9 Hedges That Ensure Privacy with Their Quick Growth

Posted on 20/05/2025

9 Hedges That Ensure Privacy with Their Quick Growth

Maintaining privacy in your backyard, garden, or front yard is often a top priority for homeowners. Quick-growing privacy hedges offer a natural, attractive, and effective solution to creating a secluded outdoor space. Instead of waiting years for trees to mature, selecting fast growing hedge varieties becomes the obvious choice. In this comprehensive guide, you'll discover nine rapid-growth hedges that create a living privacy screen in record time, helping you secure your personal oasis while enhancing your property's curb appeal.

Why Choose Fast-Growing Hedges for Privacy?

Homeowners often ask, "What is the fastest growing hedge for privacy?" The answer lies in plants designed to grow vigorously, fill in spaces quickly, and form dense barriers. The benefits of using fast-growing privacy hedges include:

• Rapid privacy - No need to wait years for coverage.
• Noise reduction - Dense foliage helps block traffic or neighborhood sounds.
• Windbreak - Shrubs can shield parts of your garden from harsh winds.
• Wildlife habitat - Hedges attract birds and beneficial insects.
• Visual beauty - Lush greenery enhances landscape aesthetics.

Let's explore the top 9 fast growing hedges that serve as living fences, ensuring your privacy with their accelerated growth rates.

1. Leyland Cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii)

The King of Fast-Growing Privacy Hedges

If you're seeking ultimate privacy quickly, Leyland Cypress is among the most popular and fastest growing hedges worldwide. It can shoot up 2 to 3 feet per year and quickly matures into a thick, tall barrier that blocks sights and sounds.

• Growth Rate: 2-3 feet per year
• Mature Height: 40-60 feet (can be pruned lower)
• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Adaptable, well-drained
• Why Choose: _Excellent for large properties, windbreaks, commercial and residential privacy hedges_

Tip: Regular trimming keeps Leyland Cypress at your preferred height and encourages denser growth, enhancing its effectiveness as a privacy hedge.

2. Photinia (Red Tip Photinia)

Vivid Color and Quick Coverage

With its signature red-tinted new foliage, Red Tip Photinia delivers both privacy and visual excitement. Its dense, evergreen leaves and rapid growth make it an ideal living wall for screening neighbors or unsightly views.

• Growth Rate: 1-2 feet per year
• Mature Height: 10-15 feet (can be kept shorter)
• Sun Requirements: Full sun
• Soil: Well-drained, moderately fertile
• Why Choose: _Striking color contrast, easy to shape, hardy_

Pruning in spring not only maintains its shape but also stimulates the flush of red leaves. Photinia's quick growth turns your yard into a private retreat in just a few seasons.

3. Privet (Ligustrum spp.)

Classic, Structured, and Incredibly Fast

Privet hedges have adorned European gardens for centuries, and for good reason. These robust fast-growing shrubs for privacy are adaptable, evergreen or semievergreen (depending on your climate), and can grow up up to 3 feet per year.

• Growth Rate: 2-3 feet per year
• Mature Height: 4-15 feet (dependant on species and pruning)
• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Tolerant of most soil types
• Why Choose: _Ideal for tidy, formal hedges or informal screens_

Privet is a go-to choice for those who like to shape and style their landscape, as it responds well to regular trimming.

4. Bamboo (Clumping Varieties)

The Ultimate Fast-Growing Living Fence

Looking for a slightly exotic, lush and tall privacy barrier? Bamboo privacy hedges can create a wall of green in under two years. Choose clumping bamboos (not running types) to avoid invasiveness.

• Growth Rate: Up to 3 feet per year or more
• Mature Height: 10-25 feet (species dependent)
• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Well-draining, moderately fertile
• Why Choose: _Tropical looks, rustling sound in wind, effective privacy screen_

Note: Always choose non-invasive bamboo species, like Bambusa multiplex or Bambusa textilis, for an easy-care, fast-growing privacy hedge.

5. Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Green Giant' & 'Emerald Green')

All-Season Evergreen Hedging

Arborvitae varieties excel at forming tall, dense hedges for privacy in both residential and commercial landscapes. Of these, 'Green Giant' and 'Emerald Green' are celebrated for their incredible growth rates and pest resistance. These evergreens are treasured for their elegant, narrow shape and low maintenance requirements.

• Growth Rate: 2-5 feet per year ('Green Giant')
• Mature Height: 12-40 feet
• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Well-drained
• Why Choose: _Low maintenance, thrives in many climates, uniform look_

For a classic, formal hedge that guarantees rapid privacy, arborvitae is a proven favorite.

6. Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)

Glossy, Dense, and Speedy

Also called English Laurel, Cherry Laurel is an evergreen shrub prized for its lush, glossy foliage and thick growth pattern. Growing up to 2 feet per year, this species is ideal for creating year-round green privacy walls.

