When you want to keep prying eyes away from your property, privacy trees are some of the best options. These are trees that prevent people from seeing your lawn, into your windows, and over the fence into your backyard. Therefore, if you don’t want to build a massive wall to conceal your property, these trees tend to be the best options.
That said, sometimes you don’t have room for massive privacy trees. The good news is that there are plenty of great small privacy tree options. Read our guide to discover the best small trees for privacy.
Understanding Small Trees for Privacy
Before we jump into the best small trees for privacy, it helps to understand the criteria. Small privacy trees tend to be around 10 to 20 feet tall and around 5 to 10 feet wide. Ultimately, it’s important to keep these trees tight for the best results, so you need something that can handle close quarters.
The Best Small Trees for Privacy
There are lots of small privacy trees out there. While this is awesome for variety, it’s terrible for decision fatigue. To help you narrow down your options, we’ll bring you through our top picks for the best small trees for privacy below.
1. Emerald Green Arborvitae
First and foremost, we have one of the most popular privacy trees on the planet: The Emerald Green Arborvitae. These trees have beautiful and lush green leaves, along with enough thickness to prevent people from seeing through them. Plus, they only reach 10 to 20 feet in height, and you don’t have to worry about them exceeding four or five feet in width.
2. Dappled Willow
When it comes to small privacy trees, you can’t go wrong with Dappled Willows. While many willows have lots of branches and don’t usually fit in smaller places, the dappled willow only reaches around 10 feet in height and around five feet in width. These trees are deciduous, meaning they shed their leaves in the fall and regrow them in the spring, so they aren’t the best for year round coverage. That said, they do have beautiful red stems, so at least they aren’t an eye-sore in the winter.
3. Little Gem Magnolia
Magnolias are beautiful trees that work well for privacy, although many of them are massive. The good news is that this isn’t always the case. You’ll find that the Little Gem Magnolia is more compact than its counterparts. On average, it reaches 15 to 25 feet in height and around 10 feet in width.
4. Sky Pencil Holly
The Sky Pencil Holly is a great choice if you’re a fan of narrow trees. These trees grow to around 10 feet in height, which is about on par with other privacy trees, but you’ll also find that they only grow to around 1-3 feet in width. This makes them ideal for tighter spaces. While they can be challenging to use for privacy (unless you have a ton), they’re great at keeping small areas private and pretty.
Tips for Choosing Small Trees for Privacy
When it’s time to choose a small tree for privacy, you need to carefully plan your purchase. Fortunately, we have some great tips that can help you.
Create a Living Fence
If you really want to make sure nobody can see you, we recommend creating a living fence. Determine the width of the trees you choose, and then plant them around two to four feet apart. This helps them grow together.
Get Healthy Privacy Trees
When you need privacy trees, always make sure you get them from reliable sources. We always recommend choosing online options like Best Privacy Trees for the best results. In person, however, Lowes and other stores can have good deals.
Consistency Is Key
When planting privacy trees, we always recommend choosing several of the same trees. For example, you don’t want to go with an Emerald Green Arborvitae and then a Dappled Willow combination. While this may work in some circumstances, it tends to not look great.
Consider Maintenance
Finally, choose trees that you’re comfortable maintaining, and make sure those trees thrive in your area. Also, make sure to research their blooming schedule; this way, you know what to expect.
Get the Best Small Trees for Privacy Today!
If you’re looking for the best small trees for privacy, you can’t go wrong with any of the options we covered in our guide. They’re all great choices, and you’ll find that there’s a little something for everyone.
That said, when choosing a small tree for privacy, make sure you consider all of the various factors that go into making that decision. Always get your trees from reliable sources, consider planting space, and evaluate your living situation.
