrus flowers. It’s native to Mexico and parts of the southern U.S., although it survives in regions with mild winter frosts. It’ll lose its leaves after harsh frosts and sprout new ones when the weather warms. It’s evergreen in mild climates.

You may shear Mexican orange plants to maintain their shape. Prune them after they bloom in spring. A prompt post-bloom pruning can promote a second round of flowers!

If you live in a cold region, you may grow Mexican orange plants in pots and move them indoors over the winter. They’ll grow well in sunrooms, greenhouses, and similarly bright locations. 

Wild Mockorange

	botanical name Philadelphus lewisii
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5-10’
	hardiness zones 4-8

Wild mockorange is another native shrub that works well as a hedge! It’ll feed local pollinators and fill your spring garden with incredible aromas. Its white blooms smell like orange flowers, similar to Mexican orange plants. 

This native shrub works well in informal hedges with irregular edges. Prune the overgrown stems after their flowers open. Avoid pruning them late in the growing season so you don’t chop off next year’s blooms. 

Many species of mockorange are native to the U.S., and a few non-native species work well in hedges. Consider trying a species or variety that performs well in your region.

Osage Orange

	botanical name Maclura pomifera
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 25-70’
	hardiness zones 4-9

This thorny specimen isn’t for the faint of heart! Osage orange fruits are inedible and have toxic sap despite their resemblance to oranges. The stems have impressive spikes that prevent unwanted animals or trespassers from entering the garden.

Originating from the central states of the country, this plant grows well in large swaths outside of its native range. It doesn’t need much to thrive in a hedge, and it grows well in poor soils and hot sites. 

Osage orange tolerates harsh pruning. Keep it as short, wide, or tall as you’d like it to be.

Portuguese Laurel

	botanical name Prunus lusitanica
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10-20’
	hardiness zones 7-9

This laurel is my favorite kind! It has the most attractive features of the laurels. The Portuguese laurel sprouts white, cherry-like blooms in spring, and they turn into dangling bunches of small, black fruits. The trees are also evergreen, meaning they’ll provide year-round protection and privacy.

Portuguese laurels are versatile. They’ll turn into small trees, and they’ll work well as small or medium hedges. Prune them as often as necessary to keep them at a reasonable height and width. Use shears or pruners to cut them. 

These laurels will grow woody and thick if you let them. They’ll need consistent pruning to stay in a hedge shape. Let your ideas run wild—you can shape laurels into balls, squares, and sculptures! 

Rose of Sharon

	botanical name Hibiscus syriacus
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 8-12’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Rose of Sharon is a hibiscus for cold regions! It’s a deciduous hibiscus with gray, woody stems. They’ll form a tall, rounded shrub without pruning, though habitual cuts can create smaller, tighter hedges. Use pruners to cut the thick branches.