The Privacy Trees Landscape Designers Recommend Most
Don't want to (or can't) build a fence? These trees will quickly create the privacy you crave.
Expert consulted: Katherine Aul Cervoni
The easiest way to make your backyard feel bigger, quieter, and more private? Plant the right trees.
Unlike fences, privacy trees add year-round color, texture, and life to your landscape. Many varieties grow quickly, create a lush natural screen, and offer benefits beyond seclusion—from attracting songbirds and pollinators to boosting curb appeal.
"Using plantings adds more color, texture, and in some cases movement to a yard or garden, which can be enjoyed indoors and out," says landscape designer Kat Aul Cervoni, founder of Staghorn NYC and The Cultivation by Kat. "You also can attract wildlife to your space, such as songbirds and pollinators. That's a joy if you love observing nature up close."
Privacy trees also bring a sense of beauty and change that fences simply can't match. "A green screen provides a more dynamic element to your space—something that grows each year and changes with the seasons," says Cervoni. "It gives a person a beautiful way to observe the passage of time and feel more connected to nature."
From fast-growing evergreens to flowering favorites, these expert-recommended privacy trees can help transform your yard into a secluded outdoor oasis.
Tips for Choosing Privacy Trees
Make sure your choices will survive winters in your USDA Hardiness Zone (find yours here). Also, be sure to mix it up! Planting a single kind of tree in a row is called a “monoculture,” which leaves your entire screen vulnerable to disease, pests, or a hungry deer; then you'll be left with an unsightly hole in your wall! Instead, plant in groupings or clusters, with trees in back and shorter shrubs and perennials for a layered effect.
5 Privacy Tree Mistakes Landscape Designers See Most Often
Here are a few mistakes to avoid when choosing and planting privacy trees.
- Planting too close together
- Ignoring mature width
- Choosing deciduous trees for year-round privacy
- Planting fast growers in small yards
- Ignoring USDA zone compatibility
Note: "Need year-round privacy? Prioritize evergreens. Deciduous trees can provide excellent summer screening but lose leaves in winter." Evergreen species such as arborvitae, cedar, and holly are commonly recommended because they maintain dense foliage throughout the year.
Skip Laurel
Skip laurels have glossy, evergreen foliage with spikes of white flowers in spring. They’re fast growers, deer resistant, and grow in all types of soils. They even work in shade!
Botanical Name: Prunus laurocerasus
Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Soil Type: Clay to sand to loam with good drainage
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
Top Height: 10 to 15 feet
Best for: Small to medium spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
Japanese Cedar
Japanese Cedar has the most amazing texture! Plant this beauty if you have plenty of space because it gets quite tall.
Botanical Name: Cryptomeria japonica
Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Soil Type: Clay, silt or sand
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade or dappled sun
Top Height: 50 to 70 feet
Best for: Large spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
Rhododendron
This broadleaf evergreen has beautiful flowers in late spring. (Rhododendrons are typically the hardier evergreen version of azaleas.) It's available in colors ranging from coral to lavender and is a favorite in part-shade gardens.
Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Soil Type: Acidic, well-draining, sandy, or loamy.
Sun Needs: Dappled sun to deep shade.
Top Height: 6 to 10 feet
Best for: Small to medium spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
Get the Guide: The Secret to Growing Masters-Worthy Azaleas at Home
Juniper
Junipers come in many different sizes and forms with colors ranging from blue-green to gold. Upright forms make pretty screens, with some types developing clusters of blue-green fruits that add interest and texture. Look for 'Blue Point,' which reaches 12 feet tall, or 'Skyrocket,' which is narrower, but grows upwards of 20 feet. Some varieties can get much taller and others, such as creeping juniper, are very short and would not make good privacy trees.
Botanical Name: Juniperus chinensis
Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Soil Type: Well-draining
Sun Needs: Full sun
Top Height: 12 to over 50
Best for: Small to large spaces, variety dependent
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
Keep Reading: 16 Best Plants for Hillsides and Steep Slopes
Chastetree
This elegant, lesser-known tree, also called Monk's Pepper, is a fast grower with clusters of fragrant purple blooms and gray-green foliage. Prune to achieve a spreading multi-trunk display; it will screen expanses up to 15 feet wide or more at maturity.
