Fast Growing Shrubs

Shrubs mature faster than most trees with some producing flowers and seeds by their second or third year. Fast growing shrubs can add quick color and beauty to a landscape. They also make good hedges or privacy screens. On the other hand, shrubs that grow too rapidly need regular pruning to be controlled so they don’t take over an area or block the view of a house.

Melaleuca

Melaleucas, also known as paperbarks or black tea trees, are fast-growing shrubs with narrow leaves that are sometimes needle-like. They’re also called bottlebrushes because their flowers resemble bottlebrushes. Melaleucas need little water and are tolerate of drought, heat, poor soil and wind. These easy to grow shrubs also attract birds. Their woody seed capsules hang from their branches for years. Plant them in full sun and prune back branches to manage growth.

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckles are woody, herbaceous shrubs from the genus Lonicera. These fast-growing shrubs grow best in full shade as they can become leggy and sparse when planted in shade. Although they’re tolerant of most soils, they need well-drained soil. Most varieties don’t have disease or insect problems and furnish abundant berries that are inedible to humans, but are eaten by birds. Fruit colors vary according to species and some varieties don’t produce any fruit.

Flowering Quince

The fast-growing shrub known as the flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) is a large shrub mostly recognized for its showy flowers. Flowering quinces grow up to 10 feet high, notes Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension. They grow erect with a spread of 12 feet. The shrub’s flowers bloom in early spring in a variety of shades including red, orange, pink or white. Be careful to avoid injury from their thorns when handling them. Besides controlling plant size and shape, regular pruning also promotes better flowering.

Mockorange

Mockoranges (Philadelphus spp.) are vigorous, fast-growing shrubs, mostly grown for their white spring flowers. They come in single or double-flowered varieties with flower sizes varying from 1/2 inch to nearly 2.5 inches wide. Both fragrant and non-fragrant varieties are available. This shrub can reach up to 10 feet tall in only a few years, according to a University of Illinois Extension article by James Schuster. Remove some stems from the plant’s base to keep it free flowering and vigorous.

Butterfly Bush

Butterfly bushes (Buddleia davidii) grow from 5 to 8 feet from the ground in only one growing season. These fast-growing shrubs have a course texture and grow up to 10 to 12 feet high with a spread of 8 to 10 feet. Butterfly bushes make ideal flowering summer shrubs, although they have a messy growth habit.

These shrubs not only are good for landscaping, but many of them, such as the butterfly bush, don’t have any serious pest or disease problems. Just give them regular pruning and they will continue to enhance your yard, improving the property value of your home.

Sources

University of California: Garden Plants Melaleuca (date accessed 2/17/2011).

University of Minnesota Extension: Shrubs (date accessed 2/17/2011).

Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension: Flowering Quince, Alex X. Niemiera (date accessed 2/17/2011).

North Carolina State University: Shurbs 8″ + for North Carolina Landscapes, M.A. (Kim) Powell (date accessed 2/17/2011).

University of Connecticut: Buddleia Davidii (date accessed 2/17/2011).

University of Missouri Extension: Deciduous Shrubs, Christopher J. Starbuck (date accessed 2/17/2011).

Ohio Line: Deciduous Shrubs for Ohio, Jane C. Martin (date accessed 2/17/2011).