Many Bay Area homeowners prioritize privacy, and planting fast-growing trees is a natural and eco-friendly solution. With thousands of privacy trees in the market, you may be unsure about the most suitable tree for your needs and climatic conditions. This guide highlights the top privacy trees for Bay Area’s unique climate, offering shade, aesthetics, and year-round screening.
Table of Contents
- Why Are Fast-Growing Privacy Trees Ideal for Bay Area Homes?
- Top 5 Privacy Trees for Bay Area Homes
- Unique Insights: Choosing the Right Tree for Your Property
- Maintenance Tips for Privacy Trees
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Why Are Fast-Growing Privacy Trees Ideal for Bay Area Homes?
Trees provide numerous benefits, including soil preservation, climate change mitigation, energy demand regulation, and income generation. For Bay Area homeowners, trees offer more than landscaping; they provide a beautiful solution to privacy.
Planting fast-growing trees for privacy is an excellent option to create a serene, private space around your yard, garden, or property. These trees provide a natural buffer against noise pollution, unwanted eyes, and harsh prevailing winds.
Whether you want to keep a nosy neighbor off your upstairs window or you’re seeking a solution for strong winds spoiling your backyard barbeque moments, privacy trees are your best bet.
While they mature within 15 years, privacy tree varieties thrive depending on the region. When choosing Bay area privacy trees, go for drought-resistant varieties because the area is prone to drought.
With a population of over 7.7 million people, the Bay Area experiences space constraints, especially in urban settings, including San Francisco and Oakland. Therefore, consider fast-growing skinny trees that won’t interfere with your neighbor’s space when fully mature.
Top 5 Privacy Trees for Bay Area Homes
The USDA plant hardiness map classifies the Bay Area under 10a and 10b hardiness zones. However, since the climate varies across its nine counties, fast-growing trees do well within zones 6-10. The top 5 privacy trees for Bay Area homes are below.
| Privacy Tree for Bay Area | Best For |
| Italian Cypress | Small spaces, space-saving privacy, and vertical elegance |
| Redwood | Large spaces, natural shield against interference, and wind resistance |
| Green Giant Arborvitae | Compact spaces, low maintenance, and consistent screening with evergreen foliage |
| California Bay Laurel | Versatility, windbreaker, fragrant landscaping, and substitute for bay leaf seasoning |
| Oleander | Thick screening with colorful flowers but not ideal for homes with pets or young children |
1. Italian Cypress
Are you looking to plant screening trees along neighboring property lines, between houses, or in a tight-spaced yard? Italian cypress, scientifically known as Cupressus sempervirens, is among the best drought-tolerant privacy trees for small spaces.
Italian Express is drought-tolerant and requires low maintenance when growing, making it an excellent pick for Bay Area homes. While it is easy to grow the Italian express trees, ensure there’s no interruption from overhead power lines and structures as they grow vertically.
The tree has a tall, narrow, thin structure with dark blue-green needle-like leaves and upright branches. Its pencil-like shape not only adds vertical elegance to your garden but also makes it a perfect choice for homeowners seeking space-saving trees.
When using Italian Express for privacy, plant the trees in a neat row with minimal spacing. These trees don’t spread much but can grow up to 60-80 feet tall. Overspacing leaves you with huge spaces between trees, worsening your privacy problem.
The Italian Express requires 6-8 hours of sunlight daily. To maintain its columnar shape and make the leaves dense, grow your tree under the full sun.
If grown under optimal conditions, a mature Cupressus sempervirens can reach up to 115ft. tall and 4-5 ft. wide. It starts providing a thick screen within five years of planting.
2. Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
Redwood, commonly known as Coastal Redwood or California Redwood, is not your ordinary tree. This tree is among the tallest native California trees popularly known for screening. In fact, the tallest tree ever is a Coast Redwood (116.07 m (380.8 ft.), located in Northern California’s Redwood National Park.
Its conical shape, dark green, needle-like foliage, and drooping branches make it ideal for a natural shield against interference. Unlike other species like the Italian Express, Redwood has a remarkably wide trunk with a diameter of about 9 meters. This makes it one of the most popular privacy trees for large spaces in the Bay Area.
