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Everything You Need to Know About Griselinia Littoralis Hedges

Griselinia littoralis is a shrub that is good for hedging in the UK and other parts of the world. Despite being less common than Laurel or Leylandii, its popularity is rapidly increasing due to its appealing apple-green leaves, reliable growth, and unique character.

Top facts about Griselinia littoralis:

Griselinia has “Granny Smith apple-green” leaves

Its common name is New Zealand Privet

Griselinia is evergreen, so they keep their leaves all year round

In the wild they grow up to 6 metres (20 feet high) but can easily be trimmed to stay smaller when used for hedging

They are good habitat for wildlife with small, white flowers and blue-black berries

Griselinia hedges are fast-growing and can grow between 50-60cm per year

They are one of the best options for coastal gardens

They are also popular as stand-alone ornamental shrubs or small evergreen trees

Griselinia littoralis hedges are easy to grow and low-maintenance, thriving in most soils except those prone to prolonged winter waterlogging. We have a very heavy clay soil in one area of our nursery, and even there, our Griselinia littoralis hedge is flourishing.

Griselinia will grow well in most areas of the UK. They will tolerate temperatures down to around -130C and grow in full sun or partial shade. If you have a heavily shaded area, you should consider Laurel or Portugal Laurel instead.

A Griselinia littoralis hedge is well-adapted for coastal areas because their glossy leaves can tolerate windy salt spray from the sea better than most other evergreen hedging plants. Because of this salt tolerance, Griselinia littoralis are also good for planting near roads that are gritted in the winter.

Griselinia is an excellent option if you want a hedge for privacy but you do not want conifers.  Its mass of small leaves creates a solid screen, effectively blocking unwanted views and filtering air pollution from nearby roads.

How many Griselinia hedging plants do I need to form a hedge?

Measure the distance where your Griselinia littoralis hedge is going to be and divide the distance by your preferred spacing. We generally recommend spacing to be somewhere between 60cm and 100 cm apart (2-3 feet). This is measured from the centre of one plant to the centre of the next plant in the row. If spaced 60cm apart you will get a screen more quickly than if they were further apart. For example, if the total distance was 12 metres and you want them 60cm apart, you will need twenty plants. Alternatively, just measure the distance you would like to hedge and use our Hedge Spacing Calculator to help calculate how many plants you need.

What size Griselinia hedging plants do I need?

The question to ask is: Do you want a mature instant impact hedge, or are you happy to wait a few years for smaller plants to grow into a screen? Griselinia grows up to 50 to 60cm per year if they are planted well and kept watered. This means, if you don’t mind waiting, you can start with less expensive, smaller plants about 1.2 metres (4ft) high and within two years they will have grown to around 1.8 – 2 metres (6-7 feet), which is high enough to give you privacy in most situations. But if you don’t want to wait that long, you can start immediately with 1.8 metre (6 feet) plants or our Griselinia littoralis instant hedging troughs.

These are rectangular 1-metre-long containers with Griselinia hedging plants planted in a row. They have been trimmed and given time to grow into each other to create an instant screen. Simply position these troughs next to each other in a line (one per metre), and there you have your hedge!

What is the best time of year to plant Griselinia?

Griselinia littoralis hedging plants can be planted at any time of the year. The optimum time to plant a Griselinia hedge is during the autumn, winter or early spring, or anytime from October to March, as long as the ground is not frozen. You can plant Griselinia littoralis in the summer, as they are all pot-grown, just remember to keep them watered.  Griselinia hedges planted in late autumn or winter need less watering the following spring and summer as they will have established more of a root system in the soil and will be able to pick up more water from the soil.

How do I prune or trim and maintain a Griselinia hedge?

You must keep your Griselinia hedge sufficiently watered during the first year or two. In practice, this means maintaining constantly moist, but not soaking, soil around the hedge. This becomes especially crucial during dry spells.

During the initial growth period of your newly planted Griselinia littoralis hedge, you can encourage it to bush out as it grows upwards. You achieve this by regularly trimming it lightly. This repeated trimming prompts the hedge to grow side shoots, which fill it in more quickly. Once the hedge reaches your desired size, you then trim it annually.

Early summer is the best time to trim a Griselinia hedge, but make sure there are no birds nesting in it. Trim them back to your desired size, and they will have enough time to put on some re-growth to cover up the cut leaves before winter.

Does a Griselinia littoralis hedge flower?

Problems with a Griselinia littoralis hedge

Griselinia is generally trouble-free and very rarely suffers from pests and diseases, especially once planted out in the garden.

Griselinia littoralis tolerates cold (down to approximately -13°C), but it grows new shoots early in the year. A hard frost can occasionally blacken these fresh, new leaves. These blackened shoots then fall off, and the plant grows new ones, so this usually isn’t a cause for concern. In fact, this frost can act as an extra pruning, prompting the hedge to produce more shoots and resulting in a bushier hedge over time

Griselinia littoralis resists Honey Fungus, a soil-borne fungus that kills the roots of many plants, according to trials conducted by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society). If Honey Fungus (Armillaria) infects your soil, this makes Griselinia littoralis a good hedging option.

Is Griselinia poisonous?

Griselinia is generally considered non-toxic to humans, pets, and livestock.

Alternatives to a Griselinia littoralis hedge

A Cherry laurel hedge makes an excellent alternative to Griselinia littoralis. They look similar at first glance, but Cherry laurel has bigger, glossier leaves. It also is better in shady areas and is slightly faster growing.  Cherry Laurel is often referred to as Laurel, Common Laurel, English Laurel or Prunus laurocerasus Rotundifolia.

