Fast Growing Plants

When a two storey build goes up next door or a deck leaves you on display, the question is not what to plant but how soon it will do its job. Every plant here has been chosen for pace, and this page focuses on turning that pace into privacy: living screens and hedges that close the gap in seasons, not decades.

Screening is a numbers game, and getting the spacing right matters more than any other decision. For a dense hedge to 2 or 3 metres, plant at 60 to 80 centimetre centres; for taller boundary screens, stretch that to 1 to 1.5 metres and accept a slightly longer wait for the gaps to close. As a working timeline, a well watered screen planted from 200mm pots typically gives meaningful privacy in 18 months to 2 years and full coverage by year three. Height of planting stock buys less time than people expect, so put the budget into more plants at closer spacing rather than fewer tall ones with gaps between.

Keeping a fast screen dense is mostly about early discipline. Trim lightly from the first year, even though it feels like slowing things down, because every tip prune doubles the shoots behind it and the result is a wall of foliage rather than a row of poles. Keep the base slightly wider than the top when shaping so lower branches still get light, and never let the bottom third go bare chasing height, as thickening it later is the hardest job in hedging.

For the broader range beyond screening duty, the companion fast growing page looks at the same plants through an establishment lens. If bamboo is on your shortlist for an instant effect, start with our bamboo screening guide, and for the classic Australian hedge read the lilly pilly care guide. To work out exactly how many plants your boundary needs, punch your measurements into the hedge calculator before you order.