• Growth Rate: Up to 2 feet per year
• Mature Height: 10-20 feet
• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Well-drained
• Why Choose: _Excellent for noise abatement and impenetrable barriers_

Cherry Laurel produces fragrant white flowers in spring, adding seasonal interest to its privacy function.

7. Viburnum (Viburnum tinus, Viburnum opulus)

Versatile, Flowering, and Quick to Fill Gaps

Viburnums combine beauty with functionality as a fast-growing hedge plant. Many species are evergreen in mild climates and grow quickly to provide dense, bird-friendly privacy. Viburnum tinus and Viburnum opulus are popular choices.

• Growth Rate: Up to 2 feet per year
• Mature Height: 6-15 feet
• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Well-drained, not dry
• Why Choose: _Seasonal blooms, dense foliage, drought tolerance_

Viburnums not only give privacy, but also seasonal flowers and, in some cases, attractive berries for wildlife.

8. Forsythia

Bursting with Spring Color--and Height

Renowned for their explosion of yellow blooms in early spring, Forsythia hedges also grow fast, making them ideal for quick privacy screens, especially in boundary areas.

• Growth Rate: 2-3 feet per year
• Mature Height: 6-10 feet
• Sun Requirements: Full sun for best bloom
• Soil: Tolerant of most, prefers well-drained
• Why Choose: _Spectacular spring color, rapid growth rate, low maintenance_

You can capitalize on forsythia's flexibility by planting as informal hedges or mixing with evergreens for year-round effect.

9. Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera)

Fragrant, Adaptable, and Speedy Solution

Especially popular in the Southeastern US, Wax Myrtle is an evergreen that responds spectacularly to pruning, making it one of the best options for quick growth privacy hedges in warm regions.

• Growth Rate: 3-5 feet per year under optimal conditions
• Mature Height: 10-20 feet
• Sun Requirements: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil: Highly adaptable
• Why Choose: _Salt tolerance, aromatic foliage, wildlife benefits_

Wax Myrtle is drought resistant and tolerates tough soils where other hedges may struggle.

How to Choose the Best Fast-Growing Hedge for Your Privacy Needs

When selecting from the multitude of quick-growing hedges for privacy, consider these factors:

• Climate compatibility - Ensure the species will thrive in your region.
• Evergreen or deciduous? - For year-round privacy, opt for evergreen varieties.
• Mature height & spread - Match plant size to your space and desired level of screening.
• Sun and soil needs - Check if the hedge will grow well in your garden's conditions.
• Maintenance - Some hedges need regular pruning; others thrive with little attention.
• Visual preferences - Consider foliage color, flower presence, and shape when choosing your hedge.

Combining a few different species can create both an appealing visual texture and a sturdy privacy screen.

Frequently Asked Questions about Quick-Growing Privacy Hedges

How fast do privacy hedges grow?

Depending on the species, some of the fastest growing hedges for privacy can achieve 2-5 feet of new growth each season, providing significant coverage within just 2-3 years.

Which fast-growing hedge is lowest maintenance?

Arborvitae ('Green Giant' and 'Emerald Green') and Bamboo (clumping varieties) top the list for fast-growing yet low-maintenance privacy options. Both require minimal pruning once established.

Are there flowering options for quick privacy?

Certainly! Viburnum and Forsythia both offer beautiful blooms and rapid growth, ensuring your privacy hedge also doubles as a seasonal showpiece.

Can I mix different hedge species?

Absolutely. Combining evergreens with flowering shrubs or deciduous hedges can create a multi-layered, more visually stimulating screen and help maintain year-round privacy and appeal.

Planting and Maintaining Your Quick-Growing Privacy Hedge

For optimal results:

• Plant at the right time - Early spring or fall is best in most climates for hedge establishment.
• Space appropriately - Allow each plant enough room to grow fully and form a dense hedge.
• Water deeply and mulch - Especially during the first few years, consistent care jump-starts rapid growth.
• Feed as needed - Fertilize with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer tailored to your chosen species.
• Prune regularly - Most fast-growing hedges respond well to initial shaping and annual pruning to encourage thick, lush growth.

Conclusion: Transform Your Space with Fast-Growing Privacy Hedges

With so many fast-growing hedges for privacy available, creating a natural, living screen that ensures privacy is more achievable than ever. Whether you want a classic look with Privet, an evergreen wall with Arborvitae, a colorful statement with Forsythia, or a modern bamboo barrier, there's a perfect option for every landscape.

Invest a little time in selecting and planting the right quick-growing privacy hedges and you'll soon enjoy a greener, quieter, more private outdoor sanctuary. Not only do these hedges offer visual seclusion, but many also provide habitat, cut noise, and increase property value--all with a lush beauty only nature can provide.

Start planning and planting today, and enjoy the benefits of fast, effective privacy for decades to come!