Visit or call us on 01993 850979

  • About
  • Hedging Tips & Advice
  • Hedge Guide
  • Delivery
  • Landscaping
  • Contact Us
  • Visit Our Shop
    • Hedging
      • Fast Growing Hedges
      • Root Ball
      • Smaller Hedging
      • Taller Hedging
    • Lavender
      • Lavandula Angustifolia (English)
      • Lavender Chaytoriae
      • Lavender Intermedia (Dutch)
      • Larger Lavender
    • Topiary
      • Decorative Box Hedges
    • Shrubs
      • Flowering Shrubs
    • Garden / Lawn Edging
    • Planting Packs
  • Hedges
    • Shop Hedges
  • Edging
    • Shop Edging
Hedge Xpress - Buy Online - Hedges and ShrubsHedge Xpress - Buy Online - Hedges and Shrubs
  • Lavender
    • Shop Lavender
    • Larger Lavender
    • Lavender Angustifolia (English)
    • Lavender Chaytoriae
    • Lavender Intermedia (Dutch)
  • Shrubs
    • Shop Shrubs
    • Fast Growing Shrubs
    • Flowering Shrubs
  • Topiary
    • Shop Topiary
    • Box Balls & Cones
    • Yew Box Balls & Cones

Naming Hedging Plants Today

Hedge Xpress
Aug 23, 2016 Hedging Plants 0 Comment

Naming hedging plants follows the rules laid down by Linnaeus binomial system. Their botanical names reveal hidden details about its history and biology:

Naming Hedging Plants

While the rules for naming Hedging Plants are generally straightforward, the information those names can reveal is varied. They can tell of its discovery and origins; its biology; the botanists who may (or may not) be associated with its discovery or creation; its preferred location or something as banal as the colour of its flowers.

The following lists decode the names of our most popular hedging plants and contain examples of all types. Of course, many of the descriptors can be found in the names of many other plants…

PURE SPECIES

• Buxus sempervirens – the Common Box is always green
• Carpinus betulus – Hornbeam is like the beech tree
• Escallonia macrantha – this Escallonia has large flowers
• Fagus sylvatica – the Beech (Fagus) found in the woods or forest
• Griselinia littoralis – a shore growing Griselinia
• Ligustrum ovalifolium – the Privet with oval leaves
• Lonicera nitida – The genus Lonicera includes all the honeysuckles and is named after the German Renaissance botanist Adam Lonicer. This variety has sleek, shiny leaves (nitida)
• Pittosporum tenuifolium  – Pittosporum are known for their sticky (like tar or pitch pitta) seeds (spora) and this species has slender (tenu) leaves (foli)
• Taxus baccata  – this Yew (Pictured top) bears red berries

HYBRIDS

• × Cuprocyparis leylandii – named after Christopher Leyland, the previous owner of the Powys Estate where this naturally occurring hybrid was discovered in 1888
• Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’ – This is a hybrid of Photinia glabra and Photinia serratifolia. Photinia comes from the Greek for shining (photeinos) and references their glossy leaves; fraseri is self-acknowledgement (and why not) by Fraser’s Nursery in Birmingham, America where the plant originated. ‘Red Robin’, of course, aptly describes the colour of its new growth.

CULTIVARS

• Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’ – the Dwarf  Box is always green and shrub-like
• Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ and ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ – Fortunei honours Robert Fortune, the 19th century Scottish botanist who brought many plants back from China and India. Euonymus is ancient Greek for good name
• Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’ – the Purple Copper Beech
• Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Blue Spire’ – the ‘blue spire’ is modestly self-evident. The genus Perovskia is named after Count Vasily Alekseevich Perovsky (1794–1857), a Russian general and statesman while atriplicifolia identifies this species as having leaves (folia) like Atriplex (atriplici), an unrelated genus commonly called saltbush or orach
• Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Elizabeth’; ‘Variegata’ and ‘Garnettii’  – These three  cultivars take their names respectively from: an unknown Elizabeth; its variegated foliage and either another unknown person or from its dark red, garnet-like berries
• Prunus laurocerasus ‘Rotundifolia’ – this evergreen species of the Cherry (Prunus) looks similar to the unrelated bay laurel (Laurus nobilis). The cultivar has round (rotundus) leaves (folia)
• Thuja plicata ‘Atrovirens’ – the Western Red Cedar is not related to the true Cedar (Cedrus) which is why, in is native North America, its common name is generally spelt Redcedar. Thuja comes from the Greek thyia meaning an African tree while plicata derives from the Latin plicare meaning folded in plaits or braided referring to its foliage. The cultivar name gives further clues to its foliage: black/dark (attro) green (virens)

