What Do Professional Landscapers Use for Edging? Steel

Steel edging is the trade default because it is thin, bends to curves and stays put for decades. Plastic is the budget option and the one that lifts.

By Zakaria October 11, 2026 3 min read Save to Pinterest

Close-mown green lawn filling the frame — Photo: Huskyherz, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay

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Steel, mostly — thin enough to disappear, bends to curves, stays put for decades. The other professional answer is no product at all: a maintained spade-cut edge, which costs nothing and looks better than most manufactured edging.

The short answer

Steel edging is the common trade default because it is thin enough to be nearly invisible, bends smoothly around curves and stays in place for decades. A mortared soldier course of bricks or setts is the traditional heavier option and doubles as a mowing strip. For lawn-to-border edges many professionals use no product at all, cutting and maintaining a spade edge instead, which costs nothing but needs recutting once or twice a season. Plastic edging is the one that lifts and becomes brittle.

Steel is the trade default: thin, curves well, lasts decades
Spade-cut edge costs nothing and often looks better
Mortared brick course doubles as a mowing strip
Plastic lifts — frost heave, brittleness, visible bulk
Set edging deep, with the full complement of stakes
For gravel, the edge must stand proud of the stone

The options

This table answers the question on its own

Edging	Lifespan	Curves	Visibility	Maintenance
Steel	Decades	Excellent	Nearly invisible	None
Aluminium	Decades	Excellent	Nearly invisible	None
Spade-cut edge	Indefinite	Any shape	None — it is the edge	Recut 1–2× a season
Brick / sett, mortared	Indefinite	Gentle curves	Deliberate feature	None
Timber board	5–15 years	Straight only	Visible	Replace eventually
Plastic	A few years	Good	Visible bulk	Lifts

Most complaints about edging are complaints about plastic

It is thicker, so it reads as a line across the garden; it goes brittle in cold and UV; and it lifts out over a few freeze-thaw cycles. The category has a poor reputation largely because of one material in it.

Why edging lifts, and how to stop it

Three causes, all avoidable:

Frost heave. Water in soil expands and pushes shallow edging upward.
Not deep enough. Most of the height should be below ground.
Too few stakes. Use the manufacturer’s full complement, not a sample of it.

Drive stakes at a slight angle away from vertical, so they resist being pulled straight up.

The spade edge

A clean vertical cut between lawn and border with a half-moon edging iron, leaving a shallow trench the grass cannot creep across.

Free
Any shape you like
Looks crisp and suits informal and traditional gardens particularly well
Needs recutting once or twice a season — that is the whole trade-off

Many professionals prefer it, and on a traditional border it genuinely looks better than a manufactured product.

For gravel specifically

The edge must stand proud of the gravel

Gravel migrates relentlessly. If the edge finishes level with the stone, the stone simply travels over the top into the lawn. Set the finished gravel slightly below the top of the edge.

Steel at a decent depth, a timber board set outside the gravel zone, or a mortared brick course all work. Low flexible products do not.

Brick, and the mowing strip advantage

A soldier course bedded in mortar on concrete haunching lasts indefinitely — and crucially it doubles as a mowing strip, so the mower wheel runs along it and there is no strimming to do afterwards.

The cost is labour rather than materials. Considerably more work than steel, for a similar lifespan, bought for the look and the mowing strip.

Common questions

What do professional landscapers use for edging?

Steel edging is the common trade default for beds and gravel, because it is thin enough to be nearly invisible, bends smoothly around curves, and stays where it is put for decades. Where a heavier look is wanted, a soldier course of bricks or setts bedded in mortar is the traditional choice. For lawn edges against borders, many professionals use no product at all and simply cut and maintain a spade edge, which is free and looks better than most manufactured edging.

Is steel or plastic edging better?

Steel, in almost every respect except price. Steel is thinner so it disappears visually, holds a smooth curve, resists mower damage and does not become brittle, and good steel edging lasts decades. Plastic is cheaper and easier to cut, but it is thicker, shows as a visible line, becomes brittle in cold and UV, and is notorious for lifting out of the ground over a few freeze-thaw cycles. Most complaints about edging in general are actually complaints about plastic edging.

Why does garden edging keep lifting out of the ground?

Usually frost heave, insufficient depth, or too few stakes. Water in the soil expands as it freezes and pushes shallow edging upward, and once it has lifted slightly a mower or a foot finishes the job. The fixes are setting it deep enough that most of its height is below ground, using the manufacturer's full complement of stakes rather than fewer, and driving stakes at a slight angle away from the vertical so they resist being pulled straight up.

What is a spade cut edge and is it good enough?

It is a clean vertical cut made with a half-moon edging iron or a spade between lawn and border, leaving a shallow trench that the grass cannot creep across. It costs nothing, looks crisp, suits informal and traditional gardens particularly well, and many professionals prefer it. The trade-off is maintenance: it needs recutting once or twice a season, where a steel edge needs none, so it is a choice between money and ongoing effort.

What edging works best for gravel?

Something with enough height and rigidity to physically contain the stone, which rules out most low flexible products. Steel edging at a decent depth, a timber board set outside the gravel zone, or a mortared brick course all work. The critical detail is that gravel migrates relentlessly, so the edge must stand slightly proud of the finished gravel level, otherwise stone simply travels over the top into the lawn.

Is brick edging worth the extra work?

Where the look suits the house, yes, and it lasts indefinitely once bedded properly. A soldier course of bricks or setts set in mortar on a concrete haunching gives a solid, permanent edge that also acts as a mowing strip, so the mower wheel can run along it and remove the need for separate strimming. The cost is in labour rather than materials, and it is considerably more work than steel for a similar lifespan.

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