Fast-Growing Trees
Count on these trees if it's shade—or privacy—you need in a hurry.
Honeylocust
Botanical name: Gleditsia triancanthos inermis.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 9.
Foliage: Small leaflets provide airy appearance; green leaves turn yellow in fall.
Height: 30 to 70 feet.
Width: 30 to 40 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to part shade.
Care tip: An adaptable and salt-tolerant tree; avoid trunk injuries.
Japanese zelkova
Botanical name: Zelkova serrata.
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 8 (occasionally Zone 4).
Foliage: Elm-like; yellow-orange-brown to deep red in fall.
Height: 50 to 80 feet.
Width: 40 to 50 feet.
Light needs: Full to part sun.
Care tip: Best planted in spring and pruned in fall when dormant.
Crab apple
Botanical name: Malus.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 8.
Foliage: Green (some bronze), turning yellow in fall.
Height: 10 to 25 feet.
Width: 10 to 25 feet.
Light needs: Full sun.
Care tip: Select disease-resistant cultivars with small, persistent fruit.
Dawn redwood
Botanical name: Metasequoia glyptostroboides.
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 8 (occasionally Zone 4).
Foliage: Needle-like; green, turning orange-brown in fall and dropping.
Height: 70 to 100 feet.
Width: 25 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to light shade.
Care tip: Does best in moist soil; seldom needs pruning.
White pine
Botanical name: Pinus strobus.
Hardiness: Zones 3 to7 (occasionally Zone 8).
Foliage: Long needles in bundles of five.
Height: 50 to 80feet.
Width: 20 to 40 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to light shade.
Care tip: Prefers acidic soil and pollution-free sites.
River birch
Botanical name: Betula nigra.
Hardiness: Zones 4 to 9.
Foliage: Rhombic to oval; green, turning yellow in fall.
Height: 40 to 70 feet.
Width: 40 to 60 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to part shade.
Care tip: Prefers moist, acidic soil; will tolerate temporary flooding and drier conditions.
Sweet gum
Botanical name: Liquidambar styraciflua.
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 9.
Foliage: Star-shaped; green, turning yellow-purple-red in fall.
Height: 60 to 75 feet.
Width: 40 to 45 feet.
Light needs: Full sun.
Care tip: Plant in bed so messy fruit creates less of a nuisance.
Empress tree
Botanical name: Paulownia tomentosa.
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 9.
Height: 40 to 60 feet.
Width: 40 to 60 feet.
Light needs: Full sun or partial shade.
Care tip: Plant balled-and-burlapped trees in early spring. Shelter from cold, drying winds.
Leyland cypress
Botanical name: Cupressocyparis leylandii.
Hardiness: Zones 6 to 10.
Foliage: Evergreen; flattened scale-like foliage.
Height: Up to 120 feet.
Width: 15 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to partial shade.
Care tip: Best when grown in full sun. Transplants well from a container.
Lombardy poplar
Botanical name: Populus nigra.
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
Height: Up to 100 feet.
Width: 15 feet.
Light needs: Full sun to partial shade.
Care tip: For row plantings, space 8 feet apart.