Plant Your Privacy with 9 Accelerated Growth Hedges

Posted on 01/10/2025

Plant Your Privacy with 9 Accelerated Growth Hedges

In today's fast-paced world, privacy and serenity are more coveted than ever before. Whether you're seeking to shield your backyard from prying eyes, reduce noise pollution, or simply create a natural green escape, fast-growing privacy hedges are the answer. Not only do these living walls offer seclusion, but they also add beauty, value, and ecological benefits to your property. In this comprehensive guide, we'll introduce you to the best accelerated growth hedges you can plant for instant privacy, with details on their unique qualities, care tips, and landscaping ideas.

Why Choose Fast-Growing Hedges for Privacy?

A privacy hedge acts as a living barrier, transforming open spaces into secluded retreats. Opting for rapid-growing hedges means you won't have to wait years to achieve the coverage you desire. These quick growth hedge plants provide the following benefits:

• Speed: Achieve a lush screen in just one or two growing seasons.
• Beauty: Select from flowering, evergreen, or uniquely textured foliage.
• Noise & Wind Reduction: Dense growth helps block wind and muffle sounds from streets or neighbors.
• Wildlife Habitat: Many hedges attract birds and beneficial insects.
• Environmental Value: Improve air quality, sequester carbon, and lower summer temperatures.

Top 9 Fast-Growing Privacy Hedges

Below we explore the most effective accelerated growth hedging plants, highlighting their sizes, growth rates, and care needs. Let's plant your privacy wall!

1. Leyland Cypress (Cupraocyparis leylandii)

Widely regarded as one of the fastest-growing hedge trees, Leyland Cypress can easily gain 3 to 4 feet per year under ideal conditions. Its slender, columnar shape and dense, evergreen foliage make it a top privacy hedge choice for screening large properties or blocking out unwanted views.

• Growth Rate: 3-4 feet per year
• Height: Up to 60 feet if untrimmed, but easily managed at 8-12 feet
• Best For: Large properties, windbreaks, quick privacy walls
• Maintenance: Responds well to regular trimming

2. Privet (Ligustrum spp.)

The privet hedge is an old-fashioned favorite that never goes out of style. These rapidly growing hedge plants can add 2-3 feet each season, creating a thick barrier of glossy green leaves.

• Growth Rate: 2-3 feet per year
• Height: 8-15 feet
• Characteristics: Hardier in urban environments, can be shaped or left informal
• Best For: Formal hedges, garden borders, tight corners

3. Green Giant Arborvitae (Thuja standishii x plicata)

For homeowners seeking fast-growing evergreen hedges that maintain their color year-round, Green Giant Arborvitae is a popular solution. With a pyramidal form and lush, fragrant needles, this plant can handle dense spacing and provide a solid privacy barrier quickly.

• Growth Rate: 3 feet per year
• Height: 30-40 feet (can be pruned smaller)
• Resilience: Tolerates drought and deer
• Usefulness: Ideal for large property lines or as windbreaks

4. Bamboo (Clumping Varieties)

If you crave a touch of the exotic and a very quick privacy screen, consider clumping varieties of bamboo. Unlike invasive running bamboo, clumping bamboo is controllable, forming dense, upright canes that can reach privacy height in just a season or two.

• Growth Rate: 2-5 feet per year, depending on variety
• Height: Most clumps reach 8-20 feet
• Privacy: Excellent for blocking upper-story windows or patios
• Best For: Contemporary landscapes, sound-barrier hedges

5. Photinia (Red Tip Photinia)

Red tip photinia is renowned for its vibrant red new shoots, which mature to a glossy green. This fast-growing privacy shrub can quickly reach hedge height and makes a stylish, bold statement in the garden.

• Growth Rate: 2-3 feet per year
• Height: 10-15 feet
• Best Use: Colorful privacy screens, flowering hedges
• Bonus: Produces clusters of white flowers in spring

6. Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)

Also known as English laurel, the cherry laurel hedge thrives in sun or shade, offering thick, glossy green leaves and robust growth. It's an excellent choice for those seeking dense evergreen hedge plants for privacy in almost any garden environment.

