Privacy Trees

Live Privacy Trees for Natural Screening & Fast-Growing Hedges

A good privacy planting does two jobs at once: it blocks the view you don't want, and it looks intentional doing it. Our privacy trees collection focuses on evergreen varieties built specifically for screening — dense, upright growers that hold their foliage year-round, so the barrier you plant this year is still working for you in the dead of winter.

This collection draws primarily from arborvitae (Thuja) and cypress varieties, two of the most reliable plant families for fast, dependable privacy screening in home landscapes. Both groups are popular specifically because they combine quick growth with a naturally narrow or columnar form, meaning you don't need to plant them far apart to build a solid, continuous screen.

Arborvitae (Thuja) Varieties

The Thuja Green Giant is one of the most widely planted privacy trees in the country, known for fast growth and a dense, pyramidal shape that fills in quickly. The Emerald Green Arborvitae offers a narrower, more formal look, well suited to tighter spacing along a property line. For something more compact, the Junior Giant Thuja Tree and Private Jet™ Arborvitae bring smaller-scale screening options, while the American Pillar Thuja and Thuja Virginian™ round out the lineup with their own variations on the classic upright arborvitae form.

Cypress Varieties

Cypress trees bring a slightly different texture and habit to privacy screening. The Leyland Cypress Tree is another fast-growing classic, frequently planted in long rows for quick, substantial screening. The Italian Cypress takes the opposite approach to width — tall and narrow, it's a striking option where you want height and structure without the horizontal spread arborvitae require. The Arizona Cypress - Carolina Sapphire brings distinctive blue-green foliage to the mix, and the Wilma Goldcrest Lemon Cypress and Lemon Cypress Tree Form Topiary offer a brighter, citrus-scented option, more compact and often used in container plantings. The Dwarf Hinoki Cypress rounds things out as a smaller, slower-growing option for tighter spaces.

Growing Conditions

Growing zones across this collection vary meaningfully by variety. The Private Jet™ Arborvitae and American Pillar Thuja are rated for some of the coldest zones in the collection, suited to zones 3 through 7 and 3 through 8 outdoors respectively, making them solid options for colder northern climates. On the warmer end, the Italian Cypress and Wilma Goldcrest Lemon Cypress are rated for zones 7 through 10, and the Lemon Cypress Tree Form Topiary is also available for patio growing in addition to its zone 7 through 10 outdoor rating.

Sunlight needs split fairly evenly across the collection. Several varieties, including the Wilma Goldcrest Lemon Cypress, American Pillar Thuja, Thuja Virginian™, Italian Cypress, and Leyland Cypress, need full sun, while others like the Private Jet™ Arborvitae, Dwarf Hinoki Cypress, Junior Giant Thuja Tree, Arizona Cypress, and Thuja Green Giant tolerate full to part sun, giving more flexibility for partially shaded property lines.

Building a Privacy Screen That Lasts

Whether you're lining a full property boundary or just blocking a single sightline from a neighbor's window, choosing the right privacy tree comes down to matching growth habit and mature width to your available space, and matching growing zone and sun exposure to your actual conditions. Fast growers like the Thuja Green Giant and Leyland Cypress get you coverage sooner; narrower options like the Italian Cypress and Lemon Cypress varieties fit into tighter spaces without demanding as much width. Either way, evergreen privacy plantings are one of the few landscape investments that keep doing their job in every season, not just the warm ones.