Garden & outdoor
How many plants do you need for a hedge?
Number of hedge plants (laurel, photinia, thuja, boxwood) for your length, with the right spacing per species.
Quick answer
Hedge spacing is a trade-off between money and patience: plant tighter and the hedge closes in 2-3 seasons, plant wider and you save 30% but wait two extra years staring at the gaps. The right distance also depends on the species — vigorous growers like cherry laurel and photinia close ranks at 70 cm apart, thuja and cypress want 60 cm, small-leaved privet 40 cm, and low boxwood borders just 30 cm.
Plants needed
23 plants
- Spacing used
- 70 cm
- Planting soil (20 L per plant)
- ~10 bags of 50 L
Count = length ÷ spacing, rounded up, plus one plant to close the row. Spacings shown give a dense hedge in 2-3 seasons; you can widen them by 20-30% to save money if you can wait longer. Plant in autumn or early spring, in a trench enriched with compost, and water weekly for the first summer.
How it works
The calculator divides your length by the spacing and adds one plant to close the row, plus an estimate of planting soil. Two things matter more than the count: buy plants all the same size (mixed sizes produce a wavy hedge that takes years to even out), and dig a continuous trench enriched with compost rather than individual holes — roots establish faster and the growth is more uniform. Water weekly through the first summer; after that, an established hedge mostly looks after itself.
Frequently asked questions
How many laurel plants do I need for 10 meters of hedge?+
At the standard 70 cm spacing, 10 metres needs 15-16 plants. With 60-80 cm pot-grown plants, expect a closed hedge in about 3 seasons; buying 125-150 cm plants roughly halves the wait but doubles the budget. Going wider than 90 cm apart with laurel leaves visible gaps for years.
What is the fastest growing hedge?+
Among the classics, cherry laurel and photinia put on 40-60 cm a year once established; leyland cypress is even faster but becomes a maintenance burden. Bamboo (clumping varieties only — running bamboo is a neighbourly disaster) gives an instant tall screen. Fast growth cuts both ways: whatever closes quickly also needs trimming twice a year forever.
When should I plant a hedge?+
Autumn is the best window in mild climates: the soil is warm, rain does the watering, and roots establish all winter for a strong spring start. Early spring is the alternative where winters are harsh. Container-grown plants technically go in year-round, but summer planting means daily watering and slower establishment — avoid it if you can.
Single or double row for a thicker hedge?+
A double staggered row (two rows 30-40 cm apart, plants offset in a zigzag) gives a noticeably denser, more opaque hedge — the classic choice for windbreaks and full privacy. It needs about 60-70% more plants than the single row the calculator computes. For most garden boundaries a single row of a dense species like laurel, trimmed regularly, is perfectly opaque within a few years.
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