16 Fast-Growing Shade Trees to Help You Keep Your Cool Outdoors

Weeping Willow Trees

• Growing zones: 6 to 8
• Annual growth: 3 to 4 feet
• Mature size: 30 to 40 feet
• Sun exposure: Full to partial sun
• Soil requirements: Moist soil

The dramatic, droopy weeping willows are a boon for areas where moisture is inevitable (and a welcome anchor for a rain garden at your house). Younger trees can grow up to four feet per year, while older trees may settle in more in the two-feet range before they top off at nearly 40 feet tall.

Thuja Green Giant Arborvitae

• Growing zones: 5 to 8
• Annual growth: 3 to 5 feet per year
• Mature size: 30 to 50 feet
• Sun exposure: Full to partial sun
• Soil requirements: Well draining soil

“Thuja Green Giants are evergreen trees, so their fast growth rate of up to three to five feet per year is really ideal for giving quick privacy from neighbors, sound barriers, or wind breaks,” says Sydni D’Amico, plant expert from Fast Growing Trees. “Their fluffy, dense foliage texture pairs very well with other plants such as flowering shrubs or broad-leafed trees, and they’re disease and pest resistant.”

Hackberry Tree

• Growing zones: 3 to 9
• Annual growth: More than a foot per year
• Mature size: More than 60 feet
• Sun exposure: Full to partial sun
• Soil requirements: Well-drained, rich soil

This hardy plant works beautifully through most of the U.S., and can handle a bit of drought and other inhospitable conditions. In the fall, the leaves turn yellow, and the sweet fruit (sometimes called “Nature’s M&Ms”) has a date-like flavor and a slightly crispy shell.

Tulip Poplar Tree

• Growing zones: 4 to 9
• Annual growth: Up to 6 feet
• Mature size: 70 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full sun
• Soil requirements: Well drained soil

If you’re among the most impatient gardeners, the tulip poplar might be just your speed, as it can add up to six feet of growth every year. It features beautiful, golden yellow fall foliage, but the blooms are how it gets its name. “Once tulip poplars mature, they produce dazzling, small, yellow delicate flowers that resemble tulips with an orange colored paint brush-like stroke at the base,” D’Amico says.

It can tolerate a wetter location, so it’s perfect for places that get a lot of rainfall.

Crepe Myrtle

• Growing zones: 6 to 9
• Annual growth: More than 2 feet
• Mature size: Up to 30 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full sun
• Soil requirements: Well-draining, acidic soil

If you want pretty blooms with your shade, consider the crepe myrtle (AKA crape myrtle or crapemyrtle), an easy-to-grow tree that produces bold blooms in reds, pinks, and whites that last all summer long.

Keep in mind that some varieties of crepe myrtle are smaller and shrub-sized, so make sure you choose a larger variety like the Natchez crepe myrtle if you’re looking for shade.

Red Maple

• Growing zones: 3 to 9
• Annual growth: Up to 18 inches
• Mature size: 40 to 70 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full or partial sun
• Soil requirements: Well-drained, acidic soil

One of the most popular landscaping trees is also one of the fastest-growing, gaining a foot and a half per year. Red maple can grow in a variety of soils, but does best with moist, well-drained soil and full sun.

They’re most famous for their gorgeous crimson leaves that’ll help brighten up your fall.

Summer Chocolate Mimosa Tree

• Growing zones: 7 to 9
• Annual growth: Up to 3 feet
• Mature size: 20 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full sun
• Soil requirements: Dry, well-drained soil

If you’re looking for drama along with plenty of shade, the chocolate mimosa tree may be the perfect fast-growing tree for your garden. Its leaves turn from green to a dark burgundy as the weather gets warm, providing the perfect backdrop for the fuzzy pink blooms that appear in late spring.

This is also a set-it-and-forget-it kind of tree that thrives in drought and poor soil conditions. “They’re a perfect choice for both new and experienced gardeners,” D’Amico says. And bonus: They attract pollinators, particularly hummingbirds.

American Sycamore

• Growing zones: 4 to 9
• Annual growth: 2 to 6 feet
• Mature size: 75 to 100 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full to partial sun
• Soil requirements: Moist, rich soil

American sycamores are a classic tree that can add some wow factor to your landscaping, reaching up to 100 feet tall and adding up to six feet to its height each year.

You’ll need to leave plenty of space to add this grand tree to your garden, as it can spread up to 50 feet wide—giving you plenty of shade.

