Learn · Guide 2
15-gallon vs 25-gallon: which should you buy?
The question behind the question is “privacy now, or budget now?” Here’s the math both ways.
The two candidates
| 15-gallon | 25-gallon | |
|---|---|---|
| Height at delivery | ~5 ft | ~6.5 ft |
| Width at delivery | 3–4 ft | ~6 ft (already full) |
| Spacing | 2.5 ft | 3 ft |
| Est. price at 100+ | $36 | $68 |
| Screens a 6-ft fence… | in a season or two | on day one |
Cost per 100 ft of fence line (estimated, 100+ tier)
15-gallon: 100 ÷ 2.5 = 40 plants × $36 = $1,440 … but note: 40 plants alone prices at the 20+ tier ($40.50 → $1,620) unless the rest of your order carries the count past 100.
25-gallon: 100 ÷ 3 = 34 plants × $68 = $2,312 (34 alone prices at 20+: $76.50 → $2,601).
So the true day-one premium for eye-level privacy on 100 ft is roughly $900–1,000. What you’re buying with it: two growing seasons you don’t have to wait through, and a hedge that starts above the fence line instead of at it.
Choose the 15 when…
- The run is long and budget is the constraint — long perimeters are where the 15’s per-foot price wins big.
- You can genuinely wait a season or two (new construction landscaping often can).
- The sightline you’re blocking is ground-level — pool pumps, roadways, low fences.
Choose the 25 when…
- The neighbors’ new second story, deck, or balcony is the problem — you need height today.
- The run is short and visible: behind a pool, framing a patio, the 40 ft you actually live next to.
- You’re selling the house — “instant hedge” photographs like money because it is.
The move most people miss: mix
Run 25s along the 40–60 ft where privacy is urgent and 15s down the rest. Mixed orders still tier on the combined plant count, so a 20 × 25-gal + 90 × 15-gal order prices everything at the 100+ rate. This is the highest-satisfaction order we sell.