The Best Fast-Growing Screening Trees for Privacy in Australian Backyards
Creating privacy in your backyard doesn’t have to take years. With the right fast-growing screening trees, you can block out neighbours, reduce noise, and put a wall of foliage along the boundary much sooner than you think.
This guide covers the best fast-growing screening trees for Australian conditions, including options for full sun, narrow spaces, pools and low-maintenance gardens.
Why choose fast-growing screening trees?
Fast-growing screening trees are one of the most effective ways to improve a garden quickly. They provide:
- Instant privacy from neighbours
- Wind and noise reduction
- Shade and cooling
- Increased property value
- A more established landscape
Unlike fences or walls, living screens improve over time and soften the look of your backyard.
What makes a good screening tree?
Before choosing a plant, consider:
Growth rate
Look for trees that grow at least 50cm, 1m per year in good conditions.
Mature height and width
Make sure the tree suits your space long-term, especially in smaller yards.
Root system
Important for planting near pools, fences or houses.
Sun exposure
Choose species suited to full sun, part shade or coastal conditions.
Maintenance level
Some screening trees need regular trimming, others are more relaxed.
Best fast-growing screening trees for Australian backyards
1. Lilly Pilly (Syzygium varieties)
Height: 3 to 8m
Growth rate: Fast
Best for: Dense privacy hedges
Lilly Pillies are one of the most popular screening plants in Australia. They grow quickly, respond well to pruning and form a lush, evergreen screen.
Modern varieties are psyllid-resistant and ideal for suburban backyards; our guide to the Resilience growth rate sets out how fast you will actually get a screen. They work well along fences, near pools and in formal hedges.
Great varieties:
- Resilience
- Straight and Narrow
- Backyard Bliss
2. Pittosporum ‘Silver Sheen’
Height: 4 to 6m
Growth rate: Fast
Best for: Tall, narrow screening
A favourite for modern gardens, Silver Sheen creates a light, airy screen with soft grey-green foliage, and our pittosporum care guide covers keeping it dense at the base. It grows quickly and works well in tight spaces where width is limited.
Best planted in full sun with good drainage.
3. Viburnum ‘Emerald Lustre’
Height: 3 to 5m
Growth rate: Fast
Best for: Tropical-style privacy
Viburnum is a hardy and reliable screening plant that produces dense foliage quickly. It handles pruning well and suits both formal hedges and natural screens.
It thrives in full sun to part shade and adapts to most Australian climates.
4. Bamboo (clumping varieties only)
Height: 4 to 8m
Growth rate: Very fast
Best for: Instant height and privacy
Clumping bamboo is one of the fastest screening options available. It creates a tall, lush barrier and is perfect for blocking double-storey neighbours.
Always choose clumping varieties (not running bamboo) to avoid spreading issues, a distinction our guide to bamboo for screening explains in full.
5. Magnolia ‘Little Gem’ (for structured screens)
Height: 4 to 6m
Growth rate: Moderate-fast
Best for: Formal, evergreen screening
Magnolia Little Gem is ideal for a more structured, architectural look. While slightly slower than others on this list, it still establishes quickly and provides a dense evergreen screen.
It also produces beautiful white flowers through warmer months, and its smaller cousin gets its own treatment in how to use Teddy Bear Magnolia for privacy.
Fast screening trees for small backyards
If space is limited, choose narrow or upright trees:
- Lilly Pilly ‘Straight and Narrow’
- Pencil Pines
- Pittosporum ‘Silver Sheen’
- Magnolia ‘Teddy Bear’
- Clumping bamboo
These varieties provide height without taking up too much width. Where the problem is a bare fence rather than a two storey neighbour, see our picks for softening fences and retaining walls.
How to plant screening trees for fast results
To get the quickest privacy:
1. Start with advanced sizes
Planting 45L, 200L trees gives instant impact and faster screening.
2. Improve the soil
Use quality organic soil and fertiliser when planting.
