Missouri runs from zone 5b to zone 7b on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, and that three-zone spread decides which hedges are safe bets. Of the 12 species covered on this site, 10 survive winter cold across the whole state. Two survive only in zones 6a through 7b, and none fail everywhere. Those two, Leyland cypress and cherry laurel, are the ones to check before you buy. Surviving a winter is also a lower bar than looking good in August.
What actually holds in Missouri
The two that only hold in part of the state
Leyland cypress (x Hesperotropsis leylandii) and cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) are hardy only in zones 6a, 6b, 7a and 7b. In zone 5b, the coldest part of Missouri’s range, both sit outside what they tolerate. The USDA system is built on a single variable, the average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a zone number describes the worst winter night and nothing else. These ranges come from the NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, crossed with Missouri’s own USDA range.
Both are tempting, which is the trouble. Leyland cypress adds 3 to 4 feet a year and reaches 15 to 25 feet as a screen. Cherry laurel is slower, at 1 to 2 feet a year, and settles at 6 to 15 feet as a hedge. A plant on a garden-center bench tells you nothing about your zone, so check the zone before you check the price tag.
The ten that hold statewide
American hornbeam, boxwood, arborvitae, eastern hemlock, eastern red cedar, inkberry holly, winterberry holly, privet, yew and arrowwood viburnum all tolerate cold from 5b through 7b. Winterberry is the odd one out: it loses its leaves in winter, so it will not screen a window in January the way inkberry, the evergreen holly, will.
“Holds” here means survives, not thrives. The upper end of a plant’s range is often a heat limit rather than a cold one, and a zone number says nothing about a humid Missouri August. A shrub rated for the cold can still sulk through the summer. Your county’s University of Missouri Extension office knows which of these struggle locally.
Timing matters too. At the Kansas City International station, NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals (the 30 to 70 percent band for a 32°F freeze) put the last spring freeze between April 6 and April 20, and the first fall freeze between October 18 and October 29. That station sits well north of the city, and downtown runs about five days earlier in spring. Southern Missouri is milder still. Treat those dates as one reference point, not a statewide calendar. Neighboring ranges shift the list further: compare the Hedge Plants for Maryland: What Holds, and What Only Looks Hardy and Hedge Plants for Wyoming: What Holds, and What Only Looks Hardy pages to see how quickly it changes.
The hedges you can never cut back down
Three of the twelve plants cannot regrow from old wood: Leyland cypress, eastern red cedar and arborvitae. Cut into the bare interior and the branch stays bare. Nothing sprouts to fill the gap. A hedge from one of these three is only as good as the height you choose on day one.
| Plant | Growth per year | Height | When to prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leyland cypress (zones 6a to 7b only) | 3 to 4 feet | 15 to 25 feet as a screen | Late spring to midsummer |
| Eastern red cedar | 12 to 24 inches | 8 to 20 feet as a screen | Late winter, light cuts only |
| Arborvitae | 6 to 9 inches | 4 to 15 feet as a hedge | Late winter before growth starts, or midsummer |
Leyland cypress is the hardest of the three to live with. Growing 3 to 4 feet a year, it reaches a 15 to 25 foot screen in a few seasons, and it cannot be cut back once it has passed the space you gave it. Anyone planting one along a property line needs to picture the finished width as well as the finished height. Every year it is left alone adds a foot or more of growth you may not be able to remove.
Eastern red cedar takes light cuts only, and so does arborvitae in practice. Both do best if you trim a little each year to keep the shape, never a heavy cut to rescue it. At 6 to 9 inches a year, arborvitae is slow enough that a light annual trim is enough. Red cedar, at 12 to 24 inches, needs the trim more.
The other nine can be rescued. Boxwood, American hornbeam, both hollies, privet, yew, eastern hemlock and arrowwood viburnum all regrow from old wood, and so does cherry laurel where it is hardy. A neglected one can be cut hard and will fill back in. That is a real safety net for anyone inheriting an overgrown hedge, or anyone who is not sure they will keep up with the trimming.
Choosing between the two groups is really choosing how forgiving you want the hedge to be. If you want to be free to change your mind about height later, choose from the nine. If you want an evergreen screen at a fixed size and you will trim on schedule, the three that do not regrow are workable.
