Eleagnus (Pot Grown)

Elaeagnus x ebbingei is the hedge we point people towards when their site fights back — seafront gardens, windy corners, thin or hungry soils, roadside plots. Its leathery evergreen leaves take salt spray and exposure that scorch most other hedging, and the silvery undersides give the hedge a soft shimmer in any breeze. In October and November it produces small, easily-missed cream flowers with a remarkable perfume — you’ll smell the hedge before you see the flowers, right when the rest of the garden has gone quiet.

WHICH SIZE SHOULD I CHOOSE?

Elaeagnus establishes quickly at any size, so the choice is simply budget against head start. Smaller plants cost far less per metre and put on 30–60cm a year once their roots are down; larger sizes give useful screening from the first season. Whichever you choose, plant 3 per metre for a hedge that knits together within two to three seasons — or 2 per metre with larger plants if you can wait a little longer.

All heights are measured from the top of the pot to the top of the plant.

GROWING CONDITIONS

Full sun or partial shade, and any reasonable soil that isn’t waterlogged — Elaeagnus genuinely isn’t fussy, and actively tolerates drought, salt and wind once established. Trim once a year in late spring or late summer; it responds well to harder pruning if a hedge ever needs bringing back under control. One quirk worth knowing: Elaeagnus occasionally loses an individual branch to sudden dieback. It looks alarming but rarely threatens the plant — cut the affected branch back to healthy wood and the hedge fills the gap.

PLANTING & AFTERCARE

Dig a trench or individual holes roughly twice the width of the rootball and the same depth. Break up the base, work in a good handful of bone meal per plant, and set each plant so the top of the rootball sits level with the surrounding soil. Backfill, firm in well, and water thoroughly. Water deeply once or twice a week through the first spring and summer, feed each spring, and trim slightly narrower at the top than the base so the hedge stays leafy to the ground.

GROWN AT NEWGATE

These plants were grown on at our nursery in Whitestake, Lancashire, hardened off outdoors in North West weather — if a plant can handle a Lancashire winter on our beds, it’ll handle your garden. Order online for UK-wide delivery quoted at checkout, or click and collect seven days a week.