Royal Empress Tree

• Growing zones: 5 to 11
• Annual growth: Up to 15 feet per year
• Mature size: 40 to 50 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full to partial sun
• Soil requirements: Well-drained soil

This grand, blooming tree boasts one of the most rapid growth rates among trees, adding nearly 15 feet of growth each year to quickly fill in bare spots in your yard. D’Amico recommends the NordMax21® Royal Empress tree cultivar in particular, which reaches its mature height in less than a decade and is more drought- and cold-tolerant than other varietals.

The Royal Empress is also known for its gorgeous blooms. “Breathtaking, otherworldly, light purple and pink bell-shaped blooms blanket the tree in the late spring,” D’Amico says.

Chinese Pistache

• Growing zones: 6 to 9
• Annual growth: Up to 2 feet
• Mature size: 25 to 30 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full sun
• Soil requirements: Well-drained soil

This off-the-beaten-path fast-growing tree features gorgeous fall foliage and (at least on the male trees) red, orange, and yellow blooms in the spring. It can handle drought, making it a great choice for more arid regions.

It is considered an invasive species in parts of the South, so check with your local gardening extension before planting—or choose male trees (which have flowers, but not fruit) to avoid the issue.

River Birch Tree

• Growing zones: 4 to 9
• Annual growth: 3 feet per year
• Mature size: 40 to 70 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full sun
• Soil requirements: Moist, acidic soil

As apropos for a tree named “river birch,” this fast-growing tree requires plenty of moisture in the air and in the soil, so plant it in the boggiest parts of your garden, where the soil doesn’t drain properly.

The distinctive birch exfoliating bark reveals a pink inner layer, and it grows “catkins,” tight floral clusters that add a little interest to your tree.

American Elm

• Growing zones: 4 to 9
• Annual growth: 2 feet
• Mature size: 30 to 70 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full sun
• Soil requirements: Well-drained soil

This classic American tree population was devastated by an outbreak of Dutch elm disease. But the new varietals of elm—such as ‘Valley Forge’, ‘Princeton’, ‘American Liberty, and ‘New Harmony’—are more hardy against the disease.

These grand trees can grow at a rate of up to two feet per year, and are known for their gorgeous golden leaves in the fall.

Corinthian Pink Double Flowering Peach Tree

• Growing zones: 5 to 9
• Annual growth: Up to 4 feet
• Mature size: 20 to 25 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full sun
• Soil requirements: Well-drained soil

This showstopping, fast-growing tree is noted for its tall, columnar form that makes it a great way to sneak a little shade into tight spots. “The Corinthian Pink Double Flowering Peach tree is a beautiful ornamental flowering tree with magnificent baby pink spring blooms with magenta centers,” D’Amico says. After the blooms are gone, its foliage continues to bring color and interest, shifting from burgundy to green and then yellow from the spring to fall.

Note that even though it’s labeled as a peach tree, it doesn’t produce edible fruit.

American Sweetgum

• Growing zones: 5 to 9
• Annual growth: Up to 3 feet
• Mature size: 80 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full
• Soil requirements: Well-drained soil

If you’ve ever seen those brown, spiky “gumball” seed pods surrounding a tree, you’ve seen this lovely landscaping option. American Sweetgum grows up to three feet per year, and offers blazingly beautiful fall foliage, in shades of red, orange, yellow, and purple.

Paper Birch

• Growing zones: 2 to 7
• Annual growth: Up to 2 feet
• Mature size: 50 to 70 feet
• Sun exposure: Partial sun
• Soil requirements: Well-drained, moist soil

This classic birch varietal is a perfect addition to landscaping in cool-weather regions, with its classic white bark and vibrant fall foliage. Fun fact: Native Americans preferred these trees for canoe making—and the tree’s exfoliating bark made a great stand-in for paper.

Ginkgo Biloba Tree

• Growing zones: 4 to 9
• Annual growth: 1 to 2 feet
• Mature size: 50 to 80 feet tall
• Sun exposure: Full to partial sun
• Soil requirements: Well-drained soil

These gorgeous fast-growing trees (also known as the maidenhair tree) are famous for their distinctive, fan-shaped leaves, which turn a bright yellow in the fall. They’re also pretty hardy, thriving even in urban or coastal environments.

Avoid the female, seed-bearing trees, which drop slippery, stinky “fruit” in the summer and fall. (Most nurseries only stock male trees to avoid the mess.)