Fastest growing trees/hedge?

What area of the country?

In the South its Privet Hedge but you have to keep it trimmed or its a horrible neighbor

IF you can mow on each side (or pasture) to control spread, Bamboo will be 15-20' in just a few years.....

Forrest Mosby said:

In the South its Privet Hedge but you have to keep it trimmed or its a horrible neighbor

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I hate privet. I try to cut it down and dig up the roots. However it is a good quick growing hedge.

White Pine
If it grows where you are.
Fastest growing Pine on my property

Yeah... I would NEVER be advocating invasive exotics!
Privet isn't just super aggressive, seedlings coming up everywhere causing starvation among the wildlife as their normal sources of food are crowded out... those flowers are murder on allergies.

In ST Louis, maybe red cedar?

Down my way, wax myrtle is a wonderful wildlife friendly native privacy screen.
Up in Missouri, maybe northern bayberry...

When picking out these plants, it's very important to consider their environmental impact.... planting invasive exotics can have almost immediate negative impacts...

Leyland Cypress. It grew over 2' a year for us in zone 6, and made a thick, evergreen fence within 3 years.

Does aspen grow that far south?

In 2 years it can be 15 feet tall. You could plant aspen and evergreens together. The aspen grows quick and blocks the view at least in the summer. Once the pines are big enough you can cut the aspen down.

Genoplunch said:

We are buying a home that is pretty much wooded but there are a few areas that I'd like more privacy from neighbors. I want it to be year 'round so I'm looking for evergreens--which I realize are usually slow growing but am hoping for exceptions. Any ideas on what would grow fast for privacy in the St. Louis area?
Thanks!

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Evergreens grow faster than most hardwoods. Look up Emerald Green Arborvitie
I have a row I've never trimmed and they're 10/12 foot high.
My last place I had a row that I kept trimmed to 6 foot.
If you get these mulch them good and use soaker hoses for the first couple of years as they have shallow roots.

Here in the southeast, red tips are very popular. Thick, dense hedge that'll get 10-15' tall in a few short years.

Red Tip Photinia Red Tip Photinia - Google Search

RobertSWMissouri said:

IF you can mow on each side (or pasture) to control spread, Bamboo will be 15-20' in just a few years.....

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Bamboo around here is worse than privet hedge…I know two people w the giant bamboo..they dig and cut year round snd barely make headway…I looked into it as an anti-invasion wall and the stuff is awesome for that…a 10 ft wide belt will stop a truck but if you get sick or cant mow it your property is toast…There are a half dozen places I know of in a 3 county area where foreclosed properties were salted w the giant variety and by the time the mortgage company got around to seeing to the property it was a jungle…stuff grew into the house itself…its also been used as revenge on A-hole neighbors..by the time they realized it was in their treeline or around their pool it was too late….nasty nasty stuff…

OKCorral said:

Not evergreen but we planted a willow fedge (hedge - fence) along a low spot on the property where water collects. 3 years later it looks similar to this:

Started from 12" or shorter sticks. Of course, it loses it's leaves in winter BUT just prune it, create more sticks, let them root in a jar of water and plant in the gaps until you've got a solid fence. Leave the trees straight or weave the reeds together. Multiple configurations are possible!
Also, white willow bark was used before commercial aspirin and you'll have plenty of material if you decide to take up basket weaving.
The sticks were around a buck apiece, planted a foot apart the first year........cheapest fence ever.

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Ive got willow; dont know if its white or not…gonna root some today👍

RobertSWMissouri said:

IF you can mow on each side (or pasture) to control spread, Bamboo will be 15-20' in just a few years.....

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I've planted bamboo when I lived in Houston...big mistake. The only way to use bamboo is to put concrete containers in the ground and plant the bamboo inside the containers. Otherwise, out of control with surface runners spreading in all directions. As bad as Kudzu!

Just remember that "fast growing" usually also means "short lived".

It's a two-step process. Plant some fast-growing variety first. But also plant some slower (but longer lived) varieties adjacent to the fast growing ones. Eventually you will have to thin-out the faster growing ones, once the longer lived ones are well established.

Green giant arborvitae or Leyland cypress. I’m in PA and we have close to 45 lining the property with the neighbors. They grow very fast after the first year. We also have some leylands, they seem to grow a little faster but they’re not as cold hardy as the arborvitae and take damage over the winter.

556308dawg said:

I've planted bamboo when I lived in Houston...big mistake. The only way to use bamboo is to put concrete containers in the ground and plant the bamboo inside the containers. Otherwise, out of control with surface runners spreading in all directions. As bad as Kudzu!

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My elderly neighbor had an acre of bamboo for a "wildlife preserve." After he passed away the new owners spent a couple of years trying to get rid of it. Here in the forest we've already got plenty of birds and squirrels living in the oaks so the bamboo didn't make sense and besides that it can't be used for firewood.