Trees for the environment
There are native and naturalised fast-growing tree species which are an ecological paradise for many animals and insects. What’s more, fast-growing trees contribute to balancing our CO2 footprint every day.
Fast-growing trees for the garden
Fast-growing trees add impact to a garden in no time. We present the best examples.
05.03.2025
Overview: Fast-growing trees
- Fast-growing native tree varieties provide food and habitat for many animals and insects
- Fast-growing specimen trees with compact spherical crowns are perfect for front gardens
- The sweet cherry is a fruit tree which grows quickly and starts producing fruit early
- Look carefully at the plant’s condition when purchasing a fast-growing tree
- Trees sold in containers start growing more quickly after planting in the ground than rootball trees
Trees that grow quickly include deciduous trees such as white willow, beech and the Indian bean tree, but also evergreen trees such as green-gold thuja varieties or the Schwerin’s pine.
Trees grow fastest when their planting site matches the conditions of their natural habitat. They will reach their full potential only in a spot where the soil quality and the light and temperature levels are ideal for their specific preferences.
By far the fastest-growing fruit tree is the sweet cherry. It can reach heights between four and 15 metres, depending on the rootstock.
An dense hedge makes an effective privacy screen.
Fast-growing trees have many virtues
If you have a garden, you know that it can take a long time for trees to attain a magnificent size. Luckily, there are some trees which grow at a more rapid pace.
In a short time, these fast-growing varieties of tree can create long-term privacy when used as dense hedging, provide shade and expressively define the garden style with their forms.
Our top 11: Fast-growing trees for the garden
For your convenience, we have compiled a list of 11 fast-growing trees. It starts at the tree with the fastest growth rate and continues in descending order:
The white willow is a native, hardy tree, which is a characteristic landscape feature in alluvial forests and floodplain areas with streams, rivers and lakes. As such, this fast grower will only feel at home as a garden tree at the edge of a pond or stream.
In its early life the white willow grows incredibly fast, adding one to two metres each year, and it is capable of reaching a maximum height of 35 metres. As it blooms very early, it is a valuable source of food for many insects. A less space-intensive way to include white willow in the garden is in the form of a “living hedge” of woven willow rods. As willow is very tolerant of pruning, white willow is also suitable for pollarding.
The deciduous European or common beech quickly becomes an impressive tree, growing 40 to 50 centimetres a year if you give it enough space. The native tree also makes an excellent formal hedge, with attractive leaves that prevent unwanted onlookers, and dense branches which offer shelter to many creatures. The fast-growing tree prefers cooler, lime-rich soils.
Depending on how much space the bird cherry tree has available it can grow very quickly when young, at an annual rate of 40 to 70 centimetres, to become a multi-stemmed shrub or 15-metre-tall tree. Its long racemes of white flowers have a rather heavy fragrance, but in late spring they unfailingly draw in the bees and butterflies. It tolerates all soil types and is resistant to urban climates and dryness.
A foxglove tree adds a jungle feel to the garden. This hardy shade-giver is adorned with large velvet-textured leaves that provide plenty of shade. It also bears panicles of beautiful lilac blossom.
The medium-sized fast-growing tree from China grows in spring at a rate of 40 to 50 cm in height and 20 cm in width. You can also keep a foxglove tree as a two- to three-metre-tall compact tree by cutting the branches back every two years. If you take this route, you should cut the stems cut at a height of 30 to 50 cm.
Make sure you provide enough space for a fast-growing tree like the native silver birch, as it will reach a height of 18 to 30 metres in just a few years, with annual growth of 45 cm. Its tall, usually straight trunk shines in white and carries a loose crown which creates light, dappled shade. The leaves are mid-green in summer and then turn bright yellow in autumn.
Silver birch is very undemanding; it resists frost and drought and tolerates any soil type.
The Norway maple grows very quickly as a young tree, reaching 20 to 30 metres in height and almost the same width. The native tree boasts pretty yellow-green flower clusters and a bright yellow colour in autumn.
Its drought resistance makes it one of the most popular hardy street trees, while its wide-branching root system means it can even withstand hurricanes.
Fast-growing, more compact varieties are a more manageable choice: varieties such as ‘Eurostar’ and ‘Columnare’ form manageable crowns with annual growth of between 20 and 40 cm.
The Indian bean tree is a fast-growing tree which, in just a few years, forms a leafy canopy to provide a cool haven under its attractive branches.
This shade-provider significantly slows down its annual growth of 35 cm as it gets older, making the Indian bean tree a suitable choice for your garden. The Indian bean tree originates from the southeast regions of North America, where it is found in moist, nutrient-rich soils.
The slightly slower-growing variety ‘Aurea’ is planted mainly for its bright yellow-green leaves. The round crown makes the ‘Nana’ variety very popular as a specimen tree, usually grafted onto a tall trunk for an elegant look.
Fast-growing evergreen conifers such as the yellow ‘4ever Goldy’ thuja decoratively adorn the garden all year round. It has an impressive growth rate of 30 cm per year, and its bright needles illuminate the garden as a two- to three-metre-tall specimen tree, but also as formal, dense hedging.
This non-native evergreen loves sunny to semi-shaded positions. It tolerates frost and wind, and copes well in urban settings.
