These 7 Fast-Growing Conifers Give You Privacy Fast – Without Any High-Maintenance Gardening, Say Tree Experts
Conifers provide evergreen screening throughout all four seasons
Once established, conifers provide lush green screening for very little effort. Super easy to look after, they need only minimal pruning, are wind- and drought-tolerant, and make a pleasing addition to any planting design that lasts right through the seasons.
Conifers don't have to be uniform and boring either. There are plenty of different types to choose from that offer interesting variations in foliage textures and come in a range of shades from dark green to blue-gray. The dense growth habit of conifers means they will enhance your privacy while also adding color, texture and structure.
Consider planting these year-round trees when seeking inspiration for garden privacy ideas as it's a quick way to transform your yard. We asked experts to name their favorite types of fast-growing conifers for year-round greenery and privacy and here is their selection.
7 of the best fast-growing conifers for privacy
With so many different types of conifer to choose from it's hard to know where to start. But choose the right fast-growing conifers for year-round greenery and privacy and they will screen your garden in record time.
So if you're looking for the best plants for privacy this guide is for you.
1. Arborvitae
'Green Giant' Arborvitae tree
'If you're looking for a privacy hedge wall, the best option is usually an Arborvitae tree [Thuja occidentalis],' says Kaustubh Deo, president of Blooma Tree Experts. 'These grow very straight and maintain green year-round.
They are fast-growers as well, so it's important to stay on top of maintenance, or it can become an expensive headache.'
Alternatively opt for a variety like Arborvitae 'Emerald Green', available from Amazon, a popular choice for evergreen trees because of its compact size and vibrant green foliage. It's a great option if you're looking for a privacy screen for a small yard and live in Zones 3-8.
Kaustubh has another invaluable tip to bear in mind when you're learning how to grow arborvitae. 'When you plant them make sure to leave enough room between each tree to give them some room to fill in,' he says.
'They will eventually create a nice wall, but if you plant them too close together to begin with, one or two may die from being crowded out, leaving you an unfortunate gap that is hard to close as it's too small for a new tree, but too big for the existing trees to fill in.'
As the day-to-day operator of Blooma Tree Experts, ISA-certified arborist KD manages all things finance, business administration, HR, and more. Kaustubh grew up in Redmond and went to high school at University Prep in northeast Seattle. After a 10-year stint on the East Coast, he’s excited to be back home in the Seattle area.
2. Sequoia
If you have a large and spacious yard in Zones 6-9 Sequoia trees are fast-growing conifers for year-round greenery and privacy that will work well if you have the available space.
They will grow a couple of feet taller every year, quickly evolving into a large tree with a pyramid shape.
'If you're looking for a tree that will truly grow to be a large conifer, I recommend sequoias,' says Kaustubh Deo. 'They are hardy and fast-growing, just stunning conifers overall. It's important to ensure you plant them with enough room to expand. They have a fairly columnar growth relative to a lot of conifers, but they will still need meaningful room for roots.'
These are one of the evergreens never to grow if you have a small backyard. Kaustubh also doesn't recommend planting them close to a house.
But if you have a back corner of a large backyard that you'd like to add some privacy to if you're overlooked, a potted sequoia sapling like this one from Amazon can be the perfect tree to add to your outdoor space.
3. Arizona cypress
'For gardeners in Texas and the Southwest, Arizona cypress, aka Hesperocyparis arizonica, has unusual dark silver-blue foliage and grows fast to be a lovely cone-shaped evergreen for privacy in full sun,' says arborist Colleen Dieter. 'It’s great for drought-prone areas and somewhat resistant to deer, depending on what your particular herd likes to snack on.'
Native to the Southwest, this evergreen is a go-to if you're thinking about xeriscaping and other desert landscaping ideas, because it has low water needs once established. I
t's an easy-care option too if you plant it in full sun and well-drained soil. It can reach a height of around 40 feet, so you will need to plan it into your landscape carefully in terms of where you want screening.
Look out for also for 'Blue Ice', which has aromatic blue-gray foliage and grows to around 35 feet. If you're looking for a cultivar that's suitable for a screening hedge, try 'Blue Pyramid', which grows to around 25 feet tall.
You can find Arizona cypress here at Nature Hills.
