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Conifer and evergreen spacing chart

Center-to-center spacing for 46 conifers and evergreens, with mature spread and a separate hedge figure for privacy screens, windbreaks, and clipped evergreen hedges.

Spacing across this chart runs from 3 ft (90 cm) to 30 ft (9.1 m). Click any column heading to sort.

Conifers & Evergreens — 46 plants, center-to-center spacing
Plant Spacing Hedge spacing Mature size USDA zones Sun
ArborvitaeThuja occidentalis 8 ft2.4 m 8 ft 30 ft tall, 12 ft wide 3–7 Full Sun
Arizona CypressCupressus arizonica 12 ft3.7 m 10 ft 35 ft tall, 15 ft wide 7–9 Full Sun
Atlas CedarCedrus atlantica 25 ft7.6 m 20 ft 50 ft tall, 30 ft wide 6–9 Full Sun
Austrian PinePinus nigra 20 ft6.1 m 17 ft 50 ft tall, 25 ft wide 4–7 Full Sun
Canadian HemlockTsuga canadensis 20 ft6.1 m 20 ft 60 ft tall, 30 ft wide 3–7 Partial Shade
Catawba RhododendronRhododendron catawbiense 6 ft1.8 m 5.5 ft 8 ft tall, 8 ft wide 4–8 Partial Shade
Cherry LaurelPrunus laurocerasus 8 ft2.4 m 6.5 ft 15 ft tall, 10 ft wide 6–9 Partial Shade
Coast RedwoodSequoia sempervirens 30 ft9.1 m 20 ft 80 ft tall, 30 ft wide 7–9 Full Sun
Colorado Blue SprucePicea pungens 20 ft6.1 m 13 ft 60 ft tall, 20 ft wide 2–7 Full Sun
Creeping JuniperJuniperus horizontalis 5 ft1.5 m 5.5 ft 1 ft tall, 8 ft wide 3–9 Full Sun
Cryptomeria (Japanese Cedar)Cryptomeria japonica 20 ft6.1 m 17 ft 60 ft tall, 25 ft wide 5–9 Full Sun
Deodar CedarCedrus deodara 25 ft7.6 m 20 ft 50 ft tall, 30 ft wide 7–9 Full Sun
Douglas FirPseudotsuga menziesii 20 ft6.1 m 13 ft 80 ft tall, 20 ft wide 4–6 Full Sun
Dwarf Alberta SprucePicea glauca 'Conica' 5 ft1.5 m 3.5 ft 8 ft tall, 5 ft wide 3–8 Full Sun
Eastern RedcedarJuniperus virginiana 15 ft4.6 m 10 ft 40 ft tall, 15 ft wide 2–9 Full Sun
Eastern White PinePinus strobus 25 ft7.6 m 20 ft 80 ft tall, 30 ft wide 3–8 Full Sun
English HollyIlex aquifolium 10 ft3 m 8 ft 35 ft tall, 12 ft wide 6–9 Partial Shade
English IvyHedera helix 3 ft90 cm 10 ft 1 ft tall, 15 ft wide 4–9 Full Shade
Evergreen EuonymusEuonymus japonicus 5 ft1.5 m 2.5 ft 8 ft tall, 4 ft wide 6–9 Full Sun
False CypressChamaecyparis pisifera 12 ft3.7 m 10 ft 30 ft tall, 15 ft wide 4–8 Full Sun
Fern PineAfrocarpus gracilior 20 ft6.1 m 17 ft 50 ft tall, 25 ft wide 9–11 Full Sun
Fraser FirAbies fraseri 20 ft6.1 m 17 ft 50 ft tall, 25 ft wide 4–7 Full Sun
Hinoki CypressChamaecyparis obtusa 15 ft4.6 m 10 ft 50 ft tall, 15 ft wide 5–8 Full Sun
Incense CedarCalocedrus decurrens 15 ft4.6 m 10 ft 50 ft tall, 15 ft wide 5–8 Full Sun
Inkberry HollyIlex glabra 5 ft1.5 m 4 ft 6 ft tall, 6 ft wide 5–9 Full Sun
Italian CypressCupressus sempervirens 4 ft1.2 m 3.5 ft 40 ft tall, 5 ft wide 7–10 Full Sun
Japanese Black PinePinus thunbergii 15 ft4.6 m 13 ft 30 ft tall, 20 ft wide 5–8 Full Sun
Japanese CamelliaCamellia japonica 8 ft2.4 m 5.5 ft 10 ft tall, 8 ft wide 7–9 Partial Shade