View Our Recommended Hedges

Box Ball 55-60cm
Quick ViewSelect options

Box Balls, Variable Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£45.00 – £92.40 inc. VAT
Box cone 90-100cm
Quick ViewSelect options

Box Cones, Variable Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£52.32 – £79.98 inc. VAT
Quick ViewSelect options

Common Box, Variable Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£11.94 – £19.19 inc. VAT
Euonymus Fortunei Emerald n Gold 5L 25-35cm
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Euonymus Fortunei Emerald n Gold

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£16.80 inc. VAT
Quick ViewSelect options

Euonymus Fortunei Emerald Gaiety, Various Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£7.49 – £14.34 inc. VAT
Quick ViewSelect options

Beech, various sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£7.97 – £33.00 inc. VAT
Quick ViewSelect options

Purple Copper Beech Various sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£9.60 – £47.94 inc. VAT
Griselinia Littoralis Variegata 10L 60-90cm
Quick ViewSelect options

Griselinia Littoralis Variegata, Variable Sizes

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£19.74 – £39.54 inc. VAT
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Escallonia Macrantha 45-60cm

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£14.94 inc. VAT
Elaeagnus ebbingei hedge
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Elaeagnus ebbingei

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£16.74 inc. VAT
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Elaeagnus ebbingei Limelight 60-90cm

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£21.00 inc. VAT
Privet-Ligustrum ovalifilium
Quick ViewAdd to basket

Privet-Ligustrum ovalifilium 60-90cm

Add to Wishlist
Remove from Wishlist
£19.14 inc. VAT
CultivarsHedginghedging plantsHybrids
Hedge Xpress

Hedging Cultivars and HybridsPrevious post
Naming Lavenders and RosemaryNext post

Recent Posts

  • Pittosporum tenuifolium flower arangments
  • Why buy a hedge?
  • Bare Root, Rootball vs Container
  • Why Evergreens Are a Great Option for Hedges
  • Winter Hedges: Part 1

Archives

Categories

  • Evergreen Hedging Plants
  • Fragrant foliage
  • Gardens
  • Green management
  • Hedging Plants
  • Latin Horticulture Terminology
  • Native Hedging
  • News
  • Plant Containers
  • Uncategorized
  • Wildlife
  • Winter Weather Hedges
Hedge-Xpress-Logo
  • Buckland Road, Bampton,
    Oxfordshire, OX18 2AA
  • info@hedgexpress.co.uk
  • 01993 850979

SOCIAL CONNECT

facebookinstagrampinterest

OPENING TIMES

  • Monday-Friday 9am until 4pm
  • Closed Bank Holidays
  • The company will not be operating from 23rd December 2021 until 4th January 2022

COMPETITIVE PRICES AND VALUE FOR MONEY

If you are considering an order with a value over £1200, please contact us for a volume discount. Delivery is free on all orders above £390.

Professional gardeners, landscapers and other trade customers are welcome.

TRADE ENQUIRIES

Professional gardeners, landscapers and other trade customers are welcome. Contact us at info@hedgexpress.co.uk or call 01993 850 979.

USEFUL INFORMATION

  • About
  • Landscaping
  • My Account
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map
©2021 Hedge Xpress. All Rights Reserved. Payment Method
Planting packs now available
Click here to order