Fast growing trees are popular for many reasons. They provide shelter from the sun, privacy, and enhance your landscape. Trees improve air quality and cultivate a natural habitat for bugs and animals. Planting fast-growing trees can add value to your property. Here are some of the most popular fast-growing trees for North Carolina.
Hybrid Poplar
These tall trees are great for shade and can grow 5 to 8 feet per year. They have silvery-green leaves and are often planted in rows. They provide shade that can reduce energy costs and are great firewood. Their leaves turn a brilliant yellow in the fall.
Scarlet Oak
The scarlet oak tree grows 1 to 2 feet per year in dry, sandy soil. The leaves are red when they sprout and turn shiny green with a yellow-green underside during growing season. The leaves are 3 to 7 inches long and turn back to red in the fall. It reaches a height of 60 to 80 feet with a canopy of 40 to 50 feet.
Red Maple
The red maple, also known as the scarlet maple or the soft maple, grows 2 or more feet per year. In the spring, red to yellow flowers come out before the leaves appear. In the fall, the leaves turn a breathtaking red, yellow, and reddish orange. They can grow to a height of 40 to 60 feet.
Eastern Cottonwood
The eastern cottonwood is one of the fastest growing trees, growing up to 5 feet per year for the first 10 to 15 years and a slightly slower rate until 30 to 35 years. It has heavy branches and can reach 100 feet in height. In the spring it has catkin flowers and shiny green leaves up to 5 inches long with a somewhat triangular shape. The leaves turn yellow in the fall.
Fast-growing trees add value to a yard quickly but need to be maintained to keep them healthy. Call Integrity Tree Care to help you determine how to trim the tree and ensure it has a healthy root system.
