Create Your Perfect Natural Screen
Tall skinny trees create privacy where fences feel too hard, space is limited, or you want a greener view year round. The best choices have a columnar form, dense foliage, and a mature height that fits your yard without crowding walls, paths, power lines, or neighboring properties.
Choose evergreen tree options like Italian Cypress, Emerald Green Arborvitae, Blue Point Juniper, Eastern Red Cedar, and Sky Pencil Holly for consistent screening, or select deciduous vertical trees like Lombardy Poplar, Slender Silhouette Sweetgum, and columnar maples when you want summer privacy with more winter light.
Tall Skinny Trees for Every Privacy Need
Whether you need year-round screening from neighbors, a seasonal privacy screen, or a formal row of tall columnar trees, there is a narrow tree suited to the job. Columnar trees, also known as fastigiate trees, grow upright and tend to be narrow, making them ideal for tight spaces in the landscape.
Columnar or fastigiate evergreen cultivars provide dense, year-round screening while maintaining a narrow footprint. Deciduous trees provide privacy during summer but allow more sunlight in winter, while evergreen trees maintain their foliage year-round, providing consistent greenery and privacy in landscapes.
Instant Privacy Solutions
For fast results, Leyland Cypress is one of the most popular fast-growing trees, capable of growing 2-3 feet per year and reaching heights of 40-60 feet. In ideal conditions, it can also add 3-4 feet per year, making it a go to option when you need a tall privacy screen quickly, though spacing and pruning matter as the tree reaches full maturity.
The Italian Cypress is a fast-growing tree that can add 2-3 feet in height each year, making it ideal for creating privacy screens in tight spaces. The Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) is a popular choice for privacy due to its tall and narrow growth, reaching heights of 40-60 feet while only being 3-6 feet wide, making it ideal for tight spaces.
For seasonal screening, the fastest growing columnar deciduous tree is the Lombardy Poplar, which can grow 6 feet or more in a single year. It offers rapid summer privacy and vertical structure, then drops its leaves in the winter months to let in more light.
Year-Round Evergreen Privacy
Evergreen trees are often selected for their ability to provide year-round privacy and visual interest, making them ideal for urban landscapes and small gardens. Common evergreen trees include Italian Cypress trees, Emerald Green Arborvitae, and Blue Point Juniper, which are known for their dense foliage and upright growth habits.
Emerald Green Arborvitae maintains rich, dark green foliage through all seasons. Emerald Green Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’) is a classic choice for narrow hedges, growing 12-15 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide, providing a dense, upright form that offers year-round privacy.
Blue Point Juniper creates a structured barrier with blue green foliage, dense branching, and a reliable upright form. Eastern Red Cedar is another strong choice for drought tolerant, deer-resistant screening, especially where you want a tougher evergreen tree for full sun and lower-maintenance care.
Formal & Elegant Screens
Fastigiate Hornbeam brings architectural precision to upscale landscapes, especially in modern gardens, entrance rows, and clean privacy hedges. The Frans Fontaine Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’) is a narrow tree that can grow to 40-50 feet tall while only spreading about 20 feet, making it a great choice for urban landscapes.
Sky Pencil Holly grows very vertically, taking up almost no horizontal space while adding dense, glossy greenery. Its narrow habit works beautifully as a refined evergreen column near entries, patios, and small gardens where a small tree or dwarf Italian Cypress-like screen is preferred.
Columnar Norway Spruce provides classic formal screening with bright green color, upright branches, and strong structure. It is especially useful where cold hardy performance, dense foliage, and a tall narrow shape are priorities.
Choose the Right Tree for Your Space
The right tall skinny tree gives you privacy without overwhelming your outdoor space. Before planting, compare mature height, mature width, growth rate, root space, and spacing requirements so the tree fits both now and at full maturity.
Tall, skinny trees are excellent for creating dense privacy screens in compact yards without sacrificing lawn space. Columnar trees can be used to create living privacy screens or block unsightly views by planting them in a row or staggering them for a dense barrier, much like a versatile Fern Pine tree used as a tall hedge.
For Narrow Side Yards
Italian Cypress is one of the best narrow trees for narrow side yards because it fits spaces as narrow as 3-5 feet while growing 40-60 feet tall. It prefers full sun and well drained soil, and it is especially useful in Mediterranean-style landscapes where a tall, narrow form adds beauty and structure.
Sky Pencil Holly works in spaces just 2 feet wide, making it ideal for tight urban lots, small spaces, and limited space beside walkways. It performs best in full sun to partial sun and gives a lush, low maintenance evergreen look without heavy pruning.
Slender Silhouette Sweetgum is another excellent slender tree for narrow side yards. The Slender Silhouette Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’) is an extremely narrow tree that can reach heights of 50 feet while only being 3-5 feet wide, making it suitable for small yards and providing effective privacy.
For Property Line Screening
For dense property line privacy hedges, plant Emerald Green Arborvitae 3-4 feet apart for a continuous living wall. Spacing trees 3–5 feet apart creates a solid, continuous living wall without overcrowding them, especially when the mature width is naturally narrow.
Space Leyland Cypress 6-10 feet apart for fast-growing tall barriers that have room to develop healthy branches and airflow. Narrow trees generally have more compact root zones and should be planted a few feet away from walls and underground pipes.
Taylor Juniper is useful at 3-foot spacing when you want a narrow, drought tolerant screen with a strong upright form. It is a practical choice for property lines where blue green foliage, dense branching, and low maintenance care are priorities, similar to how a Fern Pine hedge can create a lush, evergreen boundary.
For Small Residential Yards
Spartan Juniper grows about 15 feet tall while staying narrow, making it a smart option for compact privacy in small yards. It gives evergreen structure without taking over the yard or reducing usable lawn space.
