Kentucky’s temperate climate and rich soils make it the perfect place for healthy, fast-growing trees, some of which make fantastic shade trees.
Fast-growing trees can sometimes have shallow roots or weak wood, so be sure you know what you are buying and plant it in the right spot in your yard.
Since there is such a narrow range of planting zones in Kentucky, any of the trees recommended below can be grown anywhere in the state.
Let’s look at some fast-growing and shade trees for Kentucky!
12 Fast-Growing Trees That Thrive in Kentucky
1. Tulip Tree – Liriodendron tulipifera – Shade Tree
Of course, I must first mention the Tulip Tree when discussing fast-growing trees in Kentucky.
This gorgeous flowering tree is the state tree of KY and is an important component of the forests in every county throughout the state. It would be exceptionally easy for the home gardener to grow one anywhere in KY.
These gorgeous trees are closely related to magnolia trees and have uniquely lobed large leaves that provide great shade and beautiful, unique yellow tulip-like flowers.
Tulip Trees are fast growers, growing 3-5 ft per year while young, with their growth slowing as they mature, but not until they are at least 20 years old. These long-lived trees can live 300 years and eventually become massive in size, the tallest of the American hardwood trees.
These trees grow best in full sun in moist, acidic, loamy, sandy, or well-drained clay soils; they also tolerate alkaline soils.
- Other Common Names: American Tulip Tree, Tulipwood, Tuliptree, Tulip Poplar, Whitewood, Fiddletree, Hickory Poplar, Yellow Poplar
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 60 – 100 ft (to 150 ft) tall, 30 – 50 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Showy flowers bloom in May and June; dry cone-like fruits mature in fall
- Growth Rate: 3-5 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
2. Red Oak – Quercus rubra – Shade Tree
Red Oak is the most common native oak tree in Kentucky, growing in moist woods, valleys, and north-facing mountain slopes but also in drier upland locations.
These trees grow best in full sun in average, moderately acidic soils with medium moisture and are highly tolerant of winds, urban conditions, and moderate droughts.
Red Oaks are one of the fastest-growing oaks, growing 2 – 3 ft per year while young. After about 20 years, their rate slows to 1 – 2 ft per year and will continue to slow as they age, up to 500 years.
These are popular landscape trees in KY because of their fast growth, ease of transplanting, and low or no maintenance once established.
Red Oak’s dense canopy of large, lush, pointy-lobed leaves makes for great shade in the summer months and provides red, reddish-orange, or reddish-brown fall color.
You can also learn how to identify Red Oak.
- Other Common Names: Common Red Oak, Eastern Red Oak, Mountain Red Oak, Gray Oak
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 50 – 70 ft (to 90 ft) tall, 40 – 60 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous flowers bloom from May to June; acorns mature from September to October
- Growth Rate: 2-3 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
3. American Sycamore – Platanus occidentalis – Shade Tree
American Sycamore is a big, beautiful Kentucky native tree with the most fascinating, unique bluish or greenish-gray bark mottled with brown and gray that adds year-round color to the landscape. Their gorgeous maple-like leaves also cast a rich summer shade and turn a brilliant shade of yellow in the fall.
These are very fast-growing trees, growing 3 – 6 ft per year when young or even faster under ideal conditions.
American Sycamores are widespread in KY, found in every county in the state where they mostly grow in moist to wet, deep, rich soils in riparian areas. They prefer soils in the neutral to moderately alkaline range but will tolerate various types and urban pollution, wind, and mild droughts.
These trees would grow very well in KY with its temperate climate, rich soils, and summers that are not too hot and dry, which could result in leaf scorch.
- Other Common Names: American planetree, Buttonwood, Buttonball, Eastern sycamore, Western plane, Occidental plane, Water beech
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 40 – 100 ft tall, 40 – 70 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Spherical flower heads emerge from April to May; spherical dry fruits ripen from September to October.
- Growth Rate: 3-6 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
4. Black Walnut – Juglans nigra – Shade Tree
Black Walnuts have dense canopies of compound leaves that make for great shade trees. But they are also high-yielding nut trees, even with one tree, although yields increase if you plant a second tree.