Matching the plant to the job
The job comes before the plant. A privacy screen along a road, a knee-high border around a vegetable bed and a loose wildlife hedge call for different growth rates, and the table below covers six of the ten statewide plants.
| Plant | Growth per year | Height | When to prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxwood | 3 to 6 inches | 2 to 6 feet as a hedge | Late spring, after the last frost |
| Yew | 6 to 12 inches | 3 to 8 feet as a hedge | Late spring after new growth hardens |
| Privet | 2 to 3 feet | 4 to 12 feet as a hedge | Twice a season, spring and midsummer |
| Eastern hemlock | 12 to 24 inches | 10 to 20 feet as a hedge | Late spring, light cuts only |
| Inkberry holly (evergreen) | 6 to 12 inches | 5 to 15 feet as a hedge | Late winter, while dormant |
| Arrowwood viburnum | 12 to 24 inches | 6 to 10 feet as a hedge | Right after flowering |
For a low, formal edge, boxwood is the slow choice at 3 to 6 inches a year, and yew is the taller, faster step up. Both take shearing and both regrow from old wood. For speed, privet gives 2 to 3 feet a year and pays for it with two trims a season, in spring and again in midsummer. A privet you skip a trim on gets away from you quickly.
For a tall evergreen screen, eastern hemlock adds 12 to 24 inches a year and reaches 10 to 20 feet. Unlike red cedar and arborvitae, it regrows from old wood, which is worth weighing if you want a screen you can correct later. Its light cuts belong in late spring.
Looser hedges suit a yard where you would rather prune less. Inkberry holly gives evergreen structure at 5 to 15 feet. Winterberry holly, arrowwood viburnum and American hornbeam give the same height range or a little less, and they are deciduous or seasonal in what they offer. Arrowwood is pruned right after flowering and hornbeam in midsummer, after the first flush of growth.
One practical point for this time of year. With the first fall freeze arriving between October 18 and October 29 at the Kansas City International station, nothing on this list wants shears right now. Every pruning window listed above falls in late winter, spring or midsummer.
The ground you are planting into
The soil USDA lists as representative of Missouri is the Menfro series, an Alfisol: a forest soil of moderate fertility that holds nutrients reasonably well. USDA NRCS Soil Data Access gives the surface horizon a pH of about 6.2, which is slightly acid. It also gives 4 percent sand, 19 percent clay and 77 percent silt, with about 2.0 percent organic matter, and describes it as well drained. Those are representative values across 319 mapped components, queried on August 29, 2026.
That describes what much of the state’s ground tends to do: silty, drains without staying soggy, and sits near neutral. Silt-heavy soil can pack down when worked wet, so avoid digging planting holes in a saturated spring bed. The organic matter figure is modest, which is why many gardeners work compost into the backfill.
The Menfro series stands for the state and does not describe your yard. River bottoms, hill country and any lot a builder has scraped or filled can differ completely, and the figures above come from mapped surface layers, not a worked garden bed. Never take 6.2 as your pH.
A soil test gives you your own number, and University of Missouri Extension can point you to how to get one. It matters most before you plant a long row, since a hedge of 20 or 30 shrubs is expensive to replace. For the wider picture on choosing and planting, the Hedges hub covers the rest of the series.
Common questions
Can I plant Leyland cypress or cherry laurel anywhere in Missouri?
Only in zones 6a through 7b. Both fall outside their hardiness range in zone 5b. Find your zone on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 before you buy, because Missouri spans 5b to 7b and your county may sit at either end.
Which hedge plants can I cut back hard if they overgrow?
Boxwood, American hornbeam, inkberry holly, winterberry holly, privet, yew, eastern hemlock and arrowwood viburnum all regrow from old wood. Cherry laurel does too, where it is hardy. Leyland cypress, eastern red cedar and arborvitae do not, so a hard cut leaves permanent bare patches.
Is it a good time to prune my hedge right now?
Not on any of these twelve plants. At the Kansas City International station, the first fall freeze normally arrives between October 18 and October 29, and none of the pruning windows listed above fall in autumn. The next ones are late winter for the hollies, eastern red cedar and arborvitae.
Does “hardy in Missouri” mean the plant will thrive?
No. Hardiness means it survives the coldest nights in your zone. The top of a plant’s range is often set by heat, not cold, and the zone number ignores summer entirely. Ask your county extension office which of the ten statewide plants hold up best locally.