Check out the list of the Best Colorful Hedge Plants and transform your garden into a kaleidoscope of colors.
Introducing the Best Colorful Hedge Plants, a vibrant selection of foliage that will add a burst of colors to your landscape. These eye-catching hedges combine beauty and functionality, making them a perfect choice for any garden or outdoor space.
Here are the 26 Most Beautiful Flowers for Hedges
Best Colorful Hedge Plants
1. Glossy Abelia
Botanical Name: Abelia x grandiflora
USDA Zones: 6-9
Looking for colorful hedge plants with a dark aesthetic? This hedge plant naturally grows in a rounded shape. It has dark green leaves that change color in the fall and become a purple-bronze shade.
Learn about Glossy Abelia Care here
2. Variegated Cherry Laurel
Botanical Name: Prunus laurocerasus ‘Variegata’
USDA Zones: 8a-10a
The Variegated Cherry Laurel stands out with its lustrous, variegated green, and creamy-white leaves, offering a beautiful backdrop for any garden. This dense evergreen hedge can reach a height of 6-12 feet.
3. Golden False Cypress
Botanical Name: Chamaecyparis pisifera
USDA Zones: 4-9
Dwarf varieties of this plant have golden leaves, which make them great as colorful hedge plants. Some good options include Gold Mop, Sungold, Filifera Aurea, and Sungold.
Here are Beautiful Hedge Plants
4. Juneberry
Botanical Name: Amelanchier lamarckii
USDA Zones: 4-8
Juneberry is a beautiful tree that blooms with pretty flowers in the spring. It has lush leaves that start off as a coppery-red color in the spring, then turn green, and finally transform into a fiery red shade in the fall.
5. Lavender
Botanical Name: Lavandula
USDA Zones: 5-11
There are many types of Lavandula plants that can be colorful and excellent for hedges, making these the most versatile among colorful hedge plants. They have fragrant flowers and thrive in full sunlight. Regular pruning is necessary for their maintenance.
Learn about Growing Lavender from Cuttings here
6. Lilac
Botanical Name: Syringa vulgaris
USDA Zones: 3-7
This bush is an excellent option if you want a fragrant hedge. Plant multiple Lilac plants in a row, and soon you’ll have a hedge bursting with blooms.
Here’s How to Grow Miss Kim Lilac
7. Barberry Bush
Botanical Name: Berberis thunbergii
USDA Zones: 4-8
If you need colorful hedge plants for security purposes, Barberry Bushes are a good choice because they have sharp thorns. These bushes also produce bright red berries in winter, which can make them look beautiful even during the colder months.
8. Forsythia
Botanical Name: Forsythia
USDA Zones: 4-9
Forsythia is a colorful hedge plant with bright yellow flowers in spring, adding vibrancy to your garden and creating a cheerful atmosphere.
9. Photinia Red Robin
Botanical Name: Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’
USDA Zones: 6-10
A vibrant hedge plant with red leaves maturing to green. Its striking colors bring a lively and eye-catching element to your garden, enhancing the overall appeal of your outdoor space.
Check out the best bamboos for hedging here
10. Purple Hop Bush
Botanical Name: Dodonaea viscosa ‘Purpurea’
USDA Zones: 9-11
Haven’t you had enough of the best colorful hedge plants yet? Well, there are more! This captivating hedge plant with deep purple foliage adds a unique charm to your garden, making it an attractive choice for creating a visually striking and delightful hedge.
11. Japanese Maple
Botanical Name: Acer palmatum
Find How to Grow a Japanese Maple Tree in a Pot here
12. Heavenly Bamboo
Botanical Name: Nandina domestica
USDA Zones: 6-10
With its evergreen leaves that turn red in winter, Heavenly Bamboo adds color throughout the year. Its graceful appearance creates an eye-catching hedge, bringing a touch of elegance and beauty to your garden.
Here’s everything about Heavenly Bamboo Care
13. Euonymus
Botanical Name: Euonymus fortunei
USDA Zones: 6-9
Euonymus cultivars have variegated leaves with yellow and green patterns. Its adaptable nature and attractive foliage make it a great choice among colorful hedge plants.
14. Boxwood
Botanical Name: Buxus
USDA Zones: 5-9
While not traditionally colorful, some boxwood cultivars like ‘Golden Dream’ or ‘Variegata’ feature yellow or variegated foliage.
15. Red Twig Dogwood
Botanical Name: Cornus sericea
USDA Zones: 3-8
Although primarily valued for its red winter stems, Red Twig Dogwood also has green leaves that turn purplish-red in fall. It provides year-round interest and forms a dense hedge, perfect for adding structure and beauty to your garden landscape.
Here are Inspiring Red Twig Dogwood Landscape Design Ideas
16. Weigela
Botanical Name: Weigela ‘Picobella Rosa
USDA Zones: 4–8
Weigela shrubs produce colorful flowers in shades of pink, red, and white, earning them a place in our colorful hedge plants list. The blooms attract pollinators and create a stunning display against its green foliage.
