There are many reasons gardeners might desire a shrub that grows quickly and still offers attractive foliage. I have been fortunate to have excellent neighbors, but sometimes you just want more privacy to enjoy your outdoor living space. Privacy hedges make us all better neighbors, after all.
Whether you’re dealing with the noise pollution of living near a busy road or have a space in your garden you’d like to fill in quickly, a hedge with dense foliage may be the answer you need.
I’ve got 21 of the loveliest fastest-growing shrubs to share with you. Most of them are very low maintenance, and many are drought tolerant and can thrive in soil with poor drainage or high salt content. Read on for ideas on fast-growing shrubs that bring intense visual appeal to your landscape!
Bigleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangeas are a must for any garden, boasting timeless beauty and long-lasting blooms.
 | botanical name Hydrangea macrophylla |
|---|---|
 | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
 | height 3’-6’ |
 | hardiness zones 6-9 |
You can’t go wrong with adding hydrangea to your garden. These long-flowering shrubs always look classically beautiful. Bigleaf hydrangea is one of the loveliest and fastest-growing of the species. Hydrangea, as their name implies, are water-loving plants, though it is essential to plant them in a space with good drainage.
Bigleaf hydrangea has the large, serrated foliage typical to the genus. The leaves are bright green, and the flowers are a vibrant shade of blue or pink.
The large clusters of flowers make excellent cut flowers. They have a long vase life and give fullness to any flower arrangement that few others have the ability to offer.
Carolina Allspice
Carolina Allspice is a fast-growing native shrub with dense green leaves turning golden in fall.
| | botanical name Calycanthus floridus |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 6’-10’ |
| | hardiness zones 4-9 |
Calycanthus floridus is a lovely shrub with a moderate to fast growth rate of about 12-18 inches per year. It also happens to be native to the eastern United States. This deciduous allspice shrub has quite a few engaging qualities, not the least of which is its dense, bright green foliage, which changes to a glorious golden shade in the fall.
This is a flowering shrub that produces ox-blood-colored flowers in the spring. Not only are they pretty, but the flowers are also fragrant, with a scent commonly described as fruity.
Additionally, this shrub’s leaves and bark are aromatic when bruised, making this a wonderful plant to have in outdoor living spaces or along walkways. It is also resistant to deer and most pests and diseases.
Coppertop Sweet Viburnum
Viburnum odoratissimum ‘Coppertop’ is a cultivar with attractive copper-toned new growth.
| | botanical name Viburnum odoratissimum ‘Coppertop’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 8′-10’ |
| | hardiness zones 7-10 |
‘Coppertop’ Sweet Viburnum has all the ingredients to become the next big landscape shrub. The new growth is a gorgeous burgundy red that stands out in the landscape (occasional trims will keep it coming). This comes in at a whopping 1-2 feet per year. In spring, it explodes with deliciously fragrant cream flowers.
From late summer to fall, clusters of ornamental red berries add to the display. This is a large and hardy shrub that provides a big impact for the effort.
This variety prefers full sun and well-draining soil. Once established, it can handle intense heat and drought. Pests and disease rarely bother this cultivar.
Dappled Willow
Dappled Willow is a versatile shrub with delicate foliage and showcases striking pink stems in winter.
| | botanical name Salix integra ‘Hakaro Nishiki’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height Up to 20’ |
| | hardiness zones 4-9 |
This shrub is so pretty I wouldn’t blame you if you ran out to find one immediately! Willows are notoriously beautiful with their delicate foliage and graceful branches. They’re great for damp climates, as they absorb a lot of water.
This makes an excellent rain garden focal point. Dappled Willow can be grown as a small tree reaching up to 20’ tall if allowed to do so, but can also be pruned and kept to a more manageable size. They have an incredible growth rate of 2-3 feet each year.
It’s difficult to pick just one quality to love about this plant, but the foliage is at the top of the list. The new growth comes in shades of pink, white, and green, turning more green while retaining some variegation as it matures. The shrub is deciduous, losing its leaves in the winter to showcase its stunning pink stems.
Date Night™ Strobe™ Weigela
Weigela’s Date Night™ variety features changing foliage, pink blooms, and orange fall leaves.
| | botanical name Weigela x ‘WoF/R’ USPPAF, CPBRAF |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 2’-3’ |
| | hardiness zones 4-8 |
Here’s a fancy little shrub with a very fancy name. Weigela is a lovely genus of plants that are related to honeysuckle. There’s plenty of variation between species, and they are all simply outstanding.
Date Night™ is a smaller variety, with a mounding habit. It will bloom best and retain the most color in full sun but tolerates some shade if necessary. It’s deciduous and likes well-drained, moist soil. This shrub will grow 1-2 feet per year.
