10 Fast-Growing Shrubs to Plant in Your Garden

Panicled Hydrangea

Hydrangeas are widely recognized for their beautiful, showy blooms, but they're also a great plant to grow if you're looking for something that grows fast. "Panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) is a deciduous shrub that produces medium to large, elliptical to oval shaped, bright green leaves in mid-spring," says Adrienne Roethling, garden director for Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden.

Shortly after, panicles of flowers appear in a cone-shaped inflorescence. "Flowers last well throughout the summer months and turn a red or cinnamon color in fall," says Adrienne Roethling. Expect the shrub to reach maturity within three years, growing 12 inches or more a year if conditions are ideal.

• Zone: 3 to 8
• Size: 8 to 20 feet tall x 6 to 8 feet wide
• Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; rich, moist soil

Barberry

Add blazing color to your landscape with Orange Rocket Barberry (Berberis thunbergii 'Orange Rocket'). This variety has slender, upright branches that quickly form a columnar shape, adding texture to your landscape. "The foliage of this shrub is incredible and a complement to a wide range of surrounding plants in the landscape," says Janet Sluis from Sunset Plant Collection. "Leaves emerge in a coral color that fades to reddish-purple, and the interior of the plant is lime green."

• Zone: 5 to 9
• Size: 4 feet tall x 1.5 feet wide
• Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; loamy, well-drained soil

Viburnum

A low-maintenance shrub with fragrant white flowers, viburnum blooms from spring to fall. Coppertop Sweet Viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum 'BRANT01') is a fast-growing variety that's commonly grown as a privacy hedge, but can also be grown as an accent shrub. "This has quickly become one of my favorite screening plants," says Jim Putnam from Southern Living Plant Collection. "It's a very fast-growing evergreen shrub and all of the new growth is a beautiful coppery color that matures to a striking dark green. Mine have tripled in size in one year since I planted them."

• Zone: 7 to 10
• Size: 6 feet tall x 4 to 6 feet wide
• Growing conditions: full sun; moist, well-drained soil

Izu Tree

Izu tree (Distylium) is a fast-growing shrub that has become increasingly popular over the last decade. "Its adaptability and ease of care moved it into the spotlight as it can handle wet but not flooded soils to drier conditions and part shade to full sun," says Jon Roethling, the director of Reynolda Gardens. "Leaves can range from a blue-green to lustrous dark green and typically tend to be narrower in appearance."

• Zone: 6 to 7
• Size: 3 to 10 feet tall x 4 to 8 feet wide
• Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; can tolerate a variety of soil conditions

Weigela

A fast-growing shrub that's available in a range of colors, weigela (Weigela florida) offers a showy quality of blooms. "Bare stems give rise to 3 inch long by 1 inch wide leaves in spring followed by a burst of color from the flowers," says Adrienne Roethling. "Numerous, tubular shaped flowers are born at every leaf."

Typically the flowers are pink or white, but newer varieties come in red, magenta, or white and change to pink. This plant should reach maturity in about three years, growing up to 12 inches tall in 12 months. 

• Zone: 5 to 8
• Size: 2 to 6 feet tall x 2 to 6 feet wide (depending on variety)
• Growing conditions: full sun; rich, well-drained soil

Chinese Fringe Flower

Ideal if you're looking for a shrub that grows to be relatively tall, Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense) reaches maturity in three to five years and can grow up to 18 inches per year. "The most common form of Chinese fringe flowers has green leaves with white flowers or burgundy leaves with rich pink flowers," says Adrienne Roethling. The shrub responds well to pruning, so some may want to grow as a hedge or you can climb them up to provide a canopy of shade for other plants growing beneath it.

• Zone: 7 to 9
• Size: 15 to 20 feet tall x 15 to 20 feet wide
• Growing conditions: full sun; well-drained soil

Chaste Tree

Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) is a deciduous shrub that forms spikes of lilac blue or pink flowers in late May and will continue to flower for several months. It is a great shrub to plant if your goal is to bring more pollinators to your yard. A fast-spreading plant, chaste tree can reach maturity in three years, producing 2 feet of growth annually, Adrienne Roethling says. 

• Zone: 6 to 9
• Size: 12 to 20 feet tall x 12 to 20 feet wide
• Growing conditions: full sun; well-drained soil

Beautyberry

This deciduous shrub emerges in late spring with green leaves that give rise to white flowers in summer followed by a show of bright purple berries. Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) can grow up to 6 feet tall, but in favorable conditions the shrub can grow an extra 2 to 3 feet. Come early fall, expect to see birds visit your beautyberry shrub in droves. 

• Zone: 6 to 12
• Size: 5 to 6 feet tall x 5 to 6 feet wide
• Growing conditions: full sun; rich, organic well-drained soil

Holly

Holly (Ilex) is a fast-growing shrub that gives growers a wide range of choices. "Almost any evergreen selection has dark green foliage ranging from extremely spiny to some selections tending towards being spineless," says Jon Roethling. "Their fruit are a great food source to birds in winter and you can have your pick from straight native Ilex opaca (American holly) to any number of hybrids."

• Zone: 5 to 7
• Size: Depends on variety
• Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; well-drained soil

Hybrid Spicebush

A mix between Calycanthus floridus and Calycanthus chinensis, this variety is about as quick growing as they come. Hybrid spicebush easily reaches 5 feet tall in just two to three years, while some unpruned specimens can get even taller. "Large waxy green leaves adorn the plant in the growing season, taking on a yellow color in fall," says Jon Roethling. "'Hartlage Wine' and 'Aphrodite' are more easily found selections, both with maroon colored flower with a yellow center."

• Zone: 5 to 9
• Size: Depends on variety
• Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; well-drained soil