Secure Your Space with 9 Fast-Growing Hedges

Posted on 10/06/2025

Secure Your Space with 9 Fast-Growing Hedges

Transform your garden's boundary into a living wall of privacy with fast-growing hedges. Whether you want to shield your backyard from prying eyes, curb unwanted noise, or create a beautiful green backdrop, choosing the right rapid-growing privacy hedge plants is essential. Discover nature's answer to fencing--secure your space with 9 fast-growing hedges, and enjoy privacy, beauty, and security with ease!

Why Choose Fast-Growing Hedges for Privacy?

If you're looking to establish privacy quickly, provide windbreaks, reduce noise, and improve your landscape design, installing fast-growing hedge plants is a smart, eco-friendly solution. These living barriers provide year-round interest, boost property value, support wildlife, and can often outpace the growth rate of traditional fencing options at a fraction of the long-term maintenance cost.

Advantages of Using Quick-Growing Hedge Plants

• Efficient Privacy: Achieve a dense, green screen in just a few seasons.
• Noise Reduction: Hedges absorb sound, creating a tranquil garden retreat.
• Wind Protection: Shield your home and plants from harsh winds.
• Wildlife Benefits: Many fast-growing hedges offer food and shelter for birds and pollinators.
• Low Maintenance: Once established, most options require minimal trimming and attention.
• Natural Beauty: Provide stunning green structure and seasonal flowers or berries.

What Makes a Hedge "Fast-Growing"?

A fast-growing hedge is typically defined as one capable of adding at least 30-60 cm (about 1-2 feet) of new growth per year (sometimes more, depending on species and conditions). Climate, soil, regular feeding, and watering all affect growth rates. Choosing quick-growing hedges suited to your region will ensure rapid results and a robust, healthy barrier.

Top 9 Fast-Growing Hedges for Securing Your Space

Ready to secure your space with a lush boundary? Here are the top 9 fast-growing hedge plants that combine speed, density, and beauty, along with key points on care and best uses.

1. Leyland Cypress (Cupressus x leylandii)

• Growth Rate: Up to 3 feet (90 cm) or more per year!
• Height: Up to 60 feet (18 m) if left untrimmed
• Best For: Tall privacy screens, windbreaks, large rural or suburban gardens
• Care: Hardy, adapts to most soils, tolerates salt and air pollution. Requires regular pruning for a neat appearance and to manage size.

Leyland Cypress is one of the fastest-growing hedging plants available. Its evergreen, feathery foliage ensures privacy all year round. It's ideally suited if you need a tall living wall quickly, but keep in mind that regular trimming is essential to prevent overgrowth.

2. Privet (Ligustrum spp.)

• Growth Rate: 1-2 feet (30-60 cm) per year
• Height: 4-15 feet (1.2-4.5 m)
• Best For: Versatile formal and informal hedges, urban gardens
• Care: Tolerates hard pruning, drought, and pollution. Needs regular shaping.

Privet is fast-growing and highly adaptable, maintaining dense foliage throughout most of the year. Its rapid establishment and ease of shaping make it ideal for classic hedge boundaries in most climates.

3. Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)

• Growth Rate: About 1-2 feet (30-60 cm) per year
• Height: 10-20 feet (3-6 m), easily trimmed shorter
• Best For: Dense, glossy evergreen screens for year-round privacy
• Care: Prefers moist, well-drained soil. Prune once or twice yearly.

Cherry Laurel, with its broad, shiny leaves and strong growth, is perfect for forming a thick, impenetrable screen. It's also tolerant of shade and urban pollution, making it one of the best quickest growing hedge plants for city gardens.

4. Red-Tipped Photinia (Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin')

• Growth Rate: 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) per year
• Height: 10-15 feet (3-4.5 m)
• Best For: Striking privacy hedges with vibrant color
• Care: Needs full sun to partial shade, moist but well-drained soil.

The Red-Tipped Photinia is famous for its brilliant flushes of red new leaves in spring. Besides speedy growth, it adds a splash of color while creating an effective privacy screen. Occasional pruning encourages bushier growth and more red foliage.

5. Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)

• Growth Rate: Up to 2 feet (60 cm) a year
• Height: Up to 50 feet (15 m), easily maintained as a hedge
• Best For: Evergreen windbreaks, noise barriers, fragrance
• Care: Moist soils, regular watering while young. Responds well to pruning.

Thuja species, particularly Western Red Cedar, are prized for dense foliage that is soft to the touch and emits a fresh scent. When groomed, it forms a striking hedge that quickly creates privacy and screens out noise and wind.

6. Bamboo (Clumping Varieties such as Bambusa or Fargesia)

• Growth Rate: Up to 3 feet (90 cm) per year
• Height: 8-20 feet (2.5-6 m), depending on type and pruning
• Best For: Modern, exotic privacy screens, fast result
• Care: Choose clumping types for manageability. Water regularly in dry spells. Needs space.

