Fast-Growing Tree Picker: Find the Fastest Trees for Your Yard

What is the fastest-growing tree?

There is no single winner. The best fast grower for you depends on your hardiness zone, your sun and how much room you have.

NC State Extension rates many common yard trees as rapid growers, from maples and oaks to sycamores and evergreens. It gives exact speeds for only a few. For example, Leyland cypress can grow up to 3 feet a year when young, and Green Giant arborvitae can grow 3 to 4 feet a year in the best conditions. For the rest, the picker turns NC State’s growth class into feet per year with the Missouri Department of Conservation ranges: a fast grower adds about 2 feet or more a year, and a medium grower about 1 to 2 feet.

The picker ranks trees by growth speed and by how well they fit your answers. It shows the top 5 and leaves out invasive trees. Each result shows:

• “Why it fits you”
• How many feet a year it grows, and about how many years it takes to reach the height of a 2-story house
• How big it gets, in feet and in everyday terms
• How long it lives, when a source says
• The top 2 things to watch for
• How far to plant it from the house and from power lines, in feet and in big steps

Check “Compare” on 2 or 3 trees to see them side by side.

What is a hardiness zone?

A hardiness zone tells you how cold winters get where you live. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) splits the country into zones by the coldest night of an average winter. Each zone is 10 degrees F wide, and each half zone (like 7a or 7b) is 5 degrees. Zone 7b means the coldest winter night is usually about 5 to 10 degrees F. A tree rated for zones 5 to 8 can usually live through winters in those zones.

What hardiness zone am I in?

In the U.S., type your 5-digit ZIP code in the picker. It looks up your hardiness zone by ZIP code and shows a line like “Your area is hardiness zone 7b: the coldest winter night is usually about 5 to 10°F (-15 to -12°C).” The ZIP lookup uses the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map data by ZIP code from the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University. It is not the official USDA map. To check one exact spot, use the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

• Don’t know your ZIP? Tap “I don’t know my ZIP” and pick how cold your winters get, from “Very cold” (below -22°F) to “Never below freezing.” Each choice covers about 2 zones, and the picker shows trees that can live through winters in both.
• Know your zone? Tap “I know my zone” and pick it.
• State (optional): adds local tips. Virginia’s extra notes (its native tag, one utility’s power line example and Virginia’s 811 rules) show only when you pick Virginia.

Outside the U.S.?

Pick your region: Canada, UK and Europe, Australia and New Zealand, or another country. The picker then asks how cold it gets on the coldest winter night, in °C and °F, and turns your answer into a USDA zone equivalent. Sizes show in meters (you can switch to feet).

• These trees are from North America. Some of them are invasive outside North America, so check your local rules before planting.
• In Australia and New Zealand, the picker never suggests black willow. In Australia, most willows are Weeds of National Significance.
• U.S.-only advice (the invasive list, state tips and 811) is left out. Ask your electricity company how far to plant from power lines, and contact your local dig-safe service before you dig.

Fast-growing trees for zone 7

Zone 7 means the coldest winter night is usually about 0 to 10 degrees F. 23 of the 24 trees in the picker can take zone 7 winters. Some fast picks:

• Green Giant arborvitae (zones 5 to 8): about 3 to 4 feet a year in the best conditions. A privacy screen.
• Leyland cypress (zones 6 to 10): up to 3 feet a year when young.
• Tulip poplar (zones 4 to 9): a tall shade tree, but its wood is weak.
• Freeman maple (zones 3 to 8): fast, with stronger wood than silver maple.
• Willow oak (zones 5 to 9): fast-growing and long-lived.

The one that doesn’t fit: quaking aspen grows only in cold-winter zones (up to 6b). Your exact list depends on your answers, so run the picker.

H3: Fast growers at a glance (all rated “rapid” by NC State Extension)

Are fast-growing trees a good idea?

They can be, if you pick the right one. Some fast growers come with trade-offs: weak wood, a short life, or roots that cause trouble.

