Plants needed
17
Cost of plants
–
Add a price per plant to see a total.
Bark mulch
10 bags
Time to reach height
–
These are estimates to help you plan. Growth depends on your soil, light and, above all, watering in the first two summers.
How the calculator works
The number of plants comes from the length of the hedge and the gap between plants. We assume a plant at each end, so a 10 metre hedge at 60cm spacing needs 17 plants, and the same hedge at 90cm needs 12. Choose a double row and the calculator doubles that, with the second row staggered so each plant sits in the gap between two in front.
We also suggest one or two spare plants. Even in a well-prepared hedge, the odd plant fails in its first year, and it’s much easier to fill a gap with a plant from the same batch than to find a good match later.
Choosing your spacing
Most laurel hedges are planted 60 to 90cm apart in a single row. Closer planting gives you a dense hedge sooner, but you buy more plants. Wider spacing is cheaper and the hedge still fills in, it just takes a season or two longer.
As a rule, the smaller the plants, the closer they go. When you pick a plant size, the calculator fills in a sensible spacing for it, but you can change it.
| Plant size | Suggested spacing |
|---|---|
| Bare-root or small pots, 40 to 60cm | 40cm, or a double row |
| Pot-grown, 60 to 100cm | 60cm |
| Larger pot-grown, 100 to 150cm | 75cm |
| Instant hedging plants, 150cm and over | 90cm |
Single or double row?
A single row is right for most garden hedges. It’s cheaper, takes less space, and laurel bushes out well enough to fill in on its own. A double row, with the plants staggered about 40cm apart, makes a thicker hedge faster and is worth it with small bare-root plants or when you want a very wide, dense screen.
How long until it reaches height?
The timing is an estimate, and we’ve kept it on the cautious side. We assume established growth of around 35cm a year for cherry laurel, 25cm for Portuguese laurel and 15cm for bay, and we count the first year at half that, because new plants spend their first season growing roots rather than shoots.
Real growth depends on your soil, how much sun the hedge gets, and above all on watering in the first two summers. A well-fed cherry laurel in a good spot can put on 60cm in a year. One that dries out every August will do a lot less. Remember too that you’ll be trimming the hedge to make it bushy as it grows, which slows the gain in height but gives you a much better hedge.
What it will cost
Add a price per plant and the calculator gives you a total for the plants. Prices vary a lot by size and season, so check a few suppliers. As a rough guide, bare-root plants in winter are by far the cheapest way to buy, pot-grown plants cost more but can go in at almost any time of year, and instant hedging costs much more again but gives you a screen straight away.
Don’t forget delivery, which can be expensive for large or heavy plants, and the extras: compost to mix into the trench, a root grower, mulch, and a soaker hose if you don’t want to water by hand.
Mulch
The mulch figure assumes a strip about a metre wide along the hedge, covered 5cm deep. That works out at roughly 50 litres per metre of hedge. A good layer of bark keeps weeds down and holds moisture in, and a new hedge with a mulched base gets going noticeably faster. Keep it a few centimetres clear of the stems.
Before you order
- Measure the hedge line on the ground, not off a plan. Hedges round corners need a little extra.
- Allow for the final width of the hedge. Plant at least 45cm from a fence or wall, and further from a path or a neighbour’s boundary.
- Check the timing. Bare-root and rootballed laurel are only sold from about November to March. Pot-grown plants are available all year.
- Have the ground ready before the plants arrive. Bare-root plants need planting within a day or two.
When you’re ready to plant, our planting guide takes you through it step by step, and the cherry laurel, Portuguese laurel and bay laurel guides will help you choose.