Collection Lollipop trees
Grown Tuscany, Italy
Sold as Matched pairs
From £325 the pair
Lollipop Trees — Evergreen Matched Pairs
Clear stems. Matched heads.
Eight evergreen species, clipped as standards — a clear stem below, a dense head above — and every listing a true matched pair: selected together at growers near Florence, raised side by side, and photographed side by side at our UK depot before dispatch.
Matched pairs from £325 · delivered kerbside UK-wide
How to chooseTwo measurements.Read them first.
Every lollipop on this page is described by the same two numbers — learn them and the listings read themselves.
Clear stem — where the head sits
The clear stem is the bare trunk below the clipped head, and it decides the job. A 40–60cm stem holds the head at doorstep and planter height — the classic pair either side of a front door. An 80–100cm stem lifts the head clear of fence panels and garden walls, which is what raised screening runs on.
Girth — the honest age measure
Girth is the trunk's circumference — 6–16cm across this range — and it beats height as the number to compare. Height can be forced in a season; a thick trunk cannot. Every extra centimetre of girth is years in the Tuscan field, a broader, denser head, and presence that arrives grown rather than promised. Two trees the same height can be a decade apart; girth tells you which one you're buying.
Then pick the species
Eight evergreens take the lollipop cut here, from £325 to £1,070 the pair. Drag through the range below for every rendition and its price, then use the chooser beneath it to match a species to your site — sheltered or exposed, sun or shade, quiet green or performing colour.
Where a raised headearns its keep.
Three deployments. One pinned frame. Scroll.
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The front door
The lollipop's home fixture and the highest-return two plants on any frontage: a matched pair either side of the door, heads at eye level, stems keeping the threshold clear. It reads as established from the day the pallet arrives. The entrance collection is built around exactly this move.
Raised screening above fences & walls
An 80–100cm clear stem puts the head exactly where a fence panel stops and an overlooking window starts. A run of lollipops adds a green upper storey — privacy where you need it, light and border space below, and none of a hedge's footprint. Girth matters most here: thicker trunks carry broader heads and close the gaps sooner.
Pots & planters
Every species on this page takes to a container — a lollipop in a generous frost-proof pot is formal gardening's most portable trick, and for bay a pot's guaranteed drainage is a positive advantage. Pot size, compost and winter positioning are all covered in the pots guide.
Eight renditions.Every price, honest.
Drag through the range — matched-pair prices including VAT, banded by clear stem and girth.
N° 01
Golden euonymus
Gold-splashed evergreen — the range's brightest entry point.
from £325 the pair
N° 02
Best value in the range — dense, glossy and endlessly forgiving.
from £350 the pair
N° 03
Variegated holly
Silver-edged leaves and winter berries — happy in shade.
from £350 the pair
N° 06
Nellie R. Stevens holly
Deep glossy green — the shade and screening specialist.
from £455 the pair
Drag · Scroll
The largest pairs — 80–100cm stems on 14–16cm trunks — run to £935–£1,070. How the two measurements set the price band is mapped in the lollipop sizes guide, and the wider market logic in the topiary prices guide.
Pick by site first.Then by look.
Same cut, eight personalities — your position eliminates more candidates than taste should.
Sheltered Doorstep
The classic where walls break the wind — aromatic leaves at the threshold. The full brief is in the bay guide.
Exposed & Windy
Where bay would scorch — unbothered by wind, cold snaps and coastal air.
Shade & North-Facing
The hollies
Nellie R. Stevens for deep green, variegated holly for silver light — both keep a dense head where sun is scarce.
Performing Colour
A flame-red flush after every trim — or Pink Marble for pink-and-cream. See the photinia guide.
Best Value
The most head for the money and the fastest to forgive a missed trim — the case is made in the privet guide.
Brightening a Dark Corner
Golden euonymus
Gold variegation that reads as sunlight against dark brick or a shaded porch — and the gentlest price in the range.
Want the longer argument? Our growers rank all eight head-to-head in the best lollipop tree varieties — and a photo of your door or fence line sent to the free consultation settles species, stem height and girth in a day.
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Selected together · raised side by side · photographed before dispatch
Buying lollipops.Quick answers.
The questions buyers actually ask, answered by the growers.
What is a lollipop tree?
A lollipop tree — a "standard" in nursery language — is a tree trained to a single clear stem with a dense, rounded clipped head on top. The shape keeps ground level open while putting the green exactly where you want it: at eye level by a door, or above a fence for screening. Ours are evergreen, so the head holds its form and colour all year.
What are the best evergreen lollipop trees?
It depends on the site: bay laurel for sheltered doorsteps, Portuguese laurel for exposed positions, the hollies for shade, photinia Red Robin for colour and Delavay privet for value. Our growers rank all eight in the best varieties guide.
How much do lollipop trees cost?
As matched pairs including VAT: golden euonymus from £325, privet and variegated holly from £350, photinia from £375, Portuguese laurel from £430, Nellie R. Stevens holly from £455, Pink Marble at £480 and bay from £510 — rising to £935–£1,070 for the largest stems and girths. Single shaped plants start at £80. The full market logic is in the prices guide.
Do lollipop trees grow well in pots?
Exceptionally well — the clear stem was practically invented for a planter either side of a door. All eight species here suit containers; bay actively prefers one because a pot guarantees the winter drainage it insists on. Pot sizing, compost and feeding are covered in the pots guide.
Can lollipop trees screen above a fence?
That's their second profession. An 80–100cm clear stem carries the head above a standard fence panel or wall, blocking the sightline from overlooking windows while leaving light and planting space underneath — a green upper storey without a hedge's width. Choose the biggest girth the budget allows: broader heads close the gaps sooner.
Which lollipop trees tolerate shade or a north-facing spot?
The hollies are the specialists — Nellie R. Stevens (from £455) and variegated holly (from £350) both keep dense heads in low light, and Portuguese laurel is nearly as tolerant. Save bay and photinia for positions with more sun; photinia's red flush needs light to perform.
What do clear stem and girth mean?
Clear stem is the height of bare trunk below the head — 40–60cm for doorstep height, 80–100cm for screening above fences. Girth is the trunk's circumference, 6–16cm across this range, and it's the honest age measure: height can be forced in a season, a thick trunk can't, so girth is the number to compare between listings. The sizes guide maps both.
How do you care for a lollipop tree?
Lightly: one to three short trims a year depending on species to keep the head crisp, generous watering through the first summer while roots establish, and one spring feed. Nothing here is demanding — the first-year guide maps the establishment window and the complete care guide covers the years after.
How are they delivered, and what are the guarantees?
Kerbside on a pallet by specialist haulier, anywhere in the UK, 14–21 working days from order, with the driver telephoning about an hour before arrival — details at delivery & returns. Every pair carries the 7-day Matching Guarantee, the 6-month Thrive Guarantee (replacement at 50% of the single-plant price) and Lifetime Care Support.
Matched beforeyou ever see it.
Two stems, two heads, selected together in Tuscany and raised as twins — so the symmetry at your door is grown, not approximate.
Your actual pair, side by side at our UK depot, before the pallet is built.
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.
