Collection Topiary cones
Form Clipped to a fine point
Sold as Matched pairs
From £455 the pair
Topiary Cones — Matched Pairs
One fine point. Then its twin.
A topiary cone is an evergreen clipped into a dense, round-based taper that rises from the pot to a single fine point, clothed in foliage all the way down, with no clear stem and no spiral groove. Cone topiary in English yew or Japanese holly, as true matched pairs.
Matched pairs from £455 · free kerbside delivery, UK mainland
How to chooseOne fine point.Three questions.
Answer these and the collection narrows to your pair.
What makes a good cone?
A cone is one dense taper from the pot to a fine point, with no stem showing and no groove cut round it. A good one is dense right down to the pot, with no gaps at the skirt; its point sits directly over the centre of the base, so it never appears to lean; and the taper runs straight and even from every side. A pair adds one more test: the two must match in height (within 10cm), taper, base width and leaf density or needle tone, so the silhouettes rise at the same angle to the same point. UK nurseries sell the form as a yew cone or an Ilex crenata cone; here it is simply the cone, and it always comes as a hand-matched pair.
How does size work, from 70cm to 2m?
Japanese holly comes at 70–90cm and 90–110cm; English yew at 70–90, 110–130, 150–170 and 170–200cm. Height is measured from the compost surface to the tip, pot not included, and the base is roughly 35–55cm across for holly and 35–75cm for yew, in proportion to the size. At a front door, plant and pot together should reach at least a third of the way up the door; the classic target is the tip level with the door handle, about 100–110cm from the ground. Go taller with a porch or a tall frontage: the 150–200cm yews are for tall frontages and gates, where they read clearly from the street. For the pot, a 60–80cm plant wants a 40–50cm container, and a 120–160cm plant a 60–70cm one.
Yew or Japanese holly?
Shade, scale or a period frontage points to English yew: the darkest, densest finish, happy even in deep shade, and the only cone here that runs to two metres. The finest surface, and the look of clipped box without box blight, points to Japanese holly, in sun or partial shade at the compact sizes. The chooser further down sets the two side by side.
Where a fine pointearns its keep.
Three settings. One pinned frame. Scroll.
Image 01
Image 02
Image 03
The period front door
A pair of cones draws the eye up a facade and frames the door between two dark points. English yew is the classic choice for Georgian and Victorian frontages, its fine needles darker and richer than any cypress against brick and painted stone. Set the pair either side of the approach, so visitors pass between them, with at least 60cm clear between the two containers (70–80cm is comfortable). The entrance collection is built around exactly this move.
Garden gates & parterres
Japanese holly's tiny glossy leaves clip to the finest surface in the range, and in a formal garden its cones give vertical rhythm among low clipped hedging. A matching pair of planters at a gate is the fastest route to instant formality. Cones repeat beautifully, too: where a spiral pair stars alone, a run of cones sets a beat along a path or a boundary. For more than a pair, The Cone Array graduates ten cones of one species in three heights.
Shade & contemporary courtyards
Yew keeps its density where sun-loving conifers thin out, so a shaded courtyard or a north-facing door is where it earns its place; against pale render and bronze glazing, two crisp cones read as modern rather than period. In a pot, use John Innes No. 3, water 2–3 times a week through summer and give one slow-release feed each spring; the pots guide covers the rest, and the courtyards & patios collection carries the scale.
Two cone pairs,each priced honestly.
Both pairs at matched-pair RRPs including VAT, banded by height — and one ten-cone composition for more than a pair, priced on its own page.
N° 01
Haru & Kiyo — tiny glossy leaves, the finest clipped surface.
£455 – £590 · 70–110cm
More than a pair
Ten cones of one species, yew or holly, in three heights for runs, boundaries and grids.
£2,900–£3,610 · ten cones, 50–150cm
Drag · Scroll
The range runs £455 – £3,200 the pair: Japanese holly's 70–90cm pair opens it at £455, and English yew's two-metre pair closes it. There is no 90–110cm yew, and no holly above 110cm. The Cone Array sets ten cones of one species at 50–70, 90–110 and 130–150cm, with optional Molinia grass, and The Mixed Geometry sets three yew cones among its nine yew forms. Around the pairs: single shaped plants from £80 and clipped border edging from £275 per metre. The wider market logic is in the topiary prices guide.
Every pair travels upright on a pallet — no boxing, no bending — with free kerbside delivery to UK mainland addresses in 14–21 working days (21–28 in peak season, February to May). Before dispatch you receive a quality-control certificate with six photographs of your actual plants and a 24-hour review window; after dispatch, an email with an estimated delivery date, and the driver calls about an hour before arrival. The detail is at delivery & returns.
Pick by light first.Then by finish.
One form, two species — and each has a site it suits and one it doesn't.
Sun, Part Shade & Fine Detail
Tiny, glossy, non-spiny leaves that clip to the finest surface in the range and hold a crisp outline between trims. The box-blight-free alternative to box, and not eaten by box tree caterpillar. Slow to moderate, in compact sizes from 70 to 110cm; hardy to −15 to −18°C. The honest caveat: it struggles in hot, dry, sandy conditions, so give it John Innes No. 3 and water when the compost is dry at 5cm.