Date Night™ produces new foliage in a bronze shade that deepens throughout the season to a bright green. In springtime, it blooms beautifully, with bright pink flowers covering the shrub.
In fall, the leaves turn orange, adding a third season of interest. This makes an excellent border for walkways or sidewalks.
Diablo Ninebark
Diabolo Ninebark boasts deep purple foliage, quick growth, and winter interest with peeling bark.
| | botanical name Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Monlo’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 8’-10’ |
| | hardiness zones 3-7 |
Ninebark shrubs are popular for their uniquely colored foliage and attractive peeling bark. ‘Diabolo’, as you may have guessed, has very dark-colored foliage.
It is deep purple, but borders on black. With their fast growth rate, unique appearance, and excellent cold tolerance, plants in this genre are highly prized as landscape elements.
‘Diabolo’ reaches about 10 feet tall at maturity, which it reaches quickly at a rate of 2 feet per year. The main attraction is the deep aubergine foliage, but the blooms have a presence as well.
In summer, short-lived clusters of lovely white and pink blossoms cover the plant. In winter, this deciduous shrub loses its unusual foliage to reveal another seasonal quality. As the plant ages, its bark takes on a peeling quality making it an exciting winter specimen.
Dream Catcher Beautybush
Dream Catcher Beautybush, a fast-growing and low-maintenance shrub, features changing foliage colors.
| | botanical name Kolkwitzia amabilis ‘Maradco’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 6’-10’ |
| | hardiness zones 4-8 |
Beautybush is a member of the honeysuckle family and a close relative of Weigela plants. They are very fast-growing and attractive flowering shrubs that like being watered but are otherwise low maintenance. The Dream Catcher variety is a stunning cultivar best known for its foliage which varies in color by season.
In spring, Dream Catcher grows new foliage with copper tones, just before exploding with massive numbers of pale pink to white flowers. The leaves turn yellow as the tree blooms and then mature to a gorgeous chartreuse in summer.
In fall, we see this shrub fade to golden orange. In winter, the shrub’s peeling bark adds a final season of interest.
‘Lynwood Gold’ Forsythia
‘Lynwood Gold’ Forsythia is a fast-growing shrub with a spectacular spring flower display.
| | botanical name Forsythia x intermedia ‘Lynwood Gold’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 8’-10’ |
| | hardiness zones 4-8 |
For a fantastic flower show in the spring, you can’t go wrong with forsythia. These golden goddesses of springtime are unrivaled in their blooming ability and are exceptionally fast growers.
‘Lynwood Gold’ is a mid-sized variety, reaching about 10 feet tall after a few years. It’s important to stay on top of pruning with these shrubs, as they can rapidly get a bit wild looking, as they grow about 2 feet each year.
Spring is the main season of attraction for this shrub. It erupts into a golden profusion of flowers covering the entire plant. These make wonderful cut flowers as they have a good vase life and continue to open after being cut. After the flowers fall, attractive dark green foliage follows, making this an excellent privacy screen.
‘Belle Etoile’ Mock Orange
‘Belle Etoile’ Mock Orange features highly fragrant and long-lasting white flowers.
| | botanical name Philadelphus lemoinei ‘Belle Etoile’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 5’-6’ |
| | hardiness zones 5-9 |
Its name means beautiful star in French, and it is a recipient of the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. This variety of Mock Orange embodies all of the best qualities of the genre, and does it expeditiously. Growing at a rate of 2 feet per year, Mock Orange shrubs are great for creating a privacy screen or filling a space quickly.
Mock Orange plants have wonderfully fragrant white flowers that bloom in spring. ‘Belle Etoile’ is the most extra of varieties. It boasts larger, intensely-fragrant flowers that last longer than usual. To keep this pretty shrub flowering, prune immediately after it finishes blooming, as it blooms on old wood.
Northern Spicebush
This fast-grower thrives in moist, partially shaded areas, tolerating various soil types and sunlight conditions.
| | botanical name Lindera benzoin |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full Sun to partial shade |
| | height Up to 15’ |
| | hardiness zones 4-9 |
Northern Spicebush is an ideal choice for a space that stays moist and doesn’t get full sun. This shrub is tolerant of soil types, from sandy to boggy soil, as long as there’s consistent moisture. It’s not picky about acidity and can tolerate various sunlight conditions.
Named Spicebush for the spicy scent and flavor of its bright red berries, benzoin is a favorite among perfumers. The foliage is glossy, green, and much loved by the Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly.
Northern Privet
Northern Privet, a rapid grower, forms a dense, evergreen privacy screen.
| | botanical name Ligustrum ibolium |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height Up to 25’ |
| | hardiness zones 4-9 |
This variety competes for the fastest-growing shrub on our list. With a growth rate of 3+ feet per year, Northern Privet is one shrub you can count on to make a wonderful privacy hedge in a hurry.