These trees are native throughout most of Kentucky, where they like to grow in rich, fertile woods and hillsides with deep, well-drained soils. They will only grow in full sun and are intolerant of shade or poorly drained soils but are highly tolerant to winds.
Black Walnuts secrete biochemicals that will kill many other plants growing next to them, a brilliant adaptation for trees that require good airflow and don’t like other trees growing too close to them. Be sure to check for compatibility before planting.
These are also fast-growing trees when young, from 12 – 30”. Their growth slows as they start to produce nuts, around ten years old, and continues to slow as they age.
- Other Common Names: American Walnut, American Black Walnut, Eastern Black Walnut
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 70 – 100 ft (to 125 ft) tall, 60 – 80 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous yellow-green flowers emerge in drooping catkins from May to June; fruits mature from September to October
- Growth Rate: 2-3 ft per year*
Available at: Nature Hills
5. Pin Oak – Quercus palustris – Shade Tree
Pin Oak is another fast-growing oak tree that is also a widespread native tree in Kentucky.
These trees like to grow naturally in full sun in mildly acidic, well-drained soils of various kinds in moist valley bottoms or moist uplands. They will grow in poorly drained soils and tolerate occasional flooding but will not tolerate alkaline soils, which can cause chlorosis.
Pin Oaks are popular in the landscaping industry and as shade trees. They will grow 2 ft per year while they are young, fast for oak. They also have a uniform shape and classic, deeply lobed oak leaves that turn beautiful shades of red and orange in the fall.
In KY, these trees are already native, so they will grow anywhere in the state and will require little to no maintenance once established.
For more information, check out how to identify Pin Oak.
- Other Common Names: Swamp Oak, Water Oak, Swamp Spanish Oak
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 8
- Average Size at Maturity: 60 – 80 ft (to 100 ft) tall, 40 – 60 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous flowers (catkins) bloom in late April or early May; acorns mature between September and October
- Growth Rate: 2-3 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
6. Bald Cypress – Taxodium distichum
The Bald Cypress is a unique native deciduous cypress tree. Unlike most conifers, this tree’s feathery leaves turn a rusty orange-red in the fall before dropping and returning the following spring.
These trees grow naturally on saturated and seasonally flooded soils, including in standing water, but are very adaptable to many soil types and will also grow in well-drained soil and have some drought tolerance.
Bald Cypress are fast-growing trees that grow 2 – 3 ft per year until they reach their mature size.
These beautiful trees have pyramidal crowns and often buttressed trunks (widened at the base). When growing in water, they often develop pneumatophores (aerial roots) that allow the roots to exchange gas with the atmosphere when the below-ground roots are under water.
In KY, Bald Cypress are native to the southwestern corner, but they would grow well anywhere.
For more information, learn how to identify Bald Cypress.
- Other Common Names: Yellow Cypress, Red Cypress, Gulf Cypress, Tidewater Red Cypress, White Cypress
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 10
- Average Size at Maturity: 50 – 70 ft (to 120 ft) tall, 25 – 35 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Male pollen cones release pollen in late winter or early spring; seed cones mature in late October or November
- Growth Rate: 2-3 ft per year*
Available at: Nature Hills
7. River Birch – Betula nigra – Shade Tree
River Birch is a popular landscape tree for its fast growth ( 2 – 3 ft per year) and unique exfoliating bark that peels in large strips, revealing multiple layers of salmon-pink to reddish-brown bark and providing year-round color and interest to the landscape.
These trees are native to Kentucky, especially the east and the southwest, with scattered populations elsewhere. They typically grow in full sun or partial shade along rivers, swamps, and floodplains.
In addition to the lovely bark, they have dark green leaves that make great summer shade and turn a pleasant, soft, buttery yellow in the fall.
While they grow best in moist soil, they do have some drought tolerance. They are also one of the few heat-tolerant birch trees and are known for having good resistance to storm damage and winds, which seem to be increasing in KY.
You can also learn how to identify River Birch.
