Fast-growing trees can not only liven up your outdoor space; they can also be one of the most-effective ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. With the increasing practice of carbon farming can take two forms: 1) growing short-lived plants to return carbon to the soil, and growing longer-living trees that store carbon in their trunks, stems, leaves, and roots. 2) Beyond sequestering carbon, fast-growing are also great for creating privacy and shade.
Why do some trees grow faster than others?
There are many factors to consider when thinking about how fast trees grow. It is true that some grow faster than others. Factors like rainfall, soil quality, and light availability can affect why different trees of the same species grow faster than others. Generally-speaking, faster-growing trees live shorter lives than slower-growing trees do. Therefore, slower-growing, longer-living species have longer periods of reproduction, and their offspring mature more slowly.
Access to resources is also a factor. On average, trees in the nutrient-rich tropics grow more quickly and have shorter reproductive cycles than trees in less fertile temperate or arctic climates. In this article, we’ll delve into nine of the fastest-growing native trees which can to grow over ten feet per year. Heights, widths, and growth rates come from the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute at California Polytechnic State University in San Obispo.
Here they are in no particular order.
- Red Maple (Acer rubrum): A red maple can grow about three feet a year to a maximum height of sixty-five feet. It’s an easy-growing tree that has a short trunk and a broad, dense, oval canopy that can grow to forty feet wide. The red maple is at its best in the spring. That’s when its crimson flowers – hence the name – put on a show. It’s also really beautiful in autumn, when it’s leaves turn red and orange.
- Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera): The paper birch tree can grow about three feet per year to a maximum of sixty-five feet with a canopy that is between twenty-five and thirty feet wide. The tree is best known for its paper bark which turns white and peels off in shreds once the tree reaches fifteen feet or so. A paper birch can produce multiple trunks, which have been long used to carve out canoes.
- Pecan Tree (Carya illinoinensis): With a pecan tree, one can reduce their carbon footprint whilst they enjoy a delicious pie at the same time. Yum. We love pecan pie. So, anyway, a pecan tree can grow roughly two-three feet wide per year to a maximum height of one hundred feet and a canopy of seventy feet wide. It may take up to ten years to bear a crop of pecans, however. In places with more shelter, such as Massachusetts, this largely southern tree, can grow fine. Of course, the nut production is sparser.
- Southern Catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides): This tree produces creamy-white and purple-spotted, bell-shaped flowers that pollinators frequent. The Southern Catalpa can grow roughly between two and three feet per year. Its maximum height can be up to forty feet with a canopy that’s nearly as wide. This tree’s natural habitat is along streams and riverbanks, so it prefers moist soil. The showy, heart-shaped leaves give the tree a tropical feel, and its tall, straight trunk has long been used for fence posts.
- Leyland Cypress (Cuprocyparis leylandii): A Leyland Cypress can grow anywhere from three to over ten feet a year. Wow! This tree can produce a canopy that’s between fifteen and twenty-five feet wide. A natural hybrid between the Monterey Cypress and a nootka false cypress, it is one of the fast-growing evergreen trees. A west coast native, the tree serves as a privacy hedge and can tolerate salt spray pretty well. You may be tempted to cut it down for a Christmas tree, but it’s best to let it grow to its max height of fifty feet.
- Tropical Ash (Fraxinus uhdei): The tropical ash thrives best on hillsides and mountains. It’s native to Mexico, Central America and parts of the southwestern United States as a popular shade tree. The tropical ash can grow anywhere from three to ten feet in a given year to a max height of eighty feet and a canopy of sixty feet wide. It’s a prolific seed-producer so it can become invasive. It is in Hawaii so you might want to check with an expert before planting it where you live.
- American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua): The American Sweetgum has glossy green leaves which turn red and orange. They last long into the fall and are rather beautiful. The tree is in the witch hazel family and oozes a sweet, aromatic resin when its bark is wounded. The American Sweetgum can grow roughly two-three feet a year to a max height of eighty feet with a forty-foot-wide canopy. The wood of this tree is very often used to make furniture and woodenware. Its seeds are very popular with wildlife.
- Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipfera): The tulip tree is the tallest native tree east of the Mississippi. It grows about three feet a year to a max height of about eighty feet. The pyramid-shaped canopy can be up to forty feet at the bottom, which makes it a fantastic shade tree. The seeds attract squirrels and songbirds. The hardwood is resistant to splitting so it’s very useful when constructing furniture, shingles, and boats, among other things.
- Sweet Bay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana): Although this tree is shorter than some of the other ones on this list, the Sweet Bay Magnolia still grows relatively quickly at a clip of about two feet per year. Its max height is about fifty feet. In the North, the tree is shorter and broader. It also produces suckers and is multi-stemmed. In the South, it’s more likely to grow to its maximum height and the fifteen to twenty-five foot-canopy produces fragrant, creamy white, cup-shaped flowers that will make your garden shine.
We hope you learned something from this article and enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. We absolutely love trees and appreciate your readership – and your business. Thank you!
