Hedge Spacing Guide

Why hedge spacing varies

There is no single correct number of hedge plants per metre. RHS guidance says planting distance within a row varies with the plants' final size, the hedge size required and plant vigour. The same organisation publishes different suggested spacing codes for different hedging species. Specialist nurseries also vary recommendations by stock size and whether the hedge is intended as a narrow garden boundary, a dense native hedge or a broader double row.

That means the first job is not to choose a number from an online calculator. It is to identify the spacing attached to the plants you intend to buy.

Bare-root, container-grown and plant size

Stock form and size affect how a hedge is sold and established, and nursery planting recommendations can reflect those differences. Smaller bare-root whips are often sold for comparatively dense native hedge planting, while larger rootballed or container-grown shrubs may be planted at wider centres. The exact figure still depends on species and supplier, so use stock-specific guidance rather than a generic “bare root = X cm” rule.

Single row vs staggered double row

A double row should not be created by taking any single-row recommendation and automatically doubling it. Use the double-row specification for the plants and purpose. Woodland Trust native-hedge guidance, for example, gives a denser zig-zag arrangement than its single-row example.

Examples from current UK guidance

The point of these examples is to show the range — not to create a universal preset.

Always follow the current recommendation for the plant stock and hedge you are actually purchasing.

How to measure a hedge run

1. Measure along the centreline where the hedge plants will sit.
2. Stop at gates, driveways and deliberate openings.
3. Record each separate run rather than adding the gaps into the planting length.
4. At a corner, decide whether the planting is genuinely continuous or whether each side should be treated as a separate run.
5. Enter the runs separately in the Hedge Plant Calculator.

Separate runs matter because each one has its own start and end. A 6 m run plus a 4 m run is not always identical to one continuous 10 m run when endpoint placement is being counted.

Plants per metre and spacing are two ways of saying the same thing

A spacing of 50 cm corresponds to a linear density of about 2 planting positions per metre in a long single row. A spacing of roughly 33 cm is around 3 positions per metre. In real hedge runs, whole-plant rounding and endpoint handling can make the final number differ by one or more plants.

Endpoints, corners and gates

If you insist on a plant at both exact ends of a straight run, there is one more plant than there are spacing intervals. If the first and last plants are inset from the endpoints, a density-based count may be more suitable. Neither convention is automatically correct; it depends on how the hedge meets a wall, gatepost, path, corner or open ground.

For a staggered double row, the second row is offset. It may therefore have different end gaps even when the number of plants along the row is similar. This is why a visual layout check before planting is worthwhile.

Double-row gap is not the same as in-row spacing

The in-row spacing is the distance from one plant centre to the next along a row. The row gap is the distance between the two parallel planting lines. Published double-row recommendations specify these dimensions separately. Do not substitute one for the other.

Common hedge-spacing mistakes

1. Using a generic plants-per-metre number instead of the recommendation for the actual hedge stock.
2. Forgetting to remove gate, driveway or access gaps from the planting run.
3. Treating a double row as a simple “×2” without checking its specified in-row spacing and row gap.
4. Ignoring endpoint convention and then discovering the physical layout is one plant short.
5. Mixing recommendations from different species or stock sizes and presenting the average as a rule.