Want to see immediate effects in your garden? Choose these quickly expanding shrubs for your planting plans, and your landscape will soon be bursting with texture, color, and form.
Even though gardening does require some patience, there are some ways to expedite the process, one of which is selecting the appropriate plants.
Some of the fast-growing evergreen bushes recommended here might need a bit more care and attention than others, just like the greatest fast-growing trees. However, they are generally self-sufficient and will only sometimes require a little pruning or feeding.
Table of Contents
Fast-Growing Evergreen Bushes
- Beauty Bush
- Cherry Laurel
- Forsythia
- Hydrangeas
- Elderberry
- Mock Orange
- Cotoneaster
- Leylandii
- Arborvitae
- Red Twig Dogwood
- Beautyberry
- Common Lilac
- Common Ninebark
- Burning Bush
1. Beauty Bush
Beauty bush, sometimes known as the Kolkwitzia amabilis, is a deciduous flowering shrub with quick growth. It is a member of the honeysuckle family and requires full sun, well-drained soil, and a medium amount of moisture to flourish.
It has an arching, vase-shaped habit and typically grows to a height of 6–10 feet. Depending on the hardiness zone where you reside, the exact date of its mid-spring blooming stunning pink flowers with yellow throats in clusters will vary.
This shrub works well as a hedging plant as well. It generally doesn’t have any pests or diseases and has to be pruned after flowering.
2. Cherry Laurel
The popular shrub Prunus laurocerasus ‘Schipkaensis’, often known as the cherry laurel or schip laurel, has glossy leaves and is an evergreen tree that can be utilized to grow hedges quickly.
For individuals who live in somewhat mild locations, cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), often known as English laurel, is a good option. It has everlasting, glossy green leaves that do not change color in the autumn.
In the spring, creamy white flower clusters appear. This evergreen may be easily trained to grow into tall, lean hedges and only requires a single annual pruning and, on occasion, shaping.
It is one of the greatest fast-growing plants to utilize as a shrub for privacy among other garden privacy ideas because of its rapid growth rate, which may reach up to 2 feet in a year. It thrives in hardiness zones 6 through 9.
It is a versatile option for swiftly establishing a dense hedge because it favors partial to full shade but tolerates a variety of soil types. The chip laurel produces lovely stalks of fragrant white flowers and scarlet berries in the winter.
3. Forsythia
Simple to maintain Forsythia may grow in a variety of environments. It’s one of the most adaptable fast-growing shrubs, and its vibrant spring blossoms make it a favourite. Nature Hills sells a variety of products.
These beautiful spring-blooming yellow flowers require little maintenance and upkeep. They bloom among the bushes among the first in the spring and grow at a rate of around 2 feet per year, creating lovely and wild golden “walls” of privacy.
Leave room for forsythia to expand because they can grow up to 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide, especially if you want to use them as hedging. If at all feasible, place the bushes at least six feet apart and frequently prune them to avoid developing an untidy maze-like structure of stems.
Alternately, if you prefer the wilder appearance, permit them to grow as nature intended and take pleasure in the annual burst of beautiful, uplifting blooms.
4. Hydrangeas
One of the few plants that can be grown from coast to coast in the majority of climates is the hydrangea. This flowering shrub is a favorite addition to many gardens because of its enormous, gorgeous flower heads in a variety of colors.
Knowing how to trim hydrangeas is crucial to maintaining the beauty of these quickly expanding shrubs, as pruning encourages both good shape and the development of fresh flowers.
Most need a few hours of light for the finest blooms, however, others may take partial shade. Give them morning sun and afternoon shade in the warmest areas so they don’t dry.
Numerous varieties of hydrangeas bloom in the summer and fall. They are all simple to grow and take little time to establish. They are really simple to take care of as long as their fundamental needs are addressed.
5. Elderberry
One of the best fast-growing shrubs for a backyard is the elderberry since it produces beautiful blossoms and berries that can be eaten.
These perennial deciduous bushes thrive in shade and sunlight and are hardy in zones 4–7. This graceful plant looks lovely in a mixed bed thanks to its late spring or early summer flowers and appealing leaves.
They will begin to bloom in the late spring and will produce a profusion of tiny white flowers that may be plucked to make wonderful elderflowers cordial or fizz.
Elderberry plants can remain small bushes or reach heights of more than 10 feet with the right pruning. Elderberry plants produce fruit when they are 2-3 years old and are best bought while they are young.
6. Mock Orange
Depending on your location’s environment, the mock orange, or philadelphus, is a robust shrub that blooms from roughly mid-June to August. True oranges are not mock oranges. However, the white flowers’ lemony scent is enough to elicit comparisons. This shrub will gain about 2 feet every year.
This is a beautiful sensory garden plant to grow near an outdoor seating or dining area, or in a place where you can take full advantage of the aroma. The delightfully sweet-scented blossoms are a delight to walk past. It requires relatively little upkeep and thrives in either full or partial sunlight and well-draining soil.
7. Cotoneaster
These shrubs are prized for their summer white blooms and fall berry display. There are several different kinds; some are evergreen and some are deciduous. Some are ornamental specimen shrubs that make a statement, while others are practical low-growing plants that grow into lovely mounds.