Ligustrum plants in general are very sturdy and adaptable. They aren’t picky about soil, sunlight, or pollution, and are drought-tolerant once established.
This species has dense foliage, making it an excellent noise buffer and privacy screen. It is evergreen and retains its bright green, glossy leaves throughout the winter.
In summer, Northern Privet produces sprays of small white flowers that smell wonderful and throw scent a long way. Pollinators, especially honeybees, love this plant!
‘Orange Jubilee’ Tecoma
Tecoma, also called Cape Honeysuckle, features vining or shrub forms with bright orange flowers.
| | botanical name Tecoma x ‘Orange Jubilee’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun |
| | height 7’-10’ |
| | hardiness zones 9-11 |
Grown as an evergreen in Zones 9-11 and a perennial in Zone 8, Tecoma is a lovely shrub with a vining habit. It makes a very nice espalier.
Also known as cape honeysuckle, ‘Orange Jubilee’ produces large clusters of bright orange flowers throughout the year. The flowers are lightly fragrant, making this a pleasant screen for an outdoor living space. Hummingbirds adore these flowers, and butterflies visit them often too.
‘Orange Jubilee’ Tecoma has attractive fern-like foliage. As a shrub, it grows about 2-3 feet per year and reaches a final height of about 10 feet. When grown as a vine in zones 10-11, it can grow up to 30 feet long.
Fraser’s Photinia
This fast-growing, dense shrub has striking burgundy-red new foliage maturing to deep green.
| | botanical name Photinia x fraseri |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 8’-12’ |
| | hardiness zones 7-9 |
Fraser’s Photinia is a nice large shrub with a rapid growth rate of 2-3 feet annually. It has very dense foliage. This upright shrub grows in a pyramidal shape and makes a superb privacy hedge or large container plant.
The most noteworthy characteristic of Fraser’s Photinia is its new foliage, which comes in a burgundy-red shade before maturing to deep green.
Fraser’s Photinia produces flowers on old wood, commonly missed out on due to pruning. These flowers form in showy clusters which last about 2-3 weeks. The flowers have an odd, musty scent, so while it makes a beautiful hedge, avoid it near seating areas.
‘Purple Majesty’ Loropetalum
Loropetalum offers evergreen foliage, year-round vermilion flowers resembling fringe.
| | botanical name Loropetalum chinense var. Rubrum ‘Purple Majesty’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 6’-8’ |
| | hardiness zones 7-10 |
Loropetalum is a delightful genre of shrubby plants that are often referred to as Chinese fringe flowers. They’re evergreen in zones 7-10 and flower nearly year-round. The flowers are vermillion and look like small bits of fringe hanging at the ends and all along the long, graceful stems.
The structure of this plant is malleable. It can be trimmed into a very neat, dense hedge. The natural growth habit is less constrained, with long branches that grow in all directions. ‘Purple Majesty’ has gorgeous, deep violet foliage that makes a wonderful accent or grouping in the landscape.
Sea Buckthorn
Sea Buckthorn, known for skincare and jams, offers ornamental beauty, easy care, cold and drought tolerance.
| | botanical name Hippophae rhamnoides |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun |
| | height Up to 20’ |
| | hardiness zones 3-9 |
You may know this plant for its use in skin care products and supplements. If you’re looking for an ornamental that makes delicious jams and adds a pop of cheerful color, Sea Buckthorn might be the perfect plant for your garden.
Sea Buckthorn is very easy to care for. It has good cold and saline tolerance, as well as excellent drought tolerance. Very few pests and diseases affect this shrub.
The leaves are lanceolate (lance-shaped) and a nice blue-green color. The branches have thorns, as the name implies. The plants are either male or female, and you need one of each to see flowers and berries.
The berries are brilliant orange and add much interest to the landscape. This is a great multipurpose plant and has a moderate to fast growth rate of 1-2 feet per year. It is lovely for coastal gardens.
Red Twig Dogwood
Red Twig Dogwood shines in winter with its vibrant red branches, also offering spring flowers.
| | botanical name Cornus sanguinea |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 6’-9’ |
| | hardiness zones 3-8 |
Very few deciduous shrubs look great in the winter, but that’s precisely the appeal of Red Twig Dogwood. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have appeal for the rest of the year.
It has lovely clusters of small, white flowers in the spring. Close behind the flowers are pretty white berries tinted blue and green. Birds love these berries, but deer leave them alone, making this a perfect addition to a native, deer resistant-garden.
The fall foliage is attractive, with a rose gold tint setting in just before the shrub sheds them. Then it reveals bright red branches which positively light up the winter garden. Most dogwood species are slow growing, but red twig is a fast grower, gaining up to 2 feet of height annually until maturity.