Botanical Name: Vitex agnus-castus
Hardiness Zones: 7 to 8
Soil Type: Clay, sand, or loam
Sun Needs: Full sun
Top Height: 8 to 20 feet
Best for: Small to medium spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Deciduous
Read More: 19 Beautiful Dwarf Trees for Small Spaces
Yew
There are many different kinds of yews, including low-growing types, but the tall pyramidal or upright varieties work well for borders and screens. They’re extremely cold-hardy, and some types tolerate part shade.
Botanical Name: Taxus spp.
Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Soil Type: Well-draining clay, loam, or sand
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
Top Height: Varies
Best for: Medium to large spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
Serviceberry
This shrubby tree features clusters of early-blooming fragrant white flowers in spring, which become deep purple berries that are good for jam (or to share with the birds!) You’ll need to prune to create a tree form, but it’s fast-growing up to 25 feet tall. It also boasts pretty fall color.
Botanical Name: Amelanchier spp.
Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Soil Type: Well-draining clay, sand, or loam
Sun Needs: Full sun to shade
Top Height: 15 to 25 feet
Best for: Medium spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Deciduous
American Arborvitae
Arbs grow in round, columnar or pyramidal forms, ranging from a few feet to more than 30 feet tall. Most don’t need shearing to maintain their shape. They’re hardy and fast-growing, but be careful if you have a deer problem: Arborvitae is one of their favorite winter snacks.
Botanical Name: Thuja occidentalis
Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Soil Type: Clay or loam
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
Top Height: Varies
Best for: Small to large spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
False Cypress
Pretty fern-like needles and graceful limbs make this an attractive low-maintenance plant. Look for varieties with a vertical or roughly pyramidal shape to create screening.
Botanical Name: Chamaecyparis spp.
Hardiness Zones: 2 to 13
Soil Type: Well-draining clay, sand, or loam
Sun Needs: Full sun to shade
Top Height: Varies
Best for: Small to large spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
Hemlock
This graceful tree has soft, feathery foliage and tolerates part shade and extreme cold. Many types can become quite tall, so read the label and look for more manageable dwarf varieties for your backyard.
Botanical Name: Tsuga canadensis
Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Soil Type: Acidic, well-draining
Sun Needs: Dappled to shady
Top Height: Varies
Best for: Small to large spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
Hydrangea
While hydrangea is technically a shrub, several types are fast-growers and make a colorful screen. You’ll get the bonus of gorgeous flowers that last from early summer to late fall; the dried flower heads remain for winter interest, too. There are a lot of types and sizes, so read the label to know what you're buying. Read our growing guide for care tips.
Botanical Name: Deutzia spp.
Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Soil Type: Well-draining clay, sand, or loam
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
Top Height: 10 feet
Best for: Medium spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Deciduous
Learn More: These Are the 15 Most Beautiful Types of Hydrangeas for Your Garden
Cedar
Cedar trees have a naturally elegant form and interesting cones. Weeping varieties are a striking focal point in a mixed border and work well in the landscape or pots lined up for privacy on your patio.
Botanical Name: Cedrus spp.
Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Soil Type: Well-draining
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
Top Height: Varies, up to 30 or 40 feet
Best for: Small to large spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Evergreen
Rose of Sharon
You might not think of this shrub as a privacy plant, but it's lovely planted in a cluster or loose row. The exotic-looking flowers start blooming in late summer when many other plants are winding down. Color and privacy? Yes, please!
Botanical Name: Hibiscus syriacus
Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Soil Type: ell-draining
Sun Needs: Full sun to partial shade
Top Height: 12 feet
Best for: Medium spaces
Deciduous or evergreen: Deciduous
Katherine “Kat” Aul Cervoni is the founder and principal of Staghorn, a full-service landscape design firm focusing on creating functional and enduring landscapes for residential clients, as well as the blog, The Cultivation. Kat is a member of the Ecological Landscape Alliance and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, and her work is focused on sustainable planting and building, local species, and ethical working conditions.
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