If you just moved in, got new neighbors, or had land cleared next to your property, sometimes you need a fast-growing privacy tree that will start giving you privacy in just a couple of years.
Fortunately, there are many fast-growing deciduous and coniferous trees to choose from, no matter which USDA Planting Zone you live in.
Let’s take a look at seven fast-growing privacy trees for your yard!
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7 Excellent Privacy Trees That Grow Rapidly
1. Superior Hybrid Poplar Tree – Populus deltoids x Populus nigra
The poplar tree is famous for its incredibly fast growth, so it’s no surprise that the Superior Hybrid Poplar grows at an amazing 8 feet in a year. With its dense canopy of bright green leaves, you will have privacy in no time! In the fall, their leaves turn a lovely shade of golden yellow.
This cross between the native Eastern Cottonwood and Lombardy Poplar has an upright, symmetrical form that resists breakage better than either parent.
Superior Hybrid Poplars are incredibly easy to grow in any moist soil; they even handle short-term flooding, making them suitable for riparian areas.
- USDA Growing Zones: 3 – 8
- Average Size at Maturity: 40 – 50 ft tall, 25 – 35 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous flowers emerge in spring; no cottony fruits are produced
- Growth Rate: 6-8 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
2. Leyland Cypress – Cupressus x leylandii or Cuprocyparis leylandii
Leyland Cypress is a popular ornamental tree for its fast growth, 3 – 4 feet per year. It is an excellent choice for privacy screens and hedges, where it will provide privacy fast and last all year round, thanks to its evergreen leaves.
You can let it grow naturally, or it takes very well to pruning when trained into a more formal hedge.
Leyland Cypress thrives in poor soils, full sun or partial shade, and urban conditions.
This cypress tree is a sterile hybrid, so you will never have to worry about it becoming invasive.
- USDA Growing Zones: 6 – 10
- Average Size at Maturity: 60 – 70 ft tall, 15 – 20 ft spread
- Growth Rate: 3-4 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
3. Dawn Redwood – Metasequoia glyptostroboides
The Dawn Redwood is a unique cold-hardy redwood tree with a gorgeous symmetrical growth form and beautiful delicate deciduous needle-like leaves that turn a pleasant shade of orange in the fall.
These trees will reach massive heights, up to 100 feet in cultivation, and grow incredibly fast at 3 – 5 feet per year when young.
Dawn Redwoods perform best in acidic to neutral soils with consistent moisture. While they will tolerate wet soils, they will not tolerate alkaline or dry soils.
This popular landscape tree was once thought extinct in the wild and remains endangered in its native habitat.
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 8
- Average Size at Maturity: 50 – 100 ft tall, 15 – 25 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous pollen cones mature in early spring; small seed cones mature in late fall.
- Growth Rate: 3-5 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
4. Silver Maple – Acer saccharinum
The Silver Maple is a gorgeous native tree with class maple-life leaves on long leaf stalks that flutter attractively in the breeze, flashing the silvery undersides that give them their common name.
It’s also the fastest-growing maple tree, growing 4-6 feet yearly. It will quickly fill that border or corner of your yard and provide fast privacy and shade.
Silver Maples are also incredibly adaptable trees that thrive in any soil type, including wet and poorly drained, and tolerate urban conditions very well. However, they have invasive roots, so they shouldn’t be planted next to buildings or sidewalks.
- USDA Growing Zones: 3 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 50 – 80 ft tall, 35 – 50 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous flowers emerge in spring, winged seeds (samaras) mature in late summer or fall
- Growth Rate: 4-6 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
5. Green Giant Arborvitae – Thuja plicata ‘Green Giant’
The Green Giant Arborvitae is an excellent choice for a fast-growing evergreen hedge, privacy screen, or border. This beauty is bred from the gorgeous native Western Red Cedar but in a smaller and more compact form.
Green Giant Arborvitae is one of the fastest growing arborvitaes at 3 – 5 ft per year, so it will quickly block out those unsightly. And since it’s evergreen, you will have year-round privacy with its lush green leaves.
