Why should you plant a tree? For Privacy! For Shade! But then why did the tree you planted next door grew faster than yours? Is it bad luck? No. It’s biology meets environment.
Knowing what kind of tree you have. Fast-growing versus slow-growing, can help you adjust your expectations for how quickly it’ll fill in an area. This visual guide will show you the differences by species.
Fast, Medium, and Slow Growing Trees
For fastest results, look to fast growing trees. Depending on the conditions, some of them (weeping willows, hybrid poplars) can grows up to five feet a year, providing instant shade or windbreak. However, they typically don’t live as long and create softer wood. And their roots aren’t that deep, sometimes that’s good, other times it isn’t. You get speed at the expense of longevity. For an instant barrier, trees like this does the trick; they won’t work as well if you want an heirloom that lasts.
There are the medium growers, those who offer a sensible middle ground and deliver reliability. In perhaps fifteen or maybe twenty years, a sugar maple or a tulip poplar will reach usable size, growing two feet per year along the way. The trees wood is tighter than that of the fast things, so they’re less prone to being top-heavy. And: The medium guys handle pruning better. You won’t see immediate reward with these plant, but you’ll get slow-and-steady, year after year.
They take longer to grow; slow growers will last longest. A black walnut or white oak might gain fewer then a foot of height each year; that’s slow, but it also means long-lived, hard wood. An oak lasts hundreds of years, far past you or perhaps even your house. You might not see much progress at first. However, the payoff comes in decades with more beauty and a greater ecological contribution.
The genetics are just half the story. A tree’s growth depends on site conditions: Whether it will be a champ or a laggard. Soil quality is very important; good soils that is fertile and well-draining (not compacted clays) can promote double the growth rate. Water availability matters too, drought stress dramatically slows growth in susceptible species. Full sun is also essential for most fast-growers; trees planted in shade struggle no matter what their genetic makeup. Climate factors into the equation, too. Longer growing seasons in warmer zones encourage greater growth than do those in the North.
The single best and simplest high-impact step: Add a three-inch layer of organic mulch to help moderate soil temperature and hold moisture. The key to good health starts with how you plant the tree. Prepare a hole large enough to fit the roots without bending them. Dig to the same depth as the original rootball, but do not bury it deeper. Avoid the most frequent error of planting too deeply, this invites crown rot. Be sure to water well at planting time, and maintain moisture for the first year. You should of checked soil first.
Prune lightly if necessary early on (first couple of years); otherwise, let the tree form its own shape after establishing itself. This shocks the tree; remember that leaves make food, so fewer leaves mean less energy is produced. Again, have patience, as it is all part of the growing process. Because trees have such a strong instinctive nature, success depends off meeting that nature with your site conditions, and then nurturing it properly from day one. A little care and diligence toward the right tree in the right location yields years of beauty and usefulnes.