Ideal height: 1.5m-2.5m/4ft-8ft
Growth rate: 90-120cm/3-4ft a year once established
Position & planting: plant 60cm/2ft apart; well-drained soil in sun-heavy shade
Perfect for… exposed coastal locations
Elaeagnus x ebbingei Compacta forms a neater, more compact hedge than its very close relative Elaeagnus x ebbingei, and is ideal for hedges up to 2.5m/8ft.
It grows around 1-1.2m/3-4ft a year once established, looks great on Cornish walls and is good for smaller gardens. Besides forming a more compact hedge, many of its other characteristics, including its nitrogen fixing capabilities, are in line with its relative Elaeagnus x ebbingei. It is an evergreen, hardy, salt-wind tolerant hedging plant that will grow very close to the sea.
Plants should be planted around 60cm/2ft apart from one another for a fairly quick forming hedge, and it will grow well in any well drained soil, even poor, dry soils, as it is particularly drought tolerant, and can be positioned in anything from full sun to heavy shade.