Shade, Scale & Period Doors
The darkest, densest cone: fine needles darker and richer than any cypress. It grows in almost any soil or situation, even deep shade, regrows from old wood as most conifers won't, and is the only cone here that runs to two metres; hardy to −20°C. The honest caveat: it dislikes waterlogging, and every part except the berry flesh is toxic if eaten.
Want a groove cut round it? A spiral starts life as a cone, then a grower carves a channel that climbs the plant in one continuous turn: that is the spiral collection. The slimmest vertical of all, Italian cypress grown tight of its own accord rather than clipped, is the pencil collection. Still weighing it up? The Entrance Edit matches a pair to your doorway, light and scale in two minutes.
Image 04
Selected together · matched point for point · photographed before dispatch
Buying topiary cones.Quick answers.
The questions buyers actually ask, answered by the growers.
What is a cone topiary, and is it the same as a pyramid?
A topiary cone is an evergreen clipped into a dense, round-based taper that rises from the pot to a single fine point, clothed in foliage all the way down, with no clear stem and no spiral groove. UK nurseries also sell the form as a yew cone or an Ilex crenata cone. It is sometimes sold as a pyramid, though a pyramid proper has flat sides that meet at edges, where a cone's sides curve in one continuous taper. Ours come as true matched pairs, in English yew and Japanese holly.
What does a cone pair cost at each height?
Every price here is the RRP for the matched pair, including VAT. Japanese holly (Haru & Kiyo): 70–90cm £455, 90–110cm £590. English yew (Vela & Spira): 70–90cm £485, 110–130cm £670, 150–170cm £1,470, 170–200cm £3,200. The range runs £455–£3,200 the pair. For more than a pair, The Cone Array sets ten cones of one species, yew or holly, in three heights, from £2,900 to £3,610.
Should I choose a yew cone or a Japanese holly cone?
Choose English yew for the darkest, densest finish, for shade (it grows in almost any soil or situation, even deep shade) and for height: it is the only cone here that runs to two metres. It regrows from old wood, which most conifers won't, is hardy to −20°C and takes one clip a year, in late May; every part except the berry flesh is toxic if eaten. Choose Japanese holly for the finest surface: tiny glossy leaves in sun or partial shade, box-blight-free and hardy to −15 to −18°C, in compact sizes from 70 to 110cm. It takes two clips, in late May and early August.
How is a cone different from a spiral or a pencil tree?
A cone is clipped to one continuous taper, widest at the base, with no groove. A spiral starts life as a cone, grown dense over years, then a grower carves a channel that climbs the plant in one continuous turn. A pencil tree is Italian cypress, naturally columnar: it grows tight of its own accord rather than being clipped into shape, wants sun and sharp drainage, and is never cut into old wood. Cones repeat beautifully along a path or a drive; a spiral is a soloist, one pair per sightline.
What height of cone suits a front door, a gate or a parterre?
At a front door, plant and pot together should reach at least a third of the way up the door; the classic target is the tip level with the door handle, about 100–110cm from the ground, and you can go taller with a porch or a tall frontage. Space the pair 120cm centre to centre on a 2m entrance, 140cm on 2.5m and 160–180cm on 3m or wider, leaving at least 60cm clear between the containers (70–80cm is comfortable). At driveway gates the larger yews, 150–200cm, read clearly from the street; lining a drive, set pairs 2.5–3m back from the edge, every 8–12m. In a parterre, Japanese holly cones give vertical rhythm among low clipped hedging.
How do you keep a cone's point sharp and its base full?
Get the apex right first: a sharp point directly over the centre of the base, finished by hand with the tips of the shears, never with a powered trimmer. Then cut the taper in six to eight vertical segments, like orange slices, rotating round the plant so no flat faces form. Keep the base the widest part, so light reaches the lower foliage; a top that outgrows the base leaves the skirt bare. A string tied from the apex to the base, or three canes tied at the top, guides the line, and stepping back to check the profile against a plain background catches any lean. Clip yew once a year, in late May, and Japanese holly in late May and early August; put the shears away after mid-August. The pruning & trimming guide has a chapter on cones.
Do you sell box cones, and what should I buy instead?
We don't grow cones in box. Box blight has no cure, and box tree caterpillar feeds on box. Japanese holly gives the closest small-leaved, finely clipped finish: box blight is confined to box and its close relatives, and box tree caterpillar does not eat holly. If you prefer a darker cone, English yew is unaffected by both.
Matched beforeyou ever see it.
Two cones, selected together and matched for height, taper and base width — so the symmetry at your door is grown, not approximate.
A quality-control certificate with six photographs of your actual pair, then a 24-hour review window before the pallet leaves.
Matched to within 10cm under the 7-day Matching Guarantee, then the 6-month Thrive Guarantee through establishment.
Lifetime Care Support — a photo gets grower answers for as long as you own the plants.
