Native Thornless Hedge Plants

• Variety: Native Thornless Hedge Mix, five species and not a thorn among them
• Sold as: Bareroot, in packs of 50 plants, 60/80cm tall
• In the pack: Five thornless native species, ten plants of each, chosen by us
• Plants per metre: 3 in a single row, 6 in a staggered double row
• One pack plants: 16m of single row, or 8m of double row
• Type: Deciduous
• UK native: Every plant in the pack
• Thorny: No
• Small-child friendly: Yes
• Good for: Gardens, footpaths and rights of way, school boundaries
• Countryside Stewardship: Meets BN11, planted six per metre in a staggered double row
• Similar packs: Stock-friendly mix (thorny, for horses and cattle), conservation mix
• Plant: November to April, while the plants are dormant
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

The Native Thornless Hedge Mix is a small-child friendly, bareroot pack of 50 native hedge plants, 60/80cm tall: five thornless species, ten of each. One pack plants 16m of single row or 8m of staggered double row, and the mix meets the BN11 grant rules.

Native Thornless Hedge Plants

This mixed hedge pack is a bundle of 50 thornless, native plants that are safe to plant around young children or along public footpaths and rights of way. You can order the same plants individually from their respective pages, but you will save money on the same size plants by buying the hedge pack.
We will choose the plants that go into the hedge mix from the following list, occasionally the pack may change between the time of ordering and the time of despatch.

We regret that we cannot accept requests for specific plants to be used in your pack. If you want to be certain of having a particular plant in your hedge mix, please order it separately.

The mix is made up of 20% of each of five varieties. Plants aren't restricted to those listed but are usually chosen from:

Plants in the Thornless Mix

• Field maple
• Hazel
• Dogwood
• Spindle
• Guelder rose (which is actually a Viburnum)
• Crab Apple

These plants are all thorn-free and mostly non-toxic; Spindle berries aren't edible, but they taste too bitter to chew or swallow.
This mix of rugged, native plants is great for biodiversity, providing plenty of food for birds, small animals and butterfly caterpillars.
If you want a thorny, secure hedge that is safe for large farm animals and horses, have a look at our Stock friendly hedge mix.

Thornless hedge packs are only delivered bareroot, during winter (November to April).
The plants in this pack will be 60-80cm tall when we deliver them. All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

See our selection of discounted hedging packs or view our full range of hedging plants.

Please note: when you receive our mixed hedging packs, they'll not be already mixed and will be bunched by plant species. Please remember to mix them for best results.

Spacing a Thornless Hedge

You can plant thornless hedging in a single row at 3 plants per metre, 33cm apart, for a normal garden boundary.

However, to qualify for the BN11: Planting New Hedges Grant, and/or for a stockproof hedge, you must plant at 6 plants per metre in a staggered double row, with 33cm between each plant along the row and 40cm between the rows.

Each pack of 50 plants will make 16 metres of single row hedge and 8 metres of double row hedge.

Planting Companions

To thicken the mix or gap it up later, stay thornless. Wayfaring Tree is a native viburnum, cousin to the guelder rose in the pack, and Hornbeam has no thorns, is not toxic, and keeps its brown leaves through winter when clipped. Native bluebells do well at the foot. Dust the roots with Rootgrow and read how to plant a bareroot mixed native hedge. Trees for the hedge line are under native British trees.

Why Buy Hedging from Ashridge

Hedging is not a sideline here: yours is grown for us from the outset by growers whose whole business is hedging, then lifted to order. Ashridge Nurseries holds the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award, and bareroot plants are guaranteed for 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which native hedge plants have no thorns?

Every plant on the list above: field maple, hazel, dogwood, spindle, guelder rose and crab apple. Wild crab apple has short fruiting spurs, not spines. Hornbeam is thornless too.

Is a thornless hedge stock proof?

Not against cattle or sheep that mean it: thorns are what turn stock. For a garden, a footpath or a school boundary it is ample. Around farm animals, plant the stock-friendly mix.

How many metres of hedge does one thornless pack plant?

One pack of 50 makes 16m of single row at three plants per metre, or 8m of staggered double row at six. Measure the run, divide and round up.

Does the thornless mix qualify for the BN11 hedge grant?

Yes, planted as the grant asks: a staggered double row, six plants per metre, rows 40cm apart. Every plant is native, at 20% per species, well inside the 70% limit.

Do the hedge plants arrive ready mixed?

No. They come bunched by species, so you mix them as you plant. Lay the bundles out along the row and take from each in turn, and no species ends up in a clump.

When can I plant a bareroot thornless hedge?

From November to April, while the plants are dormant, whenever the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. Water the row through its first summer and keep it weed-free for two or three years.