- Other Common Names: Black Birch, Red Birch, Water Birch
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 40 – 80 ft tall, 40 – 60 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous flowers in catkins bloom in early spring; tiny samaras (winged seeds) mature early in the year in late spring
- Growth Rate: 2-3 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
8. Dunstan Chestnut – Castanea dentata x mollissima
Dunstan Chestnut trees are hybrid chestnut trees created by crossing the American Chestnut devastated by the chestnut blight with the more resistant Chinese Chestnut.
These fast-growing trees grow up to 7 ft per year in partial shade or 3.5 ft in full sun. However, if you are growing them for both shade and nut production, they must be planted in full sun for productive crops.
Dunstan Chestnuts are gorgeous trees with rounded crowns and lush green leaves that turn yellow in the fall, making great shade or specimen trees for any home garden.
These trees are best grown in well-drained soil with medium moisture in the slightly acidic to neutral range. It is important that their roots are not allowed to get soggy, which can harm or kill the tree. Mulching heavily can help reduce watering frequency.
For more information, check out how to identify the Dunstan Hybrid Chestnut.
- Other Common Names: Hybrid Chestnut, Hybrid Dunstan Chestnut
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 – 8
- Average Size at Maturity: 40 – 60 ft tall, 30 – 40 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Flowers emerge from May to June; nuts mature from September to October
- Growth Rate: 4-7 ft per year*
Available at: Nature Hills
9. Red Maple – Acer rubrum – Shade Tree
Red Maples are the most common individual tree species in the forests of Kentucky, accounting for 12.2% of all the trees.
These highly adaptable trees grow in swamps and dry upland forests in various soil types, but they prefer moist, acidic soils in full sun to partial shade.
Red Maples are popular landscape trees for their rich shade and fast growth, 12 – 18” (to 36”) per year, which doesn’t slow until around 70 years.
Their beautiful three-lobed leaves turn a gorgeous shade of red in the fall, their small red flowers emerge in late winter or early spring before anything else, and in the summer, they have pretty pinkish to dark red samaras (winged seeds) for three full seasons of interest.
Since these maple trees are already so prolific in KY, they will thrive without maintenance once established.
You can also learn how to identify Red Maple.
- Other Common Names: Swamp Maple, Water Maple, Soft Maple
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 8(9)
- Average Size at Maturity: 75 – 100 ft (to 120) ft tall, 30 – 50 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Small reddish-pink flowers emerge before the leaves in March or sometimes February; samaras mature between April and June
- Growth Rate: 1-2 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
10. Bitternut Hickory – Carya cordiformis – Shade Tree
Hickory trees, in general, are often recommended as fast-growing shade trees, even though many hickories don’t grow very fast.
The Bitternut Hickory is one of the fastest-growing hickories at 16 – 24” per year. It is a widespread native tree found throughout most of Kentucky, growing in moist, humus-rich soils in riparian areas and drier upland sites with poor soil. They will tolerate wet soils and are moderately drought-tolerant.
Their big, beautiful, compound leaves create great shade and turn vibrant shades of yellow and orange in the fall.
In Kentucky, they will grow well anywhere in the state since they are already adapted to the conditions. They also have strong wood, so their fast growth does not make them weak or susceptible to storm damage.
Their nuts are bitter and inedible to humans but loved by wildlife.
For more information, check out how to identify the Bitternut Hickory.
- Other Common Names: Bitternut, Swamp Hickory
- USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 50 – 80 ft (to 150 ft) tall, 30 – 50 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous flowers bloom in April or May; fruits mature from late summer to early fall every 3 – 5 years
- Growth Rate: 1-2 ft per year*
Available at: Nature Hills
11. Silver Maple – Acer saccharinum
The Silver Maple is another beautiful maple tree native throughout KY, growing in woodlands, floodplains, and riparian areas.
These incredibly fast-growing trees (4 – 6 ft per year) perform best in deep, moist, acidic soil in full sun or partial shade but are highly adaptable to other soils, moisture, and urban pollution.
Silver Maples were once widely planted as street trees, popular for their leaves with silver-white undersides that flash attractively when fluttering in the wind. In the fall, they turn lovely shades of orange and yellow.