One more alternative is Green Privet. Unlike Griselinia, Cherry Laurel or Portugal laurel which are true evergreens, Privet hedges are semi-evergreen, meaning they will retain some of their leaves in winter, but if it gets really cold or they are in an exposed location, they are likely to shed all their leaves in response.  It has smaller mid-green leaves.  Privet is also known as Ligustrum ovalifolium.

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🌿 Transform Your Garden with Beautiful Laurel Hedges! 🌿

Looking for a lush, evergreen privacy screen? Laurel hedges are the perfect choice! With their dense foliage and fast growth, they provide year-round beauty while enhancing security and reducing noise.

✔ Fast-growing & low maintenance ✔ Ideal for privacy & wind protection ✔ Thrives in various soil conditions

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When is the Best Time to Plant a Leylandii Hedge?

You can plant a Leylandii hedge at any time of year, but there are advantages and disadvantages of planting a various times of year. We recommend planting British, pot-grown Leylandii that are acclimatised to the UK climate and can be planted at any time of year. You can buy Leylandii rootballed, meaning they are dug straight from the soil with a ball of soil around their roots. This should only be done between November and March and, with Laurel or Portuguese Laurel this is fine but with Leylandii it is more risky, with survival rates of rootballed Leylandii not as good as pot-grown Leylandii plants.

Planting a Leylandii hedge in the autumn (September to November)

The autumn is one of the best times to plant a Leylandii hedge. There are several factors that you should consider such as how wet or dry the soil is and how warm the soil is. If you plant when the soil wets up for the winter, you will not have to water your Leylandii until spring, and maybe not even in the spring, unless you get a long spell of dry weather. Soils normally stay wet enough to mean you don’t have to water by the beginning of November but this can be as early as September depending on the year.

The earlier you plant in the autumn, the warmer the soil is, so your Leylandii will start to root into the soil. The later you leave it, the less of a chance of the soil drying out and the plants needing to be watered.

Leylandii will root into the soil during mild spells in the winter and spring as well so if they are planted well, they should get a good root system into the ground before they start to grow quickly in the spring. The longer you give your hedging plants to form a root system, the less watering you will have to do in the spring.

In summary, autumn is a great time to plant as the soil is still warm and gives your hedging plants lots of time to develop a root system in the soil so they will not need much, if any, watering the following year (although watering them the following year may result in faster growth).

Planting a Leylandii hedge in the winter (November to February)

Winter is still a good time to plant Leylandii. As long as the soil is not frozen solid and you can get a spade in the ground, you can plant your hedge. The frost will not affect the roots of the plants when they are in the ground, so it is better to get them planted than leave them in their pots if you can – although Leylandii are very hardy soil so will also survive in their pots in UK winters.

As with autumn planting, if they are planted well, they will form a root system over mild spells in the winter. Leylandii will not put on top growth in the winter but underground, the plants will start to root into the soil.

To plant them well, make sure you dig a hole at least one and a half to twice the diameter of the pot that the plants come in and to the depth of the pot (plus maybe a centimetre or two). Break up the soil in the bottom of the hole so water or rainfall can drain from the hole and so the soil is not compacted. If the soil is compacted, the roots of the hedging plants will struggle to get into the soil and this will affect whether the plants can take up enough water and nutrients to survive, so making extra effort when you plant is very important.

Leylandii hedging planted in the winter will form a good root system during the mild spells and throughout the spring before the soil dries out, ensuring quick growth in the spring and summer.

In summary, winter is a really good time to plant as it allows your Leylandii to root into the soil ready for spring growth.

Planting a hedge in the spring (March to May)

The advantage of planting Leylandii hedge in the spring is that they will start to grow quickly straight after planting if they are planted well (see above). As temperatures rise, you will see your Leylandii hedging plants putting on new growth, even in mild spells in March, and they will continue to grow throughout the summer and autumn. As a result, you should see your plants putting on height and bushing out to fill any gaps between the plants over the seasons.

If you plant in the spring, you will need to water your plants regularly. Leylandii hedging need water to put on quick growth and to survive during dry spells. You should not let the roots of your hedging plants dry out during the spring, summer and autumn or the plants may struggle to survive. They will take time to establish a  root system in the soil so they need watering until the soil wets up for the winter which is usually the end of October.

In summary, spring is a fantastic time to plant a hedge as you will see fast growth of your hedge but you need to keep your plants watered until the autumn.

Planting a Leylandii hedge in summer

You can plant a Leylandii hedge in summer as long as you are prepared to keep the plants watered.

The advantage of planting in the summer is that the plants still have time to get some additional growth on the plants throughout the summer and autumn rather than waiting and planting bigger, so more expensive plants, in the autumn. Water the plants well after planting and continue to monitor their water needs during the establishment period, probably until the soil wets up again in October or November.

If the soil is dry, it is worth watering it a few times to wet it up before planting. Water the soil and allow it to soak in before watering it again. This will also make it a lot easier to get a spade in the ground.

In summary, summer is a good time to plant if you want to plant a hedge and create privacy in your garden in the summer months. You will get some additional growth on your hedge straight away but you will need to keep your plants well-watered.

To help your Leylandii hedge grow quickly, always remember to break up the soil when planting, feed with 12 month controlled-release feed and keep a close eye on their water needs during their establishment period.

I hope this information helps you choose the perfect time to plant your Leylandii hedge. Click here to see our prices, sizes and availability on Leylandii Hedging