Japanese HollyIlex crenata 6 ft1.8 m 5.5 ft 8 ft tall, 8 ft wide 5–8 Full Sun
Japanese PierisPieris japonica 6 ft1.8 m 4.5 ft 10 ft tall, 7 ft wide 5–8 Partial Shade
Japanese YewTaxus cuspidata 10 ft3 m 10 ft 20 ft tall, 15 ft wide 4–7 Partial Shade
Leyland CypressCupressus × leylandii 10 ft3 m 13 ft 60 ft tall, 20 ft wide 6–10 Full Sun
Loblolly PinePinus taeda 25 ft7.6 m 20 ft 60 ft tall, 30 ft wide 6–9 Full Sun
Mountain LaurelKalmia latifolia 6 ft1.8 m 5.5 ft 8 ft tall, 8 ft wide 4–9 Partial Shade
Mugo PinePinus mugo 6 ft1.8 m 5.5 ft 5 ft tall, 8 ft wide 2–7 Full Sun
Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo)Nandina domestica 4 ft1.2 m 2.5 ft 6 ft tall, 4 ft wide 6–9 Partial Sun
Nellie Stevens HollyIlex x attenuata 8 ft2.4 m 6.5 ft 20 ft tall, 10 ft wide 6–9 Full Sun
Norway SprucePicea abies 20 ft6.1 m 17 ft 50 ft tall, 25 ft wide 3–7 Full Sun
Ponderosa PinePinus ponderosa 20 ft6.1 m 17 ft 60 ft tall, 25 ft wide 3–7 Full Sun
Portuguese LaurelPrunus lusitanica 15 ft4.6 m 13 ft 25 ft tall, 20 ft wide 7–9 Full Sun
Red Tip PhotiniaPhotinia x fraseri 6 ft1.8 m 5.5 ft 12 ft tall, 8 ft wide 7–9 Full Sun
Scotch PinePinus sylvestris 25 ft7.6 m 20 ft 50 ft tall, 30 ft wide 3–7 Full Sun
Serbian SprucePicea omorika 12 ft3.7 m 10 ft 40 ft tall, 15 ft wide 4–7 Full Sun
White FirAbies concolor 18 ft5.5 m 13 ft 40 ft tall, 20 ft wide 3–7 Full Sun
Yaupon HollyIlex vomitoria 8 ft2.4 m 6.5 ft 15 ft tall, 10 ft wide 7–10 Full Sun
Yew PinePodocarpus macrophyllus 4 ft1.2 m 5.5 ft 20 ft tall, 8 ft wide 7–11 Full Sun

Spacing is center to center — measure between planting holes, not between the edges of the plants. The hedge column is derived from each plant's mature spread at the two-thirds rule described below, as a planning figure for continuous lines; the main spacing column is the distance for plants grown as individuals. Mature size and hardiness ranges are catalog values and shift with cultivar and local conditions.

How to use this chart

Conifers are less forgiving of crowding than broadleaf shrubs, and the reason is structural: most of them will not regrow from bare wood. Once branches shade each other out and drop their needles, that part of the plant stays bare permanently. A broadleaf hedge planted too close can be cut back and recovered; an over-planted conifer screen usually has to be taken out and replaced.

That makes fast screening plants the ones to be most careful with. Leyland cypress and Thuja 'Green Giant' are routinely sold to be planted at 4 to 5 ft because it looks right for two years — both finish 12 ft or more across, and a row at that spacing turns into a bare-legged, disease-prone thicket by year eight.

For a windbreak rather than a hedge, spacing goes the other way. Windbreaks work by filtering wind, not blocking it, so they are planted at or beyond full mature spread and often in staggered multiple rows.

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