Top 5 Fast Growing Trees

Wattle

Many wattles make wonderful ‘nurse’ trees. They provide shelter and protection for slower growing plants.

Virgilia

‘A short life but a gay one’ is a truism for this rapid-growing South African tree. Virgilia is sometimes called ‘tree-in-a-hurry’ and has soft, finely divided leaves and mauve-pink spring pea blossoms. A great choice for a small garden.

Gum Tree

The most Australian of all trees, gum trees have more than 600 species, so there’s one to suit every garden. Hybrids of the spectacular Western Australian flowering gum, which is most noticeable when it produces showy red blossoms, are now being grafted onto hardy rootstocks. This greatly extends the range of areas where it can be grown.

Fiddlewood

This very fast-growing tree has the peculiar habit of getting some autumn colouring in early summer before losing many of its leaves.

Casuarina

Baby’s breath is known as ‘chalk plant’ because it grows naturally on chalky limestone soils. It makes a splendid cut flower.

This information is from the Yates Garden Guide: fully revised & updated 44th edition, HarperCollins, $39.99. You can have this information and so much more at your fingertips by purchasing the Yates Garden Guide, available at all leading bookstores and Bunnings stores.