Hedge spacing by species
Typical on-center hedge spacing, aggregated from multiple nursery and extension sources. Tap a row to load its mid-range spacing into the calculator. Tighter ends of each range give a solid hedge sooner; the wider end saves plants and suits informal hedges:
| Species | Hedge spacing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Boxwood | 1–3 ft | 1–1.5 ft for low formal edging, 2–3 ft for taller hedges |
| Privet | 1.5–4 ft | Fast; tighter spacing for a quick dense screen |
| Yew | 1.5–2.5 ft | Slow but the classic formal hedge; very shade-tolerant |
| Cherry laurel | 2–3 ft | Big glossy leaves; vigorous, wants room |
| Portuguese laurel | 2–3 ft | Tidier and darker than cherry laurel |
| Skip laurel | 2–4 ft | Narrower upright laurel; popular privacy choice |
| Arborvitae | 2–4 ft | Narrow upright forms 2–3 ft; broader forms 3–4+ ft |
| Holly | 2–4 ft | Dense, spiny, bird-friendly security hedge |
| Viburnum | 3–6 ft | Informal flowering hedges; varies a lot by species |
| Wax myrtle | 3–6 ft | Fast native screen in the Southeast US |
| Lavender | 1–1.5 ft | Low aromatic edging hedge; full sun, sharp drainage |
| Azalea | 2–4 ft | Informal flowering hedge; size varies widely by type |
| Hydrangea | 3–6 ft | Loose flowering hedge, not a formal clipped one |
| Beech | 1–2 ft | Classic clipped hedge; holds copper winter leaves |
| Hornbeam | 1–2 ft | Like beech but happier on heavy, wet soils |
| Photinia | 2.5–4 ft | Red new growth; clip after each flush |
| Juniper | 2–6 ft | Huge size range — match spacing to the cultivar's spread |
Ranges are for hedging (deliberately closer than specimen planting). Specimen spacing is typically the full mature spread.
The spacing rule: half to two-thirds of mature spread
For a hedge to knit into a solid wall, plants must be closer than they would grow as individuals. The standard rule across nursery guidance: space at one-half to two-thirds of the plant’s mature spread. A shrub that matures 6 ft wide is hedged at 3–4 ft on center. Closer fills in faster but costs more and increases disease pressure in humid climates; wider is cheaper but can leave permanent gaps if the plants never quite meet. When in doubt between two spacings, the practical tiebreaker is patience: tight if you want the screen in 2–3 seasons, wide if you can wait 5.
Single row vs staggered double row
A staggered double row — two parallel rows with the plants offset so each plant in the back row faces a gap in the front — produces a thicker, denser screen and reaches “solid” sooner, at roughly double the plant count. The calculator spaces the second row at the same on-center spacing and staggers it by half a spacing; rows are typically set 1–2 ft apart for shrubs (about 40–60% of the in-row spacing works as a default). Double rows are the norm for rural mixed hedges, windbreaks and anywhere the hedge must block wind or sightlines from day one.
Trees per acre
For field, orchard or plantation planting, the per-acre count comes from dividing the acre by the area each tree occupies:
trees per acre (square grid) = 43,560 ÷ (row spacing × in-row spacing, in feet)
At 10 × 10 ft, that is 435 trees per acre; at 8 × 12 ft, 453. A triangular (quincunx) grid packs about 15.5% more trees into the same area — multiply the square-grid figure by 1.155 — because each row nests into the gaps of its neighbour. The module below runs both live:
Windbreak spacing
Windbreaks trade density for filtration — a semi-permeable barrier slows wind over a longer distance than a solid wall, which just creates turbulence behind it. Typical multi-row windbreak practice: an outer row of dense shrubs at 3–6 ft, a middle row of fast conifers or tall shrubs at 6–10 ft, and an inner row of tall trees at 10–16 ft, with 12–20 ft between rows so each row keeps its lower branches. A windbreak protects a downwind zone of roughly 10× its mature height — a 30 ft windbreak meaningfully calms 300 ft of field. Run each row through the main calculator separately and sum the counts.
Privacy screen spacing
A privacy screen is a hedge optimized for one job: blocking a sightline at a particular height, fast. Three practical adjustments versus an ordinary hedge: lean to the tight end of the species range (you are buying time, not plants); prefer a staggered double row if the screen must work from year one; and check the sightline geometry before choosing height — a screen near the viewer blocks more than a tall one far away. Upright narrow evergreens (arborvitae, skip laurel, yew) dominate this use because they screen at 2–3 ft spacing without growing 10 ft deep into the garden.
Formal vs informal hedges
Formal (clipped) hedges go at the tight end of every range — the repeated trimming keeps individual plants small, so close planting never crowds, and tight spacing is what makes the unbroken clipped face possible. Beech, hornbeam, yew and boxwood at 1–2 ft are the archetypes. Informal hedges (flowering or mixed, pruned lightly) go at the wide end, near two-thirds of mature spread, so each plant can express its natural shape and still touch its neighbours. Mixing the two logics — informal species at formal spacing — is the classic overcrowded-hedge mistake.