Additionally, Redwoods are evergreen and grow pretty fast. You don’t have to wait long for a privacy solution or windscreen. These trees can grow 3-10 ft. per year. So, within 10 years, you’ll have a reasonable, visually appealing privacy screen for your large property.
Redwood only grows naturally along the North California coast. However, its pest resistance and self-pruning saves you maintenance time when planting it in your garden.
The rare ability to thrive in flood-prone areas makes Redwood one of the best privacy trees for Bay Area’s flood-risk places, like Colusa and Glenn. Plant in a neat row, 15-20 cm apart, with plenty of space for proper root development.
3. Green Giant Arborvitae
The Green Giant Arborvitae is an excellent choice when you’re short of space and need a quick solution to prying eyes. The Green Giant arborvitae privacy goodness goes beyond its unique, Christmas tree-like shape.
This fast-growing tree has dense, evergreen foliage and grows vertically into a pyramidal form to offer a protective screen. Thanks to its consistently growing, needle-like foliage, Green Giant Arborvitae doesn’t require regular pruning or shearing, making it a favorite for Bay Area homeowners looking for low-maintenance privacy trees.
While this ‘Giant’ is highly adaptable to a wide range of soil types, like clay, it grows well in well-drained, moist, salt-free soils. Moreover, Green Giant Arborvitae is among the hardy evergreen trees that are drought-tolerant and perfect for withstanding California’s Mediterranean climate.
Planted 5-6 feet apart, the green giant grows 3-6 ft. yearly to create a security screen for wind-breaking, defining property lines, and blocking noise. The trees provide natural privacy and serenity without compromising your beautiful landscaping.
4. California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica)
The California Bay Laurel is a versatile hardwood tree native to California’s Sierra foothills. The tree is tolerant to various climates, such as the warm, dry summer in the Bay Area.
Its height of up to 98 ft. and a tough, 90-centimetre wide trunk provides an effective windbreaker and natural screen. The California bay laurel grows a dense canopy from thick, persistent evergreen leaves for maximum privacy.
It is not only one of the best native privacy trees but also a great substitute for bay leaf seasoning because of its sweet-smelling leaves. Bay Laurel’s lance-shaped, long, thick, leathery, fragrant leaves, with clustered, creamy-white spring flowers, make your garden a beautiful sight.
In addition, this tree is an outdoor ornamental evergreen that tops the list of fragrant trees for landscaping in Bay Area homes. Umbellularia California’s hardwood is also used in modern woodworking to make fancy furniture, including cabinets and wood carvings.
5. Oleander (Nerium oleander)
Nerium Oleander, called Oleander or Rosebay, is a fast-growing, small, rounded shrub-looking tree. The tree thrives best in hardiness zones 8 and 9 and is prone to winter damage. It is among the drought-tolerant trees that withstand the climatic conditions in the Bay Area.
An oleander privacy hedge provides maximum protection because of its thick, paired, leathery, dark-green leaves. Although they appear small, Oleanders can grow to 5-19ft. tall and attain a width of 6-10 ft. if grown under optimum weather conditions. This dense growth makes them an excellent option for screening.
With clusters of vibrant white, pink, and red flowers, you’ll enjoy two things from one tree: a beautiful yard and serenity. Oleander trees are ideal for your privacy problems if planted close together in well-drained, fertile soil.
Despite Nerium oleander’s outstanding beauty and benefits, take caution if you choose to grow it. From the flowers to the leaves to the stems, all parts of the Oleander plant are highly toxic. A study affirmed that, though rare, ingesting any plant part may cause vomiting, kidney injury, hypotension, or death.
Considering this information, Oleanders are not ideal privacy trees for Bay Area homes with pets or young children. Try other flowering privacy trees if you love screening, which comes with some landscaping.
Unique Insights: Choosing the Right Tree for Your Property
Did you know there are 73 million tree species in the world? This makes choosing the right tree for your property a daunting task. Worry not.
Here are some privacy landscaping ideas you can consider:
- Consider your land size/space: Various tree varieties have varying spacing requirements. Some grow tall, while others stretch wide. When choosing trees for small yards with tight spaces, go for tall, slender varieties.
