Best Hedging Plants for Wet Soil & Sites

Different types of hedges for wet clay soil

It’s important to choose the right hedge for your planting site, whether it’s wet, dry or chalky. Whether you’re looking for the best hedging plants for wet soil that double up as privacy screening or evergreen hedges that thrive all year-round, we’ve got you covered. 

Looking for taller hedge plants that like wet soil? We stock a variety of trees including the native Common Alder as well as the Grey Alder and exceptionally hardy Italian Alder. Birches are a good choice for wet sites, as well as our Sweet Gum Trees or Liquidambar.

If you want more moderately sized hedging for wet sites, we have an excellent selection of Dogwoods and other suitable native hedging plants such as Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Alder Buckthorn, Elder, Guelder Rose and Hornbeam.

A number of more informal flowering hedges will also grow well in wetter conditions including Weigelas, Spiraea and Snowberry, all of which make great hedging for wet sites. They’ll also brighten up your outdoor space too with beautiful flowers, so it’s a win-win!

Although there’s a more limited number of evergreen hedges that grow well in wet soil, you’ll still find some fantastic options, such as Berberis stenophylla and our Thuja hedging varieties.

Browse our range of the best hedge plants for wet soil and order online today. Will you pick a fruit-bearing hedge, a plant that attracts wildlife or a fast-growing hedge?

How to tell if you need wet soil hedge plants

If your plants aren’t growing, the leaves are turning yellow, you’re noticing signs of root rot and your soil is consistently wet to touch, it’s likely that the conditions are too wet and you either need to look at improving the soil or planting hedges for wet soil. 

Our definition of a wet site is a damp one where you can walk on it comfortably without sinking for much of the year, but it does become waterlogged periodically during wet weather and may flood occasionally. 

Wet sites are often associated with low lying areas near water courses and especially with heavy clay soils with a high water table. Such areas are often prone to winter waterlogging and flooding, however, wet sites are not always caused by the water table and can be the result of poor drainage. 

In some cases, drainage can be improved which may open up your options when it comes to choosing hedging plants. However, if your site is very wet indeed, the list of suitable plants is most likely going to be restricted to little more than Willows, Alders and Poplars. 

A good guide to choosing hedging for your wet soil would be to assess which trees and shrubs are already growing in similar conditions nearby and use this as the best indication. If you have any questions about the best hedges for wet soil, or what you should be planting for the type of site you have, please feel free to get in touch and our team of experts will be happy to help!

How to care for hedges that like wet soil

No matter which wet soil hedge plants you decide to grow, the key to success is how you look after them. Here are our top tips for caring taking care of hedges in wet areas:

• Improving drainage – Improving drainage will of course be beneficial when planting hedges for wet sites. One of the best ways to do this is by forking drainage holes into the base and sides of prepared holes.

• Raising plants – Something else you can do is to plant your hedges for wet soil in a raised bed to allow a better drainage area below the roots. For trees, rather than an entire raised bed, you can simply create a raised mound.

• Mulching – On heavy clay soil, which can be very heavy in winter and hard/unforgiving in summer, adding a generous amount of organic matter to the planting site will help.

For more information on taking care of your hedges for wet clay soil, check out our hedge planting guide, which has everything from mulching tips to pruning advice.

Common problems for hedges that grow in wet soil

We’re here to support you every step of the way as you grow your hedges for wet soil, from planting to maintaining. This includes identifying any common problems your plant may face due to it being grown on a wet site.

The main problems for hedges that grow in wet soil include:

• Waterlogging – If the planting site has poor drainage, it’s more likely to become waterlogged when weather conditions are particularly bad (especially over the winter months). 
• Root rot – When conditions are too wet for plants, roots can start to decay or rot because there’s a lack of oxygen. You can spot signs of root rot by checking for yellowing leaves or changes to the colour of the roots. 
• Compaction – If you spend a lot of time walking over the wet soil, you may cause it to compact which damages the soil structure. This, in turn, makes it even more difficult for water to drain, causing problems such as waterlogging and root rot.

Keep in mind that your wet soil hedge plant may also be susceptible to problems specific to its species.