Here is what NC State Extension says about a few:

• Silver maple: weak wood that breaks easily in storms and under snow. Its roots can get into septic systems and drains.
• Tulip poplar: weak-wooded. Limbs can break in high winds or under ice and snow.
• Weeping willow: weak wood that cracks or breaks easily. Its roots can damage water and sewer pipes.
• Lombardy poplar: short-lived, with weak wood that wind can damage.
• Leyland cypress: usually lives 20 to 50 years. Its cankers and root rots can’t be cured.

A better pick than silver maple: Freeman maple, a cross of red and silver maple. NC State says it grows fast, with stronger wood and less invasive roots. See why some trees snap first in ice storms.

Which fast-growing trees should I avoid?

Skip invasive trees, even though they grow fast. They spread on their own, far beyond where you planted them.

• The picker’s “please don’t plant” list (shown for the U.S.) comes from one state’s official list (Virginia’s 2024 invasive plant list): Callery (Bradford) pear, royal paulownia, tree-of-heaven, Norway maple, mimosa, white poplar, Siberian elm, white mulberry, chinaberry and Chinese tallow-tree.
• Many states keep their own list, so check yours too.
• Outside North America, some of the trees in the picker are invasive themselves. Check your local rules before planting.
• Callery pear: NC State notes weak branch unions that break with age, wind and ice, and a short life.
• Royal paulownia: weak wood, and it spreads by seed.
• Learn how to spot invasive trees.

What is the best fast-growing tree for privacy?

Pick an evergreen, so the screen works all year. Green Giant arborvitae, Leyland cypress and eastern white pine are all rapid growers.

• Green Giant arborvitae: 40 to 60 feet tall and 12 to 18 feet wide. It can grow 3 to 4 feet a year in the best conditions and lives about 40 to 60 years. Watch for bagworms and root rot.
• Leyland cypress: 60 to 70 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide. It grows fast but usually lives 20 to 50 years, and bagworms are a serious pest.
• Eastern white pine: 50 to 80 feet tall and 20 to 40 feet wide, so it needs more room.
• In the picker, choose “Privacy screen.”

What is the best fast-growing shade tree?

A large tree with a wide crown, planted well away from the house. Red maple, Freeman maple, pin oak, willow oak, northern red oak and American sycamore are all rated rapid by NC State.

• Yes, some oaks grow fast. Pin oak, willow oak and northern red oak are all on NC State’s rapid list. (Northern red oak can get oak wilt, a disease, in parts of the U.S.)
• American sycamore gets huge: 75 to 100 feet tall and just as wide. Give it room.
• Want a native tree? See native trees to plant.

How far from my house should I plant a tree?

Plant small trees at least 8 to 10 feet from walls, medium trees at least 15 feet, and large trees at least 20 feet. Roots often spread at least 1.5 times as wide as the crown, and up to 5 times as wide in dry areas.

• Example: a silver maple can grow 50 to 80 feet tall with a crown 40 to 60 feet wide. That makes it a large tree, so plant it at least 20 feet from the house. Its roots may spread 60 to 90 feet across (1.5 times the crown).
• No tape? Count big steps of about 3 feet: about 3 steps for a small tree, 5 for a medium tree and 7 for a large tree.
• The picker shows the house distance for every tree in your results, in feet and in big steps. Planting near the house, a sidewalk or power lines? Tell the picker, and it changes the ranking and adds distance advice.

How far from power lines should I plant a tree?

Near overhead lines, plant only trees that stay short. That way the tree has room to grow without being cut back again and again to clear the lines.

The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) uses three zones around overhead distribution lines:

The picker uses these ISA zones. If you pick Virginia as your state, it also shows one utility’s published rules as an example. Rules differ, so check with your own electric company.

What should I do before I dig?

In the U.S., contact 811 a few business days before you dig, even to plant one tree. It is the free national call-before-you-dig service. Outside the U.S., contact your local dig-safe service.

• Dig the planting hole no deeper than the root ball and at least twice as wide.
• Most roots grow in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil.
• Replacing a tree you just removed? Read planting a tree in the same spot.