Best Privacy Trees for Backyards: Fast-Growing Options and Spacing

What Makes a Good Backyard Privacy Tree?

A good privacy tree fills in quickly, stays green through winter and reaches the right height and width for your space. Growth rate matters, but it isn't everything.

A tree that grows fast but only reaches 8 feet tall won't block a second-story view, and a tree that's evergreen but only 2 feet wide will leave gaps unless you plant a lot of them close together.

Sun exposure matters just as much. Most of the fastest-growing privacy trees, including arborvitae and Leyland cypress, want full sun, at least 6 hours a day, to grow dense and even. In a shady side yard you'll often get thin, patchy growth on the shaded side instead of a solid wall of green.

Finally, think about mature width, not just height. A screen that's too narrow for the space leaves gaps at ground level; one that's too wide can crowd a fence line or property boundary within a decade.

Here's how the main options compare. Growth rates are typical for established trees in good conditions.

Thuja Green Giant Arborvitae

If one tree comes up in almost every conversation about privacy screening, it's Thuja Green Giant. It can grow 3-5 feet per year once established and reaches 40-60 feet tall with a spread of 12-20 feet at full maturity.

Green Giant is a hybrid arborvitae that combines fast growth with better disease resistance than many older arborvitae varieties. It holds a rich green color through winter instead of bronzing, and it tolerates a wide range of soil types as long as drainage is decent.

It's hardy in USDA zones 5-9, which covers most of the country outside the coldest northern states and the hottest desert regions. For a solid hedge, space Green Giants 5-6 feet apart; for a more open, individual-tree look, 8-10 feet apart works and just takes longer to close the gaps.

The one thing to plan for: this tree gets big. If your side yard is only 8 feet wide, a mature 15-foot-wide Green Giant hedge will eventually crowd it. It's better suited to a backyard fence line or a wider side yard.

Leyland Cypress

Leyland cypress is often the first tree people think of for fast privacy. It can grow 3-4 feet per year in its early years and top out at 60-70 feet tall if left unpruned.

It's hardy in zones 6-10, making it a popular choice across the South and mid-Atlantic. Its feathery, blue-green foliage looks softer than a stiff arborvitae hedge, and it takes well to shearing if you want to keep it at a more manageable 15-20 feet.

Leyland cypress does have a reputation problem worth knowing about. It has a shallow root system, which makes mature trees prone to toppling in high winds or heavy, wet snow. It's also more susceptible to canker diseases and bagworms than Green Giant, especially in humid climates or when trees are crowded with poor airflow.

If you do plant it, give it more breathing room than other privacy trees, about 8-10 feet of spacing, and avoid low-lying areas where water sits after rain.

Emerald Green Arborvitae

Not every backyard has room for a tree that spreads 15 feet wide. Emerald Green arborvitae stays narrow, typically just 3-4 feet wide at maturity, while still reaching 12-14 feet tall.

Its growth rate is slower than Green Giant or Leyland cypress, averaging 6-9 inches per year, but its tight, columnar shape makes it the better fit for narrow side yards, strips along a property line, or anywhere you need height without width.

Emerald Green is hardy in zones 3-7, which makes it a solid option in colder climates where Leyland cypress won't survive winter. Because it's narrower, plant Emerald Greens closer together for a solid screen, about 3 feet apart.

Nellie Stevens Holly

If you want privacy without a conifer look, Nellie Stevens holly is one of the best broadleaf evergreen options. It grows 2-3 feet per year, reaching 15-25 feet tall and 8-12 feet wide, with dense, glossy dark-green leaves that stay full from the ground up.

It produces bright red berries in fall and winter, which adds seasonal color and tends to attract birds. It's hardy in zones 6-9 and tolerates both full sun and partial shade better than most fast-growing conifers, making it a good choice if part of your privacy line gets afternoon shade from the house or a fence.

Its spiny leaves also make it less appealing to deer than many other privacy shrubs, which matters in suburban or semi-rural areas with deer pressure.

Plant Nellie Stevens hollies 6-8 feet apart for a continuous hedge, and expect 3-4 years before it forms a truly solid screen.

Hybrid Poplar and Willow: Fast Growth With Real Tradeoffs

Hybrid poplar and hybrid willow are sometimes sold as "instant privacy" trees because they grow faster than almost anything else, 5-8 feet per year in good conditions, reaching 40-50 feet within a decade.

That speed comes at a cost. Both have soft, brittle wood that breaks easily in storms, and their roots spread aggressively, often reaching toward septic lines, foundations and underground pipes well beyond the canopy. Some municipalities and HOAs restrict where they can be planted for exactly this reason.

They're also short-lived by tree standards, typically declining after 15-20 years, so the fast screen you plant today may need replacing within a couple of decades.

If your only goal is temporary cover while slower, longer-lived trees mature behind them, hybrid poplar can work as a stopgap. A DIY privacy screen near the patio is another way to get cover right away while trees fill in.

Skip Laurel for Shady Spots

Most fast-growing privacy trees want full sun, which leaves a gap for anyone with a shadier yard. Skip laurel (also sold as Schip laurel, a compact form of cherry laurel) fills that gap well.

It grows 1-2 feet per year and reaches a manageable 10-15 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide, with dense, glossy evergreen leaves that hold up in partial shade better than arborvitae or cypress. It's hardy in zones 6-9 and tolerates a range of soil conditions.

Skip laurel isn't the tree to reach for if you need privacy fast, but in a shaded side yard or under the edge of an existing canopy where sun-loving conifers would thin out, it's often the more reliable long-term choice. Space plants about 5 feet apart and expect a fuller look after 3-4 growing seasons.

How Far Apart Should You Plant Privacy Trees?

Plant privacy trees at roughly 60-70% of their mature width. A tree that spreads 10 feet wide at maturity should go in about 6-7 feet from its neighbor, close enough to close the gap without crowding roots. Spacing too far apart leaves gaps for years; spacing too close forces trees to compete for water and nutrients and can lead to thin, uneven growth.

Staggering two rows in a zigzag pattern, rather than a single straight line, can close gaps faster and create a fuller screen sooner, especially with narrow varieties like Emerald Green arborvitae.

How you plant matters too. Follow the steps for planting a tree the right way, water new privacy trees deeply once or twice a week for the first full growing season, and hold off on heavy pruning until the second year so the tree can put its energy into rooting in.