17. Loropetalum
Botanical Name: Loropetalum chinense
USDA Zones: 7-11
Loropetalum varieties like ‘Burgundy’ or ‘Ruby’ have deep burgundy leaves that create a striking hedge. The eye-catching foliage and delicate, fringe-like flowers add charm and interest, making it a splendid choice for a colorful and unique garden hedge.
Learn about Purple Diamond Loropetalum Care here
18. Variegated Privet
Botanical Name: Ligustrum ovalifolium ‘Aureum’
USDA Zones: 3-8
This privet cultivar features yellow and green variegated leaves that are perfect colorful hedge plants with a contrast. Its foliage adds visual appeal to any landscape, making it an excellent choice for an attractive and lively garden hedge.
19. Smokebush
Botanical Name: Cotinus coggygria
USDA Zones: 4-9
Smokebush is known for its feathery plumes and its leaves that turn shades of red, orange, and purple in the fall. It is a fascinating choice among colorful hedge plants if you’re going for a distinctive and alluring garden hedge.
20. Purple Leaf Sand Cherry
Botanical Name: Prunus x cistena
USDA Zones: 3-8
This shrub features deep purple leaves that create a stunning backdrop for other plants in the hedge. The stunning color and small white flowers create a captivating display, making it an eye-catching choice.
Here are 21 Bushes and Shrubs with Small White Fragrant Flowers
21. Variegated Red Chokeberry
Botanical Name: Aronia arbutifolia ‘Brilliantissima’
USDA Zones: 4-9
This chokeberry cultivar has glossy green leaves with red veins, which turn brilliant red in the fall. The vibrant red berries and attractive foliage add year-round visual interest. This is definitely one of the most colorful hedge plants.
22. Viburnum
Botanical Name: Viburnum tinus Eve
USDA Zones: 2-9
Viburnum varieties like ‘Roseum’ or ‘Compactum’ produce clusters of white or pink flowers and have attractive foliage that changes color in the fall.
23. Coleus
Botanical Name: Plectranthus scutellarioides
USDA Zones: 10-13
Although typically used as annuals, some coleus cultivars offer vibrant foliage in various colors and patterns, making them a unique option for colorful hedges.
Here are the Most Beautiful Purple Coleus Varieties
24. Japanese Yew
Botanical Name: Podocarpus macrophyllus
USDA Zones: 4-7
Still looking for colorful hedge plants you can grow easily? Japanese Yew is an evergreen shrub with dense foliage that can be pruned into a formal hedge. It has dark green needle-like leaves.
25. Cotoneaster
Botanical Name: Cotoneaster
USDA Zones: 3-11
Cotoneaster shrubs have small, glossy leaves and produce clusters of colorful berries in red, orange, or black. The dense growth and adaptable nature create a charming and low-maintenance hedge, adding beauty and year-round interest to your garden.
26. Hydrangea
Botanical Name: Hydrangea macrophylla
USDA Zones: 3-10
Certain hydrangea cultivars, such as ‘Nikko Blue’ or ‘Endless Summer,’ showcase large, showy blooms in shades of blue, pink, or white. The abundant blooms and lush foliage create a beautiful and vibrant hedge, bringing a touch of elegance to your outdoor space.
Here are 10 Master Gardener’s Tricks to Grow the Successful Hydrangeas
27. Copper Beech
Botanical Name: Fagus Sylvatica ‘Purpurea’
USDA Zones: 4-7
The Copper Beech is an attractive hedge plant with striking purple leaves, adding a touch of elegance to any garden. It grows at a moderate pace, reaching a height of around 40-60 feet.
28. Copperleaf
Botanical Name: Acalypha
USDA Zones: 9-11
With its vibrant copper-colored foliage, the Copperleaf is a captivating choice among the different colorful hedge plants. This fast-growing shrub quickly reaches a height of 6-10 feet, making it ideal for creating a colorful and lush boundary in your outdoor space.
Here are 24 Stunning Plants that Look Like they are Made of Copper
29. Common Elder
Botanical Name: Sambucus nigra ‘Lemony Lace’
USDA Zones: 3-9
Reaching a height of 5-8 feet, this hedge plant offers both beauty and utility, as it can be used for culinary purposes too.
30. Ninebark
Botanical Name: Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’
USDA Zones: 2-8
When it comes to colorful hedge plants, this one can do no wrong. Ninebark boasts deep purple foliage, adding depth and texture to the garden. Growing to a height of 6-10 feet, it creates a dense hedge.
31. Japanese Spiraea
Botanical Name: Spiraea japonica ‘Gold Mound’
USDA Zones: 3-11
The Japanese Spirea ‘Gold Mound’ delights with its golden-yellow leaves that brighten up any landscape. This compact shrub grows to a height of 2-3 feet, making it a perfect choice for low hedges or decorative borders.