However, their shallow roots damage sidewalks and their fast growth makes the wood brittle and prone to storm damage. But if you have room for it to grow and a location protected from winds, they are gorgeous trees that will add color and shade to any landscape.
For more information, you can learn how to identify Silver Maple.
- Other Common Names: Creek Maple, Silverleaf Maple, Soft Maple, Water Maple, Swamp Maple, White Maple
- USDA Growing Zones: 3 – 9
- Average Size at Maturity: 50 – 80 ft (to 100 ft) tall, 35 – 50 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Inconspicuous flowers emerge before the leaves from March to April; samaras (winged seeds) mature around June
- Growth Rate: 4-6 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
12. Japanese Zelkova – Zelkova serrata
Japanese Zelkova looks very similar to an elm tree and is in the same family as the American Elms.
These are beautiful trees with vase-shaped crowns and dark green leaves that turn golden bronze or reddish-purple for fall color. They also have attractive bark and high resistance to the Emerald Ash Borer that has devastated the native elms.
Japanese Zelkova grows best in moist, well-drained soil but is highly adaptable to dry and poor soils. They are often recommended as fast-growing trees for Kentucky and elsewhere in the USA, growing over 2 ft per year when young and slowing to 13 – 24” per year until they reach maturity.
However, this lovely tree has been introduced in several eastern USA states. And even though it is often recommended, it is already considered invasive in Kentucky and may not be the best choice.
You can also learn how to identify Japanese Zelkova.
- Other Common Names: Japanese Elm, Keaki, Saw Leaf Zelkova
- USDA Growing Zones: 5 – 8
- Average Size at Maturity: 50 – 80 ft tall, 50 – 80 ft spread
- Flowering / Fruiting Season: Small inconspicuous flowers bloom in mid-spring; fruits (drupes) mature in the fall
- Growth Rate: 1-2 ft per year*
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
Fast Growing Trees in Kentucky Compared
Here’s a table from the fastest-growing to the slowest-growing trees based on their growth rate:
| Tree Name | USDA Growing Zones | Average Size at Maturity | Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunstan Chestnut | 5 – 8 | 40 – 60 ft tall, 30 – 40 ft spread | 4-7 ft per year |
| Silver Maple | 3 – 9 | 50 – 80 ft tall, 35 – 50 ft spread | 4-6 ft per year |
| American Sycamore | 4 – 9 | 40 – 100 ft tall, 40 – 70 ft spread | 3-6 ft per year |
| Tulip Tree | 4 – 9 | 60 – 100 ft tall, 30 – 50 ft spread | 3-5 ft per year |
| Bald Cypress | 4 – 10 | 50 – 70 ft tall, 25 – 35 ft spread | 2-3 ft per year |
| Black Walnut | 4 – 9 | 70 – 100 ft tall, 60 – 80 ft spread | 2-3 ft per year |
| Pin Oak | 4 – 8 | 60 – 80 ft tall, 40 – 60 ft spread | 2-3 ft per year |
| Red Oak | 5 – 9 | 50 – 70 ft tall, 40 – 60 ft spread | 2-3 ft per year |
| River Birch | 4 – 9 | 40 – 80 ft tall, 40 – 60 ft spread | 2-3 ft per year |
| Bitternut Hickory | 4 – 9 | 50 – 80 ft tall, 30 – 50 ft spread | 1-2 ft per year |
| Japanese Zelkova | 5 – 8 | 50 – 80 ft tall, 50 – 80 ft spread | 1-2 ft per year |
| Red Maple | 4 – 8(9) | 75 – 100 ft tall, 30 – 50 ft spread | 1-3 ft per year |
Fast-Growing Shade Trees That Will Thrive in Kentucky
As you have seen, there are a lot of great choices for fast-growing trees that will thrive in Kentucky’s temperate climate and rich soils. Many of those same trees will make great shade trees, providing necessary shade fast.
Just be aware that fast-growing trees can be prone to windthrow and storm damage, so if you have a location that is not protected, be sure to choose one with stronger wood.
I hope you have enjoyed learning more about the fast-growing shade trees you can grow in Kentucky. Now for the best part: tree shopping and tree planting! Have fun!
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