Fastest Growing Privacy Hedges: Four Top Green Shrub Choices

Many newer homes are built close together and don’t allow for much privacy between neighbors or yards. Landscaping with green hedge plants brings increased privacy, blocks unwanted noise or views, leads to a feeling of seclusion on your property and adds beauty to your surroundings.

Considerations for Privacy Hedges

When choosing privacy plants, think about what qualities you’d like in a privacy hedge such as fragrance, flowers, form or a fast rate of growth. Always consider the amount of sun on your property, your soil, the water requirements of the plant, as well as your U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone.

California Privet

The California privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium Hassk.) has one of the best track records for a thick, green, private hedge. The name means private. Privet grows quickly so you’ll have a dense hedge that grows up to 10 feet tall. The plant will tolerate part shade or full sun; it tolerates most soil and is drought tolerant once established. The cream-colored flowers bloom all summer and attract bees. The blooms are followed by dark-blue fruit that look like blueberries, and attract birds. Privet is hardy to Zone 7.

Fragrant Tea Olive

For a very tall privacy hedge, consider the fragrant tea olive (Osmanthus fragrans). This plant matures at 30 feet tall and as wide; it is a 2009 Georgia Gold Medal Award winner. The fragrant flowers grow as clusters in colors that range from cream to yellow. The olive is very drought tolerant and thrives in partial shade to full sun; it is not fussy about soil. This hedge plant is a solid evergreen to introduce to the landscape. It is hardy in USDA Zones 7 through 10.

Pittosporum

Pittosporum (Pittosporum tenuifolium) rates highly as an excellent hedge for screens and windbreaks. It grows up to 25 feet tall and 15 feet wide and is offered in variegated or solid-colored foliage. You also bring fragrance to your privacy landscape with this New Zealand native. It blooms with sweetly-scented purple flowers that are followed by orange fruit. Pittosporum flourishes in partial to full sun with moderate water. It grows in USDA Hardiness Zones 7 through 10.

Pyracantha

Pyracantha (Pyracantha crenato-serrata) will fit into your landscape plans if you need a shorter hedge. It is a fast-growing evergreen that grows up to 8 feet tall and as wide. In spring it blooms with white flowers, followed by bright red fruit that attracts birds. Pyracantha loves full sun, with moderate water; the cold hardy zones vary by species.