With its irregular, loose crown, the native Schwerin’s pine is a gem for any open space. The sprawling branches are covered in long, blue-green shimmering needles and it bears large curved cones.
The fast-growing, winter-hardy conifer extends its branches by around 25 centimetres in a year. At maturity, specimens can be up to 20 metres high and 10 metres wide. The coniferous tree copes well with any well-draining soil and prefers a sunny position.
This lollipop variety of maple is a small specimen tree which forms a densely branched crown without regular pruning. It grows 15 to 20 centimetres annually – making it the fast-growing choice for a lollipop tree. It can eventually reach a height of four to six metres, and has a rounded crown with vibrant green leaves that turn bright yellow in autumn. As it tolerates heat well and is resistant to drought, it is often chosen for planting in car parks and front gardens.
Robinias are uncomplicated trees that grow quickly – although they are prone to breakage from wind in exposed areas.
With golden pinnate leaves, racemes of white flowers, and an ultimate height of 8 to 15 metres, this fast-growing tree is a standout garden feature as well as a bee magnet. The ‘Frisia’ variety is very popular as an urban tree because it is heat tolerant and drought resistant. It grows slightly slower than other species, at a rate of 15 to 20 centimetres a year.
It is a large North American tree which forms runners once it is established; these need to be removed regularly.
Table: Growth rate
So you can see the details at a glance, we have summarised the top 11 fast-growing trees by growth rate in the following table.
| Fast-growing trees | Annual growth |
|---|---|
| 1. White willow Salix alba | as a young tree 60 to 80 cm, then about 30 cm |
| 2. Common beech Fagus sylvatica | height 50 cm, width 40 cm |
| 3. Bird cherry Prunus padus | initially 50 to 70 cm; halved in later life |
| 4. Foxglove tree Paulownia tomentosa | height 40 to 50 cm, width 20 cm, growth weakens with age |
| 5. Silver birch Betula pendula | height 45 cm, width 25 cm |
| 6. Norway maple Acer platanoides ‘Eurostar’ | height 30 to 40 cm, width 20 cm |
| 7. Indian bean tree Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’ | 30 to 35 cm |
| 8. Yellow thuja Thuja plicata ‘4ever Goldy’ | 20 to 30 cm |
| 9. Schwerin’s pine Pinus x schwerinii | 25 cm |
| 10. Lollipop maple Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’ | 20 cm |
| 11. False acacia Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’ | 15 to 20 cm |
The sweet cherry tree loves sunshine.
Fast-growing fruit trees: Sweet cherry
Most sweet cherry varieties are derived from the wild cherry (Prunus avium). They are genetically programmed to grow quickly and – unlike standard apple trees – to set lots of fruit after just two years.
The size of winter-hardy cherry tree varieties is largely dependent on their rootstock, as this, along with pruning, is what determines the annual growth rate.
Quick-growing sweet cherry trees are most at home in an airy, sunny position. They love heavy, deep loamy soils which are rich in lime.
Fast-growing native and drought-resistant trees
Many people are considering sustainability and wish to plant more native trees in their garden. Botanically speaking, native trees are those that occur naturally in an area, without human intervention. They provide habitat and food for a wide variety of living creatures, as animals and insects have adapted to local species over a long period of time. This makes them ideal for a wildlife-friendly garden.
Ecologically valuable native tree giants such as Norway maple, common beech, silver birch, black poplar, white willow and small-leaved lime are generally difficult to accommodate in most gardens. You can do so by integrating the white willow (Salix alba) as a pollarded tree, or selecting specific varieties of native tree that remain significantly smaller than the species and still grow relatively quickly. There are many suitable trees for small gardensto choose from.
Prime examples are the fast-growing medium-sized trees ‘Eurostar’ Norway maple and ‘Greenspire’ small-leaved lime. Their crowns reach 15 metres and taper to a point. There is also a place for the long-lived bird cherry – but only if it is closely planted with other wild trees to form a hedge.
Fast-growing native trees include many drought-resistant options. These have a deep or wide-spreading root system and are generally very tolerant of higher temperatures. Trees which are less sensitive to urban environmental influences have long been a feature of our town- and cityscapes.
Tree care products
Take note of this when purchasing!
You can buy fast-growing trees from garden centres or nurseries. Garden centres usually offer only a limited range of standard fast-growing trees – though often at low prices. Orchards, on the other hand, offer a much wider selection of trees that grow quickly. They will generally also give you good expert advice and information about conditions and care.
You should purchase trees with healthy roots.
Wherever you buy your fast-growing tree: check the quality of your chosen specimen on-site. The best way is to place the fast-growing tree on the ground and check it from all sides.
Don’t buy any that have irregular growth, bare spots, bent branches, brown leaves or conspicuous scaling! It’s also worth looking at the rootball. The soil should have lots of roots in it and those roots should look healthy.
Fast-growing evergreen trees are usually offered as rootball trees from autumn to spring. When purchasing these, make sure there is no soil falling from the ball and that the cloth is tied tightly around it. Multi-stemmed deciduous trees, half-standard and standard trees as well as single-stem fast-growing deciduous trees are sold as rootballs or in containers.
Container plants have some advantages. You can plant container-grown fast-growing trees all year round if the soil is not frozen. They also grow faster than rootballs after being planted in spring.
