Privacy Hedge Calculator
How many plants to buy, how far apart to set them, and the question everyone actually asks at the nursery: how many years before it is tall enough to screen anything.
Years to privacy
Height over time for the species and the nursery size you picked.
The hedge line
Add a run for each straight stretch of the property line.
The plant
Mature sizes and growth rates are typical figures for good conditions.
Bigger stock buys years, and costs them back in money. The timeline shows the difference.
Spacing and rows
Spacing is set as a share of the mature width, which is how nurseries recommend it.
Tighter closes the gaps sooner and looks like a hedge faster, at the cost of competition for water and more pruning for the rest of its life. Wider is healthier and slower. Half to three quarters of the mature width is the useful range.
Cost, optional
Price is per plant at the size selected above.
Common questions
How far apart should I plant a privacy hedge?
Space at roughly half to three quarters of the plant mature width. For Emerald Green arborvitae, which finishes about 3 to 4 ft across, that is a little over 2 ft apart. For Leyland Cypress, which finishes 15 to 20 ft across, it is closer to 10 or 12 ft, which surprises people who have seen them planted at 5 ft and later strangling each other. Tighter than half the mature width buys a faster looking screen and a lifetime of competition and pruning.
How many years does it take for a hedge to grow in for privacy?
Take the height you want, subtract the height of the plants you are buying, and divide by the growth rate. Three gallon arborvitae at about 2 ft 6 in, growing a foot a year, reaches 6 ft in roughly four years. Skip Laurel or Leyland Cypress do it in two. Boxwood never will, because it matures below that. Buying larger stock is the only real shortcut, and it costs roughly what the years are worth.
Should I plant a single row or staggered double row for privacy screening?
A single row is enough for most property lines and it is half the cost. A staggered double row, two offset rows in a triangle pattern, screens sooner, gives a denser wall at eye level, and survives losing a plant to disease without leaving a hole. It needs depth, roughly three quarters of the mature width, so it suits a wide border rather than a narrow strip along a fence.
Will the hedge grow over my property line?
Very possibly, if you plant on the boundary. A hedge spreads to its mature width whatever your fence says, so half of that width ends up on each side of where you plant it. Set the row back by at least half the mature width, and check local rules before planting anything that matures tall, since some places limit hedge height along a boundary.
A hedge is the slow answer to privacy
If the years above are longer than you want to wait, a fence does the same job the week you build it. Many people do both: fence now, hedge in front of it for later.