While preferring moist, well-drained soils, they are highly adaptable and drought-tolerant once established. However, they will appreciate a nice thick layer of mulch around their roots.
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 – 8
- Average Size at Maturity: 40 – 50 ft tall, 8 – 12 ft spread
- Growth Rate: 3-5 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
6. Dappled or Tri-Color Willow Tree – Salix integra ‘Hakura Nishiki’
The Dappled Willow is a unique willow tree with tri-color variegated leaves in green with white and pink highlights that provide so much color that the trees look like they are blooming when it’s really just the leaves!
The best part is that Dappled Willows is compact enough to fit in small gardens yet large enough to provide a great privacy screen or hedge that requires no pruning or maintenance. And at 2 – 3 feet of growth per year, they will provide that privacy fast!
They are highly adaptable to various conditions and thrive in areas with wet, soggy soil.
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 8 – 10 ft tall, 4 – 6 ft spread
- Growth Rate: 2-3 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
7. Tulip Tree – Liriodendron tulipifera
We couldn’t talk about fast-growing privacy trees without mentioning the gorgeous Tulip Tree. This eastern North American native tree grows 2 – 3 feet annually and can reach astonishing heights in its native habitat.
Their big, beautiful, deciduous leaves provide great privacy and shade and turn beautiful shades of yellow and orange in the fall. Not only that, but they produce large, gorgeous yellow tulip-like flowers that provide a spectacular spring display.
Tulip Trees are easy to grow in full sun and almost any soil type, even wet soil. They don’t perform well in inner urban environments, however.
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 60 – 100 ft tall, 30 – 40 ft spread
- Flowering Season: Flowers bloom in mid-spring
- Growth Rate: 2-3 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
Comparison Table of Fast Growing Privacy Trees
| Tree Name | Growth Rate (per Year) | USDA Growing Zones | Average Mature Size | Special Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superior Hybrid Poplar | Up to 8 feet | 3 – 8 | 40-50 ft tall, 25-35 ft spread | Dense canopy, golden fall leaves, upright form |
| Leyland Cypress | 2 – 4 feet | 6 – 10 | 60-70 ft tall, 15-20 ft spread | Evergreen, suitable for hedges, thrives in poor soils |
| Dawn Redwood | 3 – 5 feet | 4 – 8 | 50-100 ft tall, 15-25 ft spread | Deciduous, cold-hardy, pleasant fall color |
| Silver Maple | 4-6 feet | 3 – 9 | 50-80 ft tall, 35-50 ft spread | Adaptable, silvery leaf undersides, invasive roots |
| Green Giant Arborvitae | 3 – 5 feet | 5 – 8 | 40-50 ft tall, 8-12 ft spread | Evergreen, compact, drought-tolerant once established |
| Dappled Willow | 2 – 3 feet | 5 – 9 | 8-10 ft tall, 4-6 ft spread | Tri-color variegated leaves, adaptable to wet soils |
| Tulip Tree | 2 – 3 feet | 4 – 9 | 60-100 ft tall, 30-40 ft spread | Beautiful spring flowers, vibrant fall colors |
Fast-Growing Trees to Give You Privacy, Quickly!
While there are many options for privacy trees, sometimes you need that privacy as fast as possible!
As you have seen, you can choose from many fast-growing privacy trees. There are deciduous trees that grow super fast to block out those unsightly views, or you can choose one of the fast-growing evergreen trees that will take slightly longer but provide year-round privacy.
Now, the hardest part will be choosing which tree you want!
Related Articles:
- 9 Tall Skinny Privacy Trees to Transform Your Yard into a Peaceful Retreat
- 7 Fast-Growing Privacy Trees – Up to 8 Feet Growth per Year
- Top 7 Trees for Enhanced Privacy Along Your Fence Line
- 7 Best Privacy Trees for USDA Zone 8 Gardeners