Rock cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis) has stiff, thick branching that gives the plant a bristly appearance. In what is frequently referred to as a “herringbone pattern,” a phrase also used in hardscaping, stems grow off the branches.
Once the red berries develop, the bristly appearance is noticeably softened because your eyes will be drawn to their plump orbs. Although birds can eat cotoneaster berries without harm, both people and animals should avoid them.
Cotoneaster grows 2 feet every year, which is quick growth. Choose a taller kind of cotoneaster, such as C. lucidus, which grows 6 to 10 feet high and wide (grow it in zones 3 to 7), if you want a higher privacy hedge.
Usually, a lot of sun is beneficial for them with a fertile and well-drained soil. There isn’t much upkeep required, but if growth is slower than planned, you may give them a boost by fertilizing them with rose food in the autumn and then mulching them with organic material.
8. Leylandii
Leylandii (Cuprocyparis leylandii or Cupressocyparis leylandii), often known as Leyland cypress, is a cross between Alaskan cedar and Monterey cypress. Fast-growing conifers like Leyland Cypress are frequently utilized in landscaping as low-maintenance privacy screens and hedges.
Leyland Cypress plants are most frequently employed as tall hedges or perimeter plants on large-scale properties because they are such quickly-growing evergreen trees. This tree is a great option for blocking out unpleasant sights or noise because of its quick growth rate and large maturity height.
It has a negative reputation for being challenging to manage because it is an aggressive grower with a maximum annual growth rate of 3 feet. However, leylandii makes a great privacy hedge or windbreak provided you maintain annual or semi-annual pruning. Grazing animals may be slightly harmful to Leyland cypress.
9. Arborvitae
Evergreen arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), including the relatively modest “North Pole,” come in a variety of forms and do not all grow at the same rate.
As a result, not every arborvitae is appropriate for use in privacy hedges. The ‘Green Giant’, a fast-growing plant that may grow to a height of 50 to 60 feet and a spread of 12 to 20 feet, is a good option for substantial privacy hedges.
‘Emerald Green’ arborvitae is a better choice if you want a bush that is more compact and doesn’t mind waiting a little longer.
The latter rarely exceeds 12 to 14 feet tall and has a spread of no more than 3 to 4 feet. If you look closely, the foliage of this plant has flat sprays and what appears to be scales on the needles.
10. Red Twig Dogwood
The red twig dogwood (Cornus sericea), while losing its leaves, berries, and blossoms in the winter, nevertheless stands out as an attractive privacy hedge.
Red twig dogwood may be at its best when nothing obscures the sight of its best feature: its distinctive fire-red bark color (yellow twig dogwood shares this trait, but in a different way).
On the most depressing winter days, simply gazing at such a plant might make you feel better. It can be a fast-growing shrub that grows 2 feet taller every year. It is also tolerant of cold.
11. Beautyberry
Because beautyberry (Callicarpa Americana) grows so quickly—2 feet each year—many experts advise cutting it in the early spring to only a foot or so above the ground. By autumn, the following new growth is loaded with berries and big enough to serve as a decorative hedge and privacy screen.
The most attractive form of this perennial plant that thrives in the sun has dark purple foliage with masses of white blossoms in the late summer. Other varieties have solid green or variegated green and white leaves. The fall purple berries are what steal the show.
12. Common Lilac
The conventional and common lilac (Syringa vulgaris), which has aromatic blossoms, is an olfactory gem similar to the mock orange. Numerous fresh varieties are readily available. When in full bloom in the spring, they will grow around 2 feet a year and create a stunning privacy shrub.
Lilacs, which have a lovely perfume and enjoy lots of sunlight, benefit from the spacing between other plants to allow for air circulation and lower the likelihood of powdery mildew growth. Some species can withstand extreme cold.
13. Common Ninebark
Physocarpus opulifolius, sometimes known as common ninebark, was given its name after the bark, however, it is not precisely a member of the same family as red twig dogwood.
With its attractive burgundy foliage that lasts all season and is capped with creamy white flowers in early June, this native white-flowering plant stands out in the yard. The plant has a graceful arching structure and is extremely cold-hardy.
When fully grown, Diablo is 8 to 10 feet tall with burgundy leaves. The best part is that because ninebark shrubs grow so quickly, they can all reach their full height in just one year.
14. Burning Bush
The burning bush (Euonymus alatus) might serve as North America’s representative example of an invasive shrub. It has an excellent autumn color that runs from scarlet to pinkish-red and grows quickly, at a rate of 2 feet each year.
In the autumn, burning shrub also has reddish-orange fruit. Just be aware that it should be planted carefully because it is an invasive shrub.
Conclusion
You’ll probably want to periodically trim your hedges every six to eight weeks during the growing season once your plant has been established, usually within two years. This will help them maintain their shape. If the plant blooms in the spring, don’t trim it until after that time. It’s okay to give it a trim in winter or spring if it blooms in the summer.
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A passion-driven environmentalist by heart. Lead content writer at EnvironmentGo.
I strive to educate the public about the environment and its problems.
It has always been about nature, we ought to protect not destroy.