If you want a fast-growing privacy hedge with a contemporary, tropical feel, bamboo is hard to beat. Opt for clumping bamboos, which spread less aggressively than running types. Bambusa or Fargesia cultivars will deliver quick coverage with minimal spreading headaches.

7. Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)

• Growth Rate: About 1.5 feet (45 cm) per year
• Height: 15-30 feet (4.5-9 m), trimmed to suit
• Best For: Formal or informal, pollution-tolerant urban hedges
• Care: Grows best in moist soils but is adaptable. Responds well to clipping.

Hornbeam offers lush foliage from spring through autumn, with leaves turning golden and often holding through winter for semi-permanent coverage. Its upright growth and tolerance to various soils make it an excellent fast hedging plant.

8. Escallonia (Escallonia spp.)

• Growth Rate: Up to 1.5 feet (45 cm) per year
• Height: 6-10 feet (2-3 m)
• Best For: Colorful flowering hedges in coastal or mild climates
• Care: Prefers sunny position, well-drained soil, salt spray tolerance.

Escallonia brings evergreen privacy with the bonus of abundant pink, white, or red blossoms through summer. Ideal for gardens near the sea or mild-weather regions, this quick-growing hedge provides color and fragrance with speedy results.

9. Green Giant Arborvitae (Thuja standishii x plicata 'Green Giant')

• Growth Rate: Up to 3 feet (90 cm) per year
• Height: 20-40 feet (6-12 m), easily trimmed for hedges
• Best For: Huge, fast screen for large spaces, deer resistance
• Care: Thrives in most soils, drought-resistant once established.

The Green Giant Arborvitae is a popular choice for those seeking rapid height and reliable privacy, especially in areas where deer browsing is a problem. As one of the fastest-growing evergreens, it fills out quickly and withstands varied weather conditions.

Tips for Planting and Maintaining Fast-Growing Hedges

Choose the Right Plant for Your Zone

Always select species that will thrive in your climate and soil type. Consult your local nursery or gardening extension to match the best quick-growing hedge plant to your conditions.

Preparation and Spacing

• Soil: Enrich with organic matter for strong, healthy root growth.
• Spacing: Plant at the recommended distance. Too close can cause overcrowding, too far delays privacy.
• Starter Size: If you're in a hurry, invest in larger nursery stock for a head start.

Water, Feed, and Mulch

• Keep young hedges watered, especially during dry periods.
• Feed in spring and late summer with a balanced fertiliser to encourage rapid growth.
• Mulching helps retain soil moisture and suppress weeds.

Pruning & Shaping

• Regular light trimming promotes bushy, even growth and helps hedges "knit" together faster.
• Hard pruning is sometimes necessary for species like privet or cherry laurel to maintain size and density.
• Use clean, sharp tools to make smooth cuts and prevent disease.

Extra Features: Security, Beauty, and Wildlife Support

Many fast-growing hedge plants for privacy offer more than just screening. Some have thorny stems (like hawthorn, not listed above) that deter intruders. Hedgerows with berries, flowers, or dense foliage feed local birds and pollinators. You can even select species for winter interest, fragrance, or seasonal color for year-round enjoyment.

How to Secure Your Property with Fast-Growing Hedges

• Double Up: Mix two types of hedges for extra density and visual appeal.
• Strategic Planting: Use prickly shrubs along lower levels or boundaries prone to trespass.
• Layering: Combine climbers like ivy or honeysuckle to fill gaps or grow up fence bases until hedges mature.
• Plan for Maintenance: Ensure access for regular pruning so your hedge doesn't become a maintenance or security problem!

Frequently Asked Questions About Fast-Growing Hedges

How quickly can I expect a privacy screen?

With the right selection and care, many fast-growing hedges will reach screening height within 2-4 years. Leyland cypress or Green Giant Arborvitae may offer substantial coverage in just two seasons.

Do rapid-growing hedges require lots of maintenance?

While all hedges benefit from regular pruning--especially in the first few years to promote thickness--many fast-growing types, such as hornbeam or photinia, will require only annual or twice-yearly trims once mature.

Which quick-growing hedge is best for a small garden?

Bamboo (clumping types), Privet, or Escallonia are excellent compact choices. Trim regularly to keep hedges at your preferred height.

Are fast-growing hedges invasive?

Some, like running bamboo, can be, but choosing recommended clumping varieties or the listed species above will generally prevent invasive spread. Always check local guidelines before planting.

Conclusion: Create Privacy & Beauty in No Time

When you secure your space with 9 fast-growing hedges, you're investing in the natural beauty, resilience, and privacy of your home and garden. Whether you need a lush evergreen screen, a vibrant flowering hedge, or a robust windbreak, there's a perfect quick-growing privacy plant for every situation. Choose wisely, plant carefully, and enjoy the rewards for years to come--a living fence that grows more beautiful and secure with every passing season!

Ready to transform your space? Explore these fast-growing hedge options at your local nursery and enjoy a private, peaceful outdoor sanctuary in record time!