They generate privacy as single plantings and many can be pruned to form screens and borders.
They maintain color and interest year-round and serve as shelter and food for birds and wildlife.
Many needled evergreens produce cones.Broadleaf typesproduce flowers and berries.
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Evergreens with the most height at maturity are often the fastest-growing.
Some shorter species are available and can be grown as shrub hedges or small trees.
Here are 18 evergreens that grow quickly to complete your landscape with privacy and appeal.
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It has a broadly rounded, pyramidal shape tapering to a point at the crown.
Trees can be grown to full height with some shaping orpruned to smaller specimen treesor hedges.
Leyland cypress grows 20 to 30 feet tall in the first ten years.
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The tree grows into an attractive rounded, pyramidal shape with long, soft, blue-green needles.
Little pruning is needed except for early shaping.
A 2-foot-tall sapling grows to 12 feet in five years.
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Eastern white pine does not tolerate pollution and mature trees spread up to 40 feet.
It features brown, shaggy bark with fan-like sprays of rich green foliage that darken in winter.
Mature trees can reach 50 feet in height with a 5-foot spread in 10 years.
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This tree is toxic to livestock.
This tree grows well in dry conditions and features long, dark green needles and brown seed cones.
It soars to about 53 feet in 15 years.
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Large 4- to 6-inch brown cones dangle from weeping horizontal branches.
A 2-foot-tall sapling cangrow up to 10 feet in the first five years.
Italian Cypress
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Italian cypress brings a touch of elegance to any landscape.
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Its tall, narrow cylindrical shape is easily identified as a decorative element in gardens worldwide.
Italian cypress grows 35 to 40 feet tall in 10 years but can be pruned to maintain less height.
This is one of a handful of broadleaf evergreens that grows rapidly at 3 feet per year.
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This holly features glossy, dark green leaves and red berries.
Nelly Stevens holly is salt tolerant and a good choice for coastal landscapes.
Berries are toxic to people and animals.
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Fragrant green foliage bears a distinct white butterfly marking on the undersides of leaves.
Western red cedar produces small, upright, brown to copper colored cones in autumn.
It reaches heights of more than 12 feet in 10 years.
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Japanese black pine includes many cultivars including several well suited forbonsai.
It’s rounded, conical form and moderate height give it plenty of versatility in the home landscape.
Reddish brown bark sheds in thin strips and foliage ranges from silvery-blue to dark green.
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Waxy, blue, berry-like cones are a notable feature.
This cultivar grows to 15 feet tall with a 3 foot spread in 10 years.
Fuzzy, white flowers contrast with leathery, dark green foliage and are followed by edible berries.
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Peeling, cinnamon colored bark adds appeal.
Like common myrtle, it works well as a border or screening hedge with fragrant olive green foliage.
Wax myrtle produces catkins in spring, followed by pale blue fruits in winter.
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Two plants, male and female are needed to produce berries.
Bark ranges from light gray to nearly white.
Flowers and red berries in autumn attract birds and pollinators.
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With good care it can be grown into a 10 foot tall hedge in four to five years.
Cherry laurel is toxic to people and pets.
Carolina Sapphire Cypress
Carolina sapphire cypress is a tree well suited to hot, dry climates.
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Fragrant, lacy foliage consists of soft, blue needles on layered branches.
This tree has an open habit giving it a light, airy appearance.
Mature trees produce small cones with a blue, powdery coating.
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Well suited to colder climates, it displays sprays of blue-green foliage and blue berries.
This cultivar forms naturally without pruning and can be planted as a tall hedge.
At 10 years, trees stand 20 feet tall and 3 feet wide at the base.
Early spring flowers attract bees but male and female plants are needed for fruiting.
This plant is considered invasive in Georgia and is toxic to people and pets.
The tree features a narrow, columnar shape that fits into tight places.
Glossy green foliage turns bronze-purple in autumn.
This tree is toxic to livestock.
Learn More
Evergreens offer versatility in the home landscape.
Thuja ‘Green Giant’.North Carolina State Extension
Monterey Pine.
California Native Plant Society
Holly Berries.
National Capitol Poison Control
Prunus laurocerasus.
North Carolina State Extension
How to Remove Chinese Holly.