• Growth Rate: 2 feet per year
• Height: 15-20 feet if untrimmed
• Shade Tolerance: Performs well even in part-shade locations
• Best For: Privacy along fences, driveways, and property lines

7. Emerald Green Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd')

For smaller spaces or narrow hedges, Emerald Green Arborvitae offers a more compact profile while still providing rapid privacy. It holds its shape and deep green color even in harsh weather.

• Growth Rate: 1-2 feet per year
• Height: 12-15 feet
• Shape: Slender, columnar, ideal for tight spaces
• Maintenance: Minimal pruning required

8. Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera)

Native to the Southeastern United States, wax myrtle is a resilient, aromatic shrub that grows quickly. Its leathery, gray-green leaves remain evergreen in warm climates, creating a fragrant, informal privacy hedge.

• Growth Rate: 2-3 feet per year
• Height: 10-20 feet
• Adaptability: Handles wind, sandy soil, and salt spray
• Wildlife: Attracts birds with its berries

9. Viburnum (Viburnum tinus and Others)

The diverse viburnum family offers several fast-growing, thick-leaved evergreens ideal for hedging. Viburnum tinus and its relatives provide year-round coverage, springtime fragrance, and even winter berries.

• Growth Rate: 1-2 feet per year
• Height: 6-12 feet, varies with species
• Appearance: Dense green leaves, clusters of white or pink flowers
• Versatility: Suitable for both formal and informal screens

Tips and Techniques for Successful Privacy Hedge Planting

Having selected your accelerated growth hedges, maximize their privacy potential with careful planning and maintenance. Follow these proven strategies for thriving, beautiful screens:

• Soil Preparation: Improve drainage and fertility with compost before planting.
• Spacing: Check mature widths; plant closely for faster coverage but allow air circulation.
• Water Wisdom: New plantings need consistent moisture in the first year.
• Mulching: Apply mulch to maintain soil moisture and suppress weeds.
• Fertilizing: Use a balanced slow-release fertilizer in spring for robust growth.
• Regular Pruning: Lightly shape your hedges to encourage bushy growth and maintain height.
• Pest Control: Monitor for diseases and pests; healthy hedges resist problems better.

Landscaping Inspiration: Combining Privacy and Beauty

While fast-growing hedge plants for privacy are functional, they can also form the backbone of an elegant landscape design. Create layered interest by combining your main hedge with companion plants, flowering bulbs, or ornamental grasses. Try these creative ideas:

• Color Contrasts: Plant red-blooming photinia near blue-flowering hydrangeas for vivid displays.
• Height Variation: Use shorter hedges along pathways and taller screens at property boundaries.
• Wildlife Oasis: Buffer your hedges with native shrubs and perennials to attract pollinators.
• Edible Edges: Incorporate berry-producing hedges like viburnum or wax myrtle for snacks and wildlife.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rapid Growth Hedges and Privacy Screens

• How quickly can I expect to have a fully-private hedge?

  With the fastest varieties like Leyland Cypress or Green Giant Arborvitae, it's possible to achieve significant screening within 2-3 years of planting, especially if you choose larger starter plants.

• Evergreen or deciduous: which is better for privacy?

  Evergreen hedges offer year-round privacy, but mixing in a few deciduous hedges can provide flower color and seasonal interest.

• Can I grow privacy hedges in containers?

  Some hedge varieties like boxwood or dwarf arborvitae can be grown in large containers, ideal for patios or renters needing movable screens.

• Do fast-growing hedges require a lot of pruning?

  Most thrive with moderate pruning to maintain shape and density, especially in the first 2-3 years as the plants fill in.

• What are alternative solutions if I don't want to wait?

  For instant privacy, use a mix of tall hedges and quick-growing annual vines on temporary trellises, or purchase mature hedge plants from nurseries.

Conclusion: Secure Your Peaceful Outdoor Space with Accelerated Growth Hedges

Plant your privacy and reinvigorate your landscape with these 9 ultra-fast hedging options. Each offers something unique--whether it's the towering presence of Leyland Cypress, the vibrant leaves of photinia, or the tranquil rustling of bamboo. With thoughtful selection, proper care, and creative landscaping, your home can enjoy both enhanced privacy and breathtaking beauty in just a few seasons.

Ready for a living green wall that grows alongside your dreams? Start by planting rapid growing privacy hedges today and transform your yard into your own private oasis.

Discover more privacy landscaping ideas and the best hedging plants at your local garden center or online nursery. Your lush retreat awaits!