- Check your region’s soil conditions: while fertile, well-drained, loamy soils are perfect for trees, check your soil type to ensure it supports tree growth.
- Understand USDA planting zones: Refer to the USDA’s planting zones to see which trees or plants do well in your region.
- HOA (Homeowners Association) policies: Check with your local HOA before planting trees to find out which varieties are allowed.
- Property Location: Consider your property’s location to see if any utilities, including power lines or other structures, can hinder the growth of certain tree species.
- Plant care/maintenance level: Choose tree varieties that grow with little or no maintenance to save time.
- Determine your screening goal: What privacy do you want? Thin, tall-growing species are best for screening a small space, such as your upstairs window, while wide-branched species are perfect for larger spaces.
- Consider your local weather and climate: This is among the best tree selection tips Bay Area homeowners will resonate with. Since the area is prone to drought, pick tree varieties that can withstand such a climate.
- Tree’s mature size: Since trees keep growing, research how your favorite choice will look when mature to understand its long-term growth impacts on other structures.
Maintenance Tips for Privacy Trees
Like other plants, fast-growing privacy trees also require proper care and maintenance.
Some sustainable landscaping tips are as follows.
- Pruning & trimming: While most privacy trees require little to no maintenance, ensure you trim and prune your trees during the Bay Area’s dormant season (late fall to early spring) to reduce pruning stress and ensure they thrive.
- Water appropriately: Regular watering is crucial when caring for privacy trees, enhancing the growth of strong root systems. The Sunnyvale Gov. recommends three waterings per week for trees 30-120 days old before reducing the frequency to once a day from the second and third years.
- Add mulch: Regularly add organic mulch to your privacy trees to decrease soil water evaporation, suppress weeds, boost soil health, and protect your soil against harsh summer and winter conditions. According to the California Native Plants Society, a good mulch should include a 2-3″ layer.
- Pest and disease management: Watch out for harmful pests and diseases that can damage tree leaves, bark, or roots, causing damage and decay. Consult an arborist for proper diagnosis and treatment.
- Tree fertilization: Apply slow-release fertilizer, especially during Bay Area summer months (August to mid-September), to ensure its effectiveness and give your privacy trees essential nutrients for optimum growth
Conclusion
Finding the perfectly matching privacy tree varieties for your Bay Area home isn’t easy. You have to consider many factors before settling on the best privacy solution, and it can be draining! While selecting one of the screening trees we’ve provided on our list is a great start, our certified arborists are ready to walk this journey with you.
FAQs
How fast do these trees grow?
While they are fast-growing privacy trees by name, the growing speed varies from species to species.
- Italian Cypress: These slender privacy trees have a fast-moderate growth rate with the potential of achieving 3ft.per year. The Italian cypress thrives in hot, dry climates and with deep, infrequent watering.
- Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens): This remarkably tall tree is among the fastest-growing privacy trees. Various factors, including full sun exposure, consistent moisture supply, and fertile soils, influence its growth rates.
- Green Giant Arborvitae: This tree has a fast growth rate, reaching 3-4 ft. per year. Plant the Green Giant in rich, well-drained soils to reach a maximum growth rate and expose it to the full sun.
- California Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica): Its growth rates are medium to fast. Bay Laurel thrives in moderate temperatures, full sun, rich soils, and humid environments.
- Oleander (Nerium oleander) has a moderate to rapid growth rate. Some factors enhancing its growth speed include exposure to full sun/partial shade and planting in rich, well-drained soils.
Are these trees drought-tolerant?
Yes. All these trees, including the Italian Express, Redwood, Green Giant arborvitae, California Bay Laurel, and Oleander, are among the most popular drought-tolerant trees Bay Area homeowners love. The trees require minimal watering, making it easy to withstand California’s climate. Also, their leaves, root network, and structure make them ideal for water-wise landscaping.
Can these trees be used as hedges?
Aside from providing a natural buffer against noise, prevailing winds, and unwanted eyes, some privacy hedges are excellent for landscaping. Evergreen hedge trees such as the Italian cypress and green giant have needle-like leaves that can be shaped into visually appealing hedges for your yard. To maintain your desired shape, prune and trim the trees regularly.
