If you are impatient, need an area to look beautiful in a hurry, or are starting a new border or garden from scratch, you may want to choose some fast-growing shrubs. Some shrubs might take a long to get established, so if you are impatient, this can be a suitable option for you.
Shrubs with a rapid growth rate have a robust growth rate and should produce blooms at an early stage. They will make an impression even before the slower-growing bushes catch up to them.
If you plant your shrubs properly, they will get established more quickly and get off to the most successful beginning possible. Learn the proper way to plant a shrub.
In this brief video that walks over each step in detail, horticulture expert David Hurrian demonstrates how to trim several types of shrubs. You will learn the fundamental methods, such as how and where to cut, as well as the “three Ds,” which are the removal of stems that are dead, diseased, or damaged. You will finally learn how to maintain proper air circulation throughout the plant by removing twiggy and crowded stems.
1. Hydrangea
There is a wide selection of hydrangeas available to pick from, and in the last ten years, several new kinds of this flower have been developed. They are simple to cultivate and fast to get established, allowing them to have an effect in a short amount of time. Learn about nine of the most useful hydrangeas for your garden.
2. Lavatera
Lavatera, also known as tree mallows or shrubby mallows, are capable of putting on a lot of growth in a single season and, in their first year, should produce masses of blooms that resemble hollyhocks.
Grow in soil that is healthy and well-drained, in a location that gets full sun and is shaded. Reduce the size in the spring. This specimen of Lavatera maritima is shown.
3. Bamboo
Be careful while planting bamboo since it has the potential to spread both horizontally and vertically as it grows. It’s possible that certain types are more susceptible to this than others, but to be on the safe side, it’s better to construct a barrier around the plant’s roots in order to limit the plant’s ability to spread.
In general, Phyllostachys species have a greater propensity to spread, while Fargesia species are more well-behaved and tend to cluster together.
4. Buddleia
Buddleias are shrubs that are hardy and simple to care for. They get their popular name, the butterfly bush, from the fact that the blooms, which are typically pink, magenta, and purple, are particularly appealing to butterflies.
Cut back severely in spring. The Buddleia davidii ‘Summer Beauty’ seen here is a dwarf variant of the species.
5. Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’
Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’ is a beautiful evergreen plant that may be grown on its own as a single specimen, or it can be planted in groups to form a fast-growing hedge.
As the immature leaves unfurl, a reddish hue may be seen on them. Plant in full sun or moderate shade, on soil that is healthy and has good drainage.
6. Euphorbia characias subsp wulfennii
Euphorbia characias subsp. Wulfenii is an evergreen shrub that has a naturally rounded form and produces blooms in the spring that is an acid-yellow color.
It grows quickly, can tolerate dry conditions, and requires little care; when the blossoms have passed their prime, just clip them off. (Wear gloves, as they have irritant sap).
7. Rambling Rector
Rosa ‘Rambling Rector’ is a rambling rose, just as its name says it should be. Because of its rapid expansion potential, you will need a large amount of area to accommodate it, as it may expand up to 6 meters. It is more shade tolerant than many varieties of roses and makes an excellent covering for a wall or shed.
8. White Cornus Tree
Cornu’s alba is a fast-growing shrub that is cultivated primarily for the attractive, bare red stems it bears in the winter. It has the potential to get extremely enormous and so requires a good deal of space, but its expansion may be controlled by performing pruning in the early spring.
Plant in the soil of any kind and in direct sunlight. The different cultivars have a weaker growth pattern.
9. Willow
Additionally, willows are cultivated for the ornamental value of their stems during the winter. Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Yelverton’ has vibrant orange stems and is good for any soil, especially moist soils, in full sun. To have magnificent stems the next winter, you should prune them in the spring.
10. Prunus Lusitanian
Evergreen Portuguese laurel, also known as Prunus lusitanica, has stems that are red in color and grow quickly. It has the potential to grow rather large and develop into a small tree, but it can be readily contained by proper trimming.
It would make a wonderful addition to a topiary garden or a hedgerow. Grow in a warm, protected location that receives either full sun or partial shade.