3. Water consistently during establishment
Fast growth comes from consistent watering in the first 6 to 12 months.
4. Fertilise regularly
Use a slow-release fertiliser to encourage strong growth.
5. Plant at correct spacing
Too wide and gaps appear. Too close and growth can compete.
How long until you get privacy?
With good conditions:
- 200mm plants: 1 to 2 years
- 45L plants: 6 to 12 months
- Advanced trees: instant impact
Starting with larger plants is the fastest way to achieve privacy.
Choosing the right screening tree for your yard
The best screening tree depends on:
- Sun exposure
- Space available
- Desired height
- Maintenance level
- Budget
- Soil type
If you’re unsure, start by measuring your space and deciding how tall you want the screen to be.
Final thoughts
Fast-growing screening trees are one of the most effective ways to transform an Australian backyard. Whether you want instant privacy, a tropical feel or a modern hedge, there’s a species suited to your space.
Choosing the right tree early will save time, money and maintenance long-term.
If you’re planning a privacy screen and want fast results, consider starting with larger plant sizes so your garden looks established from day one.
Fast screening by Australian climate
How fast a screen closes depends as much on where you garden as on what you plant. The same lilly pilly that closes a gap in two years in Brisbane takes four in Canberra.
| Location | Fastest reliable options |
|---|---|
| Brisbane, Gold and Sunshine Coasts | Lilly pilly, golden cane, clumping bamboo, Eumundi quandong |
| Sydney and coastal NSW | Lilly pilly, sweet viburnum, clumping bamboo, pittosporum |
| Melbourne and Canberra | Sweet viburnum, pittosporum, photinia, Teddy Bear magnolia |
| Adelaide | Pittosporum, viburnum, olive, westringia |
| Perth | Lilly pilly with irrigation, viburnum, clumping bamboo |
| Coastal and salt exposed | Westringia, coast banksia, tuckeroo, pandanus |
Fast has a cost
Worth being straight about. The fastest screening plants are fast because they keep growing, which means they need clipping two or three times a year indefinitely, and they get large if you stop. Golden cane, bamboo and the vigorous lilly pillies all fall into this category.
A plant whose natural mature height is close to the screen height you want will need far less work over twenty years, even if it takes an extra season to get there. Matching the cultivar to the job is the single best decision you can make.
Buying size versus buying time
Advanced and ex-ground stock buys years. A screen from advanced plants can be functional in a single season, where the same species from tube stock takes three. In Brisbane and the subtropics, small stock catches up quickly enough that tube stock is usually the economical choice for a long boundary. In Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide, where growth is slower, advanced stock is worth more of the budget.
What actually determines closure speed
- Water through the first two summers. This matters more than any other factor, and it is the one most often skimped.
- Spacing. 800 mm to 1 m for most hedging species; closer wastes plants without closing faster.
- Soil preparation across the whole trench rather than individual holes.
- Feeding twice a year - a clipped hedge regrows constantly and is hungrier than a specimen plant.
- Tip pruning from year one to force branching, rather than waiting for full height.
- Mulch to 75 mm along the row, kept clear of the stems.
Two things to check before planting a boundary
Leave an access gap. Plant at least 600 mm clear of the fence so you can trim both sides and the hedge is not pushing on the palings. A hedge planted hard against a boundary becomes a genuine dispute when the fence needs replacing.
Check what is underground. Sewer, stormwater and services commonly run along boundaries. Call Before You Dig, and keep vigorous-rooted species such as figs well away regardless.
Avoid running bamboo
Clumping bamboo makes an excellent fast screen in warm Australian gardens. Running bamboo travels under paving and fences into neighbouring properties and is extremely difficult to remove once established. Plant only clumping Bambusa species, and check the label rather than assuming.
Ready to plant?
Compare the options in fast growing privacy trees, or go straight to mature plants for immediate privacy if you want the screen finished this season.