Columnar Maple varieties like Armstrong Gold provide 40-foot screening in a 12-foot width range. The Armstrong Gold Maple (Acer rubrum ‘JFS-KW78’) is a fast-growing, columnar tree that can reach heights of 40 feet while maintaining a narrow width of 10-15 feet, making it suitable for small landscapes.
Black Hills Spruce offers dense coverage up to 40 feet tall in cold climates. For additional small-yard options, the Goldspire Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba ‘Goldspire’) is a narrow tree that can reach heights of 14-15 feet and has a spread of 5-6 feet, making it suitable for small yards.
Essential Tree Characteristics That Matter
Quality privacy trees combine the right growth habit, dense foliage, climate adaptability, and long-term durability. A fast growing tree may deliver quick shade and screening, but a slower narrow form can be easier to manage in tight spaces over time.
Most narrow evergreens require full sun for at least 6 hours of direct sunlight to maintain dense foliage down to the ground. Root rot can occur in compacted, soggy soil, which will quickly kill certain evergreen species like arborvitae and cypresses.
Evergreen vs Deciduous Benefits
Select evergreens if year-round screening from neighbors is required; deciduous trees provide privacy during summer but allow more sunlight in winter. Evergreens like Italian Cypress and Arborvitae provide 12-month privacy coverage and keep the landscape green through winter.
Deciduous options like Columnar Maple allow winter light while providing summer screening, seasonal interest, fall color, and shade. Compact ornamental trees such as the Butterfly Japanese Maple or the Tsukasa Silhouette Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum ‘Tsukasa Silhouette’) are narrow choices known for heat tolerance and vibrant foliage.
Mixed plantings combine year-round structure with seasonal color interest. Pairing evergreen shrubs and trees with deciduous tall narrow trees such as the richly colored Osakazuki Japanese Maple can make a privacy screen feel more natural, resilient, and visually layered.
Growth Rate Considerations
Fast growers like Leyland Cypress can establish privacy in 3-5 years when planted in full sun with enough water during establishment. Visiting a specialized nursery for privacy trees can help you compare fast-growing options like Leyland Cypress alongside slower, more compact choices. The fastest growing columnar deciduous tree is the Lombardy Poplar, which can grow 6 feet or more in a single year.
Moderate growers like Blue Point Juniper provide steady, manageable growth while keeping a narrow habit and dense foliage. Italian Cypress also grows tall at a strong pace while holding a columnar form, making it useful for formal and modern gardens.
Slow growers like Sky Pencil Holly require patience but offer long-term stability in small spaces. Their predictable narrow form reduces pruning, limits crowding, and keeps tight spaces looking clean.
Climate Adaptability
California-ready choices like Eastern Red Cedar can thrive in Mediterranean climates with minimal water once established, while heat-tolerant varieties like Italian Cypress excel in sunny, dry locations. Choose drought tolerant narrow trees when your landscape receives intense summer sun.
Cold hardy options like Black Hills Spruce survive harsh winter conditions and provide dense evergreen coverage during the coldest months. Columnar Norway Spruce and selected junipers can also work well where winter durability is important.
Soil is just as important as climate. Most columnar trees need well drained soil, and cypresses, arborvitae, and hinoki cypress should not be planted where compacted soil stays soggy after rain or irrigation.
Planting and Care for Maximum Privacy
Proper planting and early care help tall narrow trees establish strong roots, dense branching, and a dependable privacy screen that lasts for decades. Good spacing also reduces disease pressure and keeps each tree from competing too aggressively for sun, water, and nutrients.
Before planting, check overhead power lines, underground pipes, walls, fences, and the expected mature height and width. A tall skinny tree still needs room for roots and airflow, even when the canopy stays narrow.
Optimal Planting Spacing
Plant Emerald Green Arborvitae 3-4 feet on center for dense hedge formation. This spacing helps the plants knit together into privacy hedges while still allowing room for healthy growth.
Space Italian Cypress 4-6 feet apart for formal columnar screening. This creates a clean row of vertical trees while preserving each tree’s upright form and giving the branches enough space to stay full.
Allow 8-10 feet between Leyland Cypress for healthy mature growth. Closer spacing can create faster privacy, but overcrowding may increase shade, reduce airflow, and make pruning more difficult later.
Establishment Care
Deep weekly watering for the first two years builds strong root systems, especially during dry summer weather. Even drought tolerant trees need consistent moisture while young, then less irrigation once established.
Apply 2-3 inches of mulch around the base to retain moisture, moderate soil temperature, and suppress weeds. Keep mulch slightly away from the trunk to protect bark and reduce disease risk.
Light pruning in late winter maintains shape and encourages dense growth. Quick tip: avoid heavy pruning into old wood on many cypresses and junipers, because some evergreen branches may not regrow well from bare interior growth.
Shop Privacy Trees with Expert Guidance
Explore our curated selection of columnar privacy trees for California landscapes, including tall skinny trees for narrow side yards, small gardens, property lines, and modern outdoor space designs. Choose from evergreen and deciduous options based on your desired height, width, growth rate, and seasonal privacy needs.
Get professional advice on spacing, planting, irrigation, pruning, and long-term care before you commit to a row of trees. The right guidance helps you avoid overcrowding, root conflicts, poor drainage, and trees that grow too tall or wide for the site.
Free shipping on most orders over $600 throughout California makes it easier to bring established privacy trees directly to your yard, whether you’re choosing stately conifers like Monterey Cypress or ornamental accents like the Bloodgood Japanese Maple. Request a consultation to design the perfect privacy solution for your specific needs, from a formal Italian Cypress row to a lush mixed screen with Sky Pencil Holly, Blue Point Juniper, Emerald Green Arborvitae, and other narrow trees.
Your natural privacy screen starts with the right tree, the right spacing, and the right care plan.