11. Elderberry
Elderberry, with its tasty berries and beautiful flowers, is one of the greatest fast-growing shrubs for a garden. ‘You can grow your own elderberries and make an immune-boosting elderberry syrup at home using the berries,’ explains Diane Kuthy.
She goes on to say that these deciduous perennial bushes thrive in either partial shade or full sun and are hardy in USDA growing zones 4 through 7. They begin flowering in late spring, producing an abundance of small white blossoms that may be harvested and used to create a refreshing cordial or fizz.
Following this, in any given year somewhere between July and September, you may find ripe berries, which are loaded with immune-boosting vitamins A, C, and D.
Once gathered, they may be used to make elderberry jam, pies, or preserves, all of which are delicious and good for you. So why not include them in your plans for a kitchen garden?
Elderberries should be cooked before eating them since berries of certain types are deadly if consumed uncooked. Elderberry plants, with the right amount of pruning, may be kept as small shrubs or allowed to reach heights of more than 10 feet.
The elderberry plant, which takes two to three years to produce fruit, is best acquired while it is a young plant, as explained by Diane.
12. Cornus
When searching for the best fast-growing shrubs, it’s important to think about more than just the flowers and foliage they’ll produce. Cornus, or dogwoods, are among the finest evergreens for containers and borders in the winter.
These beautiful deciduous shrubs are quite adaptable, and their bare stem displays of yellow, orange, red, and deep crimson in the winter is particularly well-liked.
White flower heads appear atop the stems in the spring, and the stems are covered in pale green leaves in the summer, providing year-round visual variety in a border.
13. Pretend orange
Philadelphus, or mock orange, is a hardy shrub that blooms between the middle of June and the end of August. FastGrowingTrees.com is where you can get your hands on it.
If you want to cultivate this sensory garden plant so you can enjoy its magnificent sweet fragrant blossoms to the fullest, put it near an outdoor sitting or dining area. It thrives in full sun to partial shade and prefers well-drained soil.
14. Cotoneaster
These bushes are prized for their white summer flowers and colorful autumn berries. Some are evergreen, while others lose their leaves in the winter.
There are shrubs that make bold statements as specimens, and there are others that are multipurpose ground cover plants that create lovely mounds.
There is a wide range in how quickly different species grow, but certain evergreen varieties in particular are quite quick. ‘Cornubia,’ ‘Cotoneaster salicifolius,’ and ‘Rothschildianus,’ which has golden berries, are all worth a shot.
Some, like the Cotoneaster Franchetti, are considered invasive species, so it’s important to read labels and conduct research before purchasing.
They thrive in warm, sunny locations with rich, well-drained soil. There isn’t much you need to do to keep them looking good, but if their development is slower than planned, some rose food in the autumn and some organic mulch can’t hurt.
Mahonia x media is an excellent, fast-growing shade shrub.
This evergreen, which blooms in a range from November to early spring depending on the cultivar, has glossy dark green foliage and produces sprays of beautifully fragrant yellow flowers.
Occasionally, clusters of dark berries, either black or purple, follow. For this reason, a north-facing backyard with Mahonia X media is a suitable option, since the plant can handle either partial or full shadow. It prefers well-drained soil but may grow in sand, chalk, clay, or loam.
Which evergreen shrub grows the quickest?
You may add year-round beauty to your landscape by planting one of the numerous fast-growing evergreen shrubs available. The Schip laurel, photinia, and Viburnum tinus mentioned above are only a few of the numerous possibilities available to you while designing a garden.
The plants that thrive in your neighbors’ yards are a good indicator of what will thrive in your own garden since they will likely like the same climate and soil.
How quickly can you identify the best bush for privacy?
Wax myrtle shrubs are among the quickest-growing privacy hedges. According to Ellen of Outdoor Happens, their rate of growth may approach two feet per year if they adapt well to your soil.
As an evergreen, this tree also serves as a home for many species of flora and fauna. If the female and male plants are put adjacent to one other, the resulting hybrid will produce a bumper crop of berries in the winter, providing a welcome food source for winged creatures.
This hardy plant thrives in full sun to partial shade and adapts to a wide range of soil conditions, even mildly saline ones. Since “the waxy leaves are famously flammable,” Ellen recommends that wax myrtle be planted far from any potential barbeque or outdoor fireplace sites.