‘Skyrocket’ Juniper
‘Skyrocket’ Juniper has an elegant appearance.
| | botanical name Juniperus scopulorum ‘Skyrocket’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun |
| | height Up to 20’ |
| | hardiness zones 4-9 |
While this isn’t as fast-growing as most shrubs on the list, it’s a quick-growing juniper. Junipers are such elegant plants that I couldn’t leave them out!
Juniper shrubs and trees prefer a spot with lots of sunlight and well-drained soil. When grown in shade, they tend to get leggy, which is not a great look for a shrub.
‘Skyrocket’ is a smaller, very narrow variety. Unlike creeping junipers, its form is tree-like and makes a great hedge.
The foliage is typical of juniper: fern-like, but leathery, and a nice blue-green shade. The blue berries are edible! These give a stunning, Tuscan-countryside vibe to the landscape.
‘Sunjoy’ Tangelo Barberry
Sunjoy Tangelo Barberry is a fast-maturing, sun-loving, low-maintenance shrub with vibrant foliage.
- Botanical Name: Berberis thunbergii
- Sun Requirements: Full sun
- Growth Rate: 1’-2’ Per Year
- Height: 4’
- Hardiness Zones: 4-8
If want a colorful shrub, ‘Sunjoy’ tangelo barberry has it in spades. This small to medium-sized shrub reaches maturity in just 2-3 years. While other varieties of barberry are invasive, this variety is sterile and won’t spread aggressively.
It prefers full sun and has excellent drought tolerance, making it very low maintenance. It is also deer resistant and has thorny branches, making it a great security hedge to plant under windows or as a perimeter plant.
What ‘Sunjoy’ lacks in size, it makes up for in color and flash. New foliage is brilliant red-orange. As the leaves age they take on a chartreuse color at the margins and sometimes toward the stem.
The leaves are small, simple, and ovate with smooth edges. This deciduous shrub retains its brightly colored foliage from spring through fall for a long season of color.
Tibetan Cotoneaster
This Cotoneaster species has a moderate to fast growth rate, versatile evergreen foliage, and low maintenance qualities.
| | botanical name Cotoneaster conspicuus |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 4’ |
| | hardiness zones 6-8 |
Cotoneaster isn’t typically a fast-growing plant. However, this species embodies all of the desirable cotoneaster qualities while boasting a significant growth rate. Known for being versatile and drought-resistant, cotoneaster shrubs are low maintenance and have many qualities that make them great additions to the garden.
As an evergreen, this shrub will retain its appeal even in the winter months. The foliage is small, shiny, and smooth, and the branches have a graceful draping habit.
This isn’t a tall plant, but its growth habit makes it unique and attractive in the garden. The small white flowers that pepper the entire plant in spring are later replaced by brilliant red berries.
Volcano Cherry Laurel
This cherry laurel variety is drought tolerant.
| | botanical name Prunus laurocerasus ‘Jong1’ |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height 4’-7’ |
| | hardiness zones 5-9 |
This cherry laurel variety has all the best qualities. It’s drought tolerant, not picky about soil, and thrives in full sun or partial shade. This member of the rose family is evergreen, providing interest year-round and making a wonderful privacy hedge.
It is more compact than the average cherry laurel, quickly reaching about 7 feet tall at maturity. This shrub fills space quickly but won’t overgrow the garden.
The foliage is waxy and glossy with serrated margins. The new growth has a lovely reddish cast, fading to bright green as it matures.
Attractive white flowers in spring give way to ornamental berries in the fall, bringing birds flocking to your yard for a tasty treat. However, the berries are not suitable for human or pet consumption.
Wax Myrtle
Wax Myrtle is a fast-growing option for privacy hedges, with dense foliage, olive green leaves, and winter fruit.
| | botanical name Morella cerifera |
|---|---|
| | sun requirements Full sun to partial shade |
| | height About 12’ |
| | hardiness zones 7-10 |
Last, but certainly not least, is Wax Myrtle. If fast growth is your main priority, Wax Myrtle will create a dense, attractive privacy hedge in as little as two years with its 3 to 5 feet per year growth rate.
The foliage has a wispiness to it, but is very dense, which adds a nice textural element while providing a substantial presence as a backdrop or hedge. It is olive green with a spicy aroma to it.
The female plants produce pale blue fruit in wintertime, and the bark is pale gray to white. Wax Myrtles also like their soil to be consistently moist and tolerate poor drainage better than most shrubs.
Final Thoughts
Whether you want to create a noise barrier, create more privacy in your yard, or fill a space that needs a unique plant with beautiful foliage, a fast-growing shrub is just the thing.