Since founding Red Wheelbarrow over 20 years ago Colleen Dieter has helped transform hundreds of yards in Central Texas. As a top gardening educator, she is often asked to speak to audiences about native Texas planting. Her speaking appearances include Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, TreeFolks, Central Texas Seed Savers, Williamson County Master Gardeners and the Natural Gardener. She is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist and founder of Central Texas Seed Savers, an organization preventing extinction by sharing local seeds.
4. Juniperus communis 'Hibernica'
'Used appropriately, conifers can be wonderful architectural plants, steadfast in form, gently scented, easy to maintain and evergreen,' says garden designer Annika Zetterman, author of New Nordic Gardens: Scandinavian Landscape Design, available from Amazon.
Common junipers are hardy evergreen conifers that comes in all shapes and sizes including low-growing varieties, and thrive in Zones 3-9. If you're looking for a good type of conifer to screen your garden the 'Hibernica' cultivar is ideal.
'Juniperus communis 'Hibernica' works well as a tall columnar specimen or mixed in a border,' says Annika Zetterman. This dense shrub grows to around 15 feet tall which makes it ideal for privacy screening.
It's also a great conifer for enhancing the landscape, adding a strong vertical accent with its dark evergreen foliage. It's a useful evergreen tree for smaller gardens too as it will remain narrowly compact for years.
Annika Zetterman is one of Scandinavia’s most influential garden designers. Her distinct gardens are characterised by a Nordic simplicity, functionality and grace, with the natural landscape as an integral. Annika holds a B.Sc. in media engineering, LTH, Sweden and a Diploma in Garden Design from the English Gardening School, London, UK. Prior training also include Fine Art studies, both in the UK and US. In 2010 she moved back to her home town, Stockholm, to set up her garden design studio.
5. Taxus baccata
Taxus baccata is one of the best evergreen shrubs you can add to your garden if you're looking for fast-growing conifers for year-round greenery and privacy. Also known as English yew, this verdant conifer is an asset in any planting design. It's also one of the best trees for removing air pollution, as well as offering food and shelter for a variety of wildlife.
The types of yew used for privacy hedges tend to be the taller varieties that lend themselves perfectly to screening. This is the most popular conifer hedge because of its density and height, and is used in both modern garden design and more traditional ones. It thrives in Zones 6-8.
There are numerous cultivars of Taxus grown as ornamentals. As well as for boundary hedges, Taxus baccata is also used for topiary and can be easily shaped into tall pyramids to add a strikingly different design detail to your screening ideas.
6. Italian cypress
Including elegant Italian cypress trees in your garden design to screen your property offers both practical and aesthetic benefits. Known for their distinctive vertical shape, this tree serves as a dramatic focal point by adding a dark and distinctive accent to your boundary.
With a mature height of 50-60 feet, despite achieving great heights they won't take up much space. The striking columnar shape of Italian cypress trees, as found here at Nature Hills, offers an easy fast-growing option that doesn't need pruning to keep it in shape. These trees thrive in Zones 7-11.
They will happily be planted very close together to form a dense hedge to block an unwanted view. You can also try planting them in a zig-zag pattern to grow a solid screen faster.
Plant them in full sun for best results and your job is done; they handle drought well so don't need much watering once established.
7. Leyland cypress
Perhaps the best known of all the fast-growing conifers for year-round greenery and privacy, Leyland cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii) is popular for a reason.
This is the go-to choice for a living screen as it's prized for rapid growth, quickly achieved height, and conical habit. It's one of the easiest evergreen trees to grow for interest throughout the seasons.
This variety can reach heights of up to 70 feet if left to grow as a tree or alternatively you can keep it clipped to the height of hedge you require, and it will soon make a thick dense screen to block an unwanted view.
The evergreen foliage has a slight blue tinge. If you're using it to create a privacy hedge plant trees 8 to 10 feet apart to allow each one room to grow.
Growing in zones 6-10, Leyland cypress, available at Nature Hills, does best in full sun, and once established, is moderately drought tolerant but will need deep watering when there are prolonged periods of dry weather.
That's a wrap on our ideas for fast-growing conifers for year-round greenery and privacy. If you're looking for more trees to include in your backyard landscaping ideas check out why these underrated trees deserve a spot in your garden, as well as the best north American native trees that will add color and impact to any yard.
