As the crisp autumn air settles in, gardeners know that fall is the perfect time to plant shrubs that will grow rapidly and have stunning year-round appeal. With cooler temperatures and consistent rain, fall is the perfect time to get these beauties in the ground.
Whether you’re seeking privacy, curb appeal, or simply a pop of color, these 13 fast-growing shrubs are the perfect addition to any garden.
1. Weigela
Weigela is a deciduous flowering shrub that boasts stunning pink, red, or white blooms in late spring to early summer. This low-maintenance beauty can grow up to 2 feet per year and reach a mature height of 6-10 feet.
Weigela thrives in full sun to partial shade and adapts to various soil types, making it a versatile choice for any garden.
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In addition to its attractive flowers, weigela offers lush green foliage that turns a beautiful burgundy-red in the fall. This shrub is also resistant to most pests and diseases, ensuring a hassle-free growing experience.
2. Beauty Bush
Beauty bush is a fast-growing deciduous shrub in the honeysuckle family. It grows 6-10 feet tall and has an arching, vase-shaped habit. Beauty bush features showy pink flowers with yellow throats that bloom in mid-spring.
It prefers well-drained soil and full sun and can grow up to 2 feet yearly. It makes a stunning specimen plant and an excellent hedging plant.
This shrub is generally free of pests and diseases and requires minimal pruning after flowering to maintain its shape.
3. Cherry Laurel
Cherry laurel is an evergreen shrub that can quickly grow into tall, narrow hedges. With a fast growth rate of up to 2 feet per year, this shrub is ideal for creating privacy screens or defining garden boundaries.
It prefers dappled to full shade and can adapt to various soil types, making it a versatile option for many gardens.
In addition to its dense, glossy foliage, cherry laurel produces attractive spikes of aromatic white flowers in spring and red berries in winter. This low-maintenance shrub requires only one annual pruning and occasional shaping to keep it looking its best.
4. Photinia
Photinia is a fast-growing evergreen shrub that can be trimmed into an attractive small tree. Its green foliage turns a stunning red in spring, summer, or fall, making it an excellent choice for adding seasonal color to your landscape.
It grows at least one foot per year and can be used as a standout feature in a flower bed or as a privacy hedge.
In addition to its colorful foliage, photinia produces clusters of small white flowers in spring or summer, followed by red berries. This low-maintenance shrub requires minimal pruning, but occasional trimming in spring or summer will promote dense growth and maintain its shape.
5. Forsythia
Forsythia is a low-maintenance, fast-growing shrub that can tolerate various growing conditions. Known for its vibrant yellow spring blooms, forsythia can grow up to 10 feet tall and wide, making it an excellent choice for hedging or as a colorful accent plant.
This shrub grows at least one foot per year and thrives in full sun to partial shade. Forsythia is straightforward to care for and nurture, making it an ideal choice for novice gardeners.
With its early spring blooms and ability to adapt to various soil types, forsythia is a reliable and attractive addition to any garden.
6. Schip Laurel
Schip laurel is one of the fastest-growing evergreen shrubs, making it an excellent choice for creating dense, year-round privacy hedges. This shrub can grow up to 3 feet per year and reach a mature height of 10-12 feet.
It features dark, glossy green foliage that provides a lush backdrop for other plants in your garden. When grown as a hedge, schip laurel tolerates shearing well, allowing you to create a formal, manicured look.
For best results, shear your schip laurel hedge early and often to encourage thick, dense growth that will provide privacy throughout the year.
7. Burning Bush
Burning bush is a fast-growing shrub known for its fiery red fall foliage. This shrub boasts gorgeous blue-green leaves in spring and summer, providing year-round interest in your garden.
Burning bush is low-maintenance, drought-tolerant, and grows best in zones 4-8. While it is relatively pest-free, watch out for spider mites, which may appear on stressed plants.
This vibrant shrub will also attract bees and songbirds to your yard, making it a valuable addition to any wildlife-friendly garden.
8. Firethorn
Firethorn is an evergreen shrub that puts on a spectacular display with its bright orange-red berries in fall and pretty white flowers in spring and summer. Its dense foliage makes it an excellent choice for privacy hedges, as it can grow up to 2 feet per year.
It thrives in full sun and is particularly resistant to deer browsing. One unique feature of firethorn is the sharp thorns on its stems, which may require pruning to achieve a manicured appearance.
While the thorns deter deer, birds, and other small mammals love to feast on the shrub’s berries, adding wildlife interest to your garden.
9. Red Twig Dogwood
Red twig dogwood is a fast-growing deciduous shrub that offers year-round interest with its vibrant red stems, particularly striking in winter. This shrub can grow up to 2 feet per year and reach a mature height of 6-9 feet.
It is adaptable to various soil types and moisture levels, making it a versatile choice for many gardens. In addition to its colorful stems, red twig dogwood produces small white flowers in spring, followed by white berries that attract birds in summer.
This shrub’s lush green foliage turns a beautiful red-purple in fall, adding to its multi-season appeal.
10. Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are fast-growing, flowering shrubs that offer large, magnificent blooms in various colors. Depending on the variety, they can grow up to 2 feet yearly.
Hydrangeas thrive in partial shade and moist, well-drained soil, making them an excellent choice for gardens with dappled light.
From the classic mophead hydrangeas to the conical blooms of panicle hydrangeas, a hydrangea variety suits every garden style. These shrubs can be grown as standalone specimens or incorporated into mixed borders for a stunning display of color and texture.
11. Ninebark
Ninebark is a fast-growing, spreading shrub that makes an excellent choice for ground cover, borders, and informal hedges. This adaptable shrub can grow more than 2 feet yearly and thrives in zones 2-8.
Ninebark is heat- and drought-tolerant and can grow well in various soil types. In spring and summer, ninebark produces clusters of white flowers that attract butterflies, bees, and other pollinators to your garden.
With its fast growth rate and multi-season interest, ninebark is valuable to any low-maintenance landscape.
12. Spirea
Spirea, or Bridal Wreath, is a hardy, fast-growing shrub that can add color and texture to your garden. These shrubs can grow more than 2 feet yearly, filling bare spots or creating an attractive low hedge.
Spirea prefers full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil. In spring, spirea bursts into bloom with clusters of small, white, or pink flowers that cascade along its arching branches.
After flowering, this shrub maintains a tidy, mounded shape with minimal pruning, making it a low-maintenance choice for busy gardeners.
13. Crape Myrtle
Crape myrtle is a fast-growing, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree often called the “lilac of the South.” This stunning plant can grow more than 2 feet per year and reach a mature height of 15-25 feet.
It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it an excellent choice for hot, sunny gardens.
In summer, crape myrtle produces showy pink, red, purple, or white flower clusters that attract bees and butterflies. This shrub’s attractive, peeling bark and vibrant fall foliage add to its year-round interest.
It is often used in groupings, containers, hedges, and screens and can even be trained into a small street tree in urban settings.
Nancy has been a plant person from an early age. That interest blossomed into a bachelor’s in biology from Elmira College and a master’s degree in horticulture and communications from the University of Kentucky. Nancy worked in plant taxonomy at the University of Florida and the L. H. Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University, and wrote and edited gardening books at Rodale Press in Emmaus, PA. Her interests are plant identification, gardening, hiking, and reading.