Evergreen hedges are an excellent way to demarcate boundaries, and they give the garden a beautiful appeal even in the dry, summer season, with some very vibrant flowers and leaves.
Types of Evergreen HedgesA hedge is grown in lines and in closed spaces to form boundaries, or even put to separate different landscape designs within the same garden. In simple words, a hedge is an overgrown shrub that is trained well. Evergreen hedges score over seasonal or annual hedges in many aspects.
They are easier to grow and train, require less frequent watering and manuring, and just one or two pruning annually to keep them in shape and prevent them from forming gaps. Once established and grown to a desirable height, they are easy to maintain.
Types of Trees Evergreen Hedges
There are many types of evergreen hedges available for one to choose from. As most of these hedges are evergreen, and not seasonal, planning about its growth location needs to be chalked out carefully. Shifting the location of the hedge hampers their establishment and growth. The following are a few types of evergreen hedges.
1. Wintergreen Boxwood
Wintergreen boxwood is a compact hedge, with small dark and glossy green leaves. They are low maintenance and require very little pruning. They are mostly favored by many gardeners as they can be easily pruned to acquire different shapes. They prefer full sunlight and don’t do well in shade. The Korean wintergreen boxwood variety has broad leaves with medium-green to dark-green foliage. They can easily be grown in shade.
2. Golden Darunta
This evergreen shrub has golden yellow color leaves in summers and monsoons, and they turn green for the rest of the year. They have originated from Asia, and are very popular as they are no-fuss shrubs. They can easily be propagated from cuttings during the rainy season. During the monsoon, small white flowers bloom on them, adding to their beauty. Their matured branches have thorns, so one needs to be careful while pruning them. They can grow in any type of soil and need frequent watering.
3. Evergreen Shrub Mountain Laurel
This is a flowering evergreen shrub that can achieve a height of almost 9 meters, once established. The leaves are elongated and glossy green in color. It is a very dense shrub. The flowers are star-shaped and have colors that range from red to pink to white, always blooming in clusters. They prefer partial shade to full shade for the flowers to bloom. They grow well in moist but well-drained soil
4. Holly Shrubs
Holly shrubs are very decorative, rich in foliage that bear vivid red, blue, or white color fruits. They are slow growers and do very well in fertile loam and a humid atmosphere. Although it’s evergreen, it sheds its leaves during the winter, to put up a display of brilliant red, blue, or white berries. Holly shrubs require careful but less frequent pruning.
5. Bougainvillea
These woody climbers have the most beautiful display of blooms during their flowering season. Their only requirement is that they need support to grow. They are easy to grow, and pest-free, but require regular pruning. The leaves and flowers can be small or large depending on their variety. The vines have very sharp thorns and are tipped with a milky white substance.
Read More: Best 07 Fast Growing Trees That You Can be Growing For Privacy
6. Firethorn Evergreen Shrub
Firethorn is an evergreen shrub that belongs to the rose family. Its leaves are small and oval-shaped, mostly notched at the margins, and the shrub is full of thorns. It can grow up to nearly six meters in height. It bears white flowers in late spring and produces red, orange, or yellow pomes in early summer. They make a spectacular view, with clusters of small white flowers followed by orange, yellow, or reddish fruits that cling to the stems.
Before planting an evergreen hedge, choose one whose height would match your needs. Evergreen hedges enclose and exclude most effectively while adding aesthetic value to the landscape.
