Fast Growing Trees in Calgary: Are They Worth the Trade Off?

Fast-growing trees are appealing for an obvious reason. You plant something in spring, it shoots up 60 or 90 centimetres a year and within five or six years you have a tree that actually looks like a tree. Compare that to a Bur Oak, which might grow 30 centimetres in a good year, and the fast grower looks like the clear winner.

But it is not that simple. Fast growth comes with trade-offs that are not obvious when you are standing at the garden centre looking at a healthy-looking tree in a pot. Some of those trade-offs are minor. Some are big enough that people end up wishing they had planted something different.

This is not a case against fast-growing trees entirely. Some are genuinely fine for the right situation. But it is worth being clear about what you are actually getting. If you’d like advice specific to your yard, Calgary Tree Works can help you weigh the options.

Why Fast Growth Is a Problem

Trees that grow fast are putting most of their energy into getting tall quickly. They are not putting as much energy into building strong wood or a solid structure. Wood that grows fast has wider rings and thinner cell walls. It breaks more easily.

This is why fast-growing trees tend to lose branches in storms. The wood just snaps. The spots where branches attach to the trunk also tend to be weaker in fast-growing trees, because the junction forms quickly without developing a strong connection. This is part of why trees suddenly fall over with no warning.

Root systems on fast-growing trees also tend to be more aggressive and shallow. The tree is trying to grab as much water and food as possible to fuel that rapid growth. In a forest, that works fine. In a city yard with buried pipes and a foundation nearby, it creates problems. See our guide on how far you should plant a tree from your house, fence or driveway.

Fast-Growing Trees You Will Find in Calgary

Lombardy Poplar will grow a metre or more per year in good conditions. It creates a tall, narrow screen fast. But it usually only lives 15 to 20 years, it gets a fungal disease that spreads through Alberta’s poplar population and its roots are among the most aggressive of any tree you can plant here. You plant it, it grows fast, it dies and then you pay to have it removed along with the root system it spread through your yard.

Silver Maple grows quickly and makes a large, shady canopy. The wood is a genuine problem in Calgary’s wind and snow conditions. After every major storm, Silver Maple branches are down all over Calgary. The roots are shallow and spread wide. If a Silver Maple is within reach of any buried pipes, the roots will find them. If a storm does bring branches down, see our guide on what to do in the first 24 hours after a storm hits your yard.

Trembling Aspen is native to Alberta, which gives it real advantages. It handles cold well and resists disease better than some of the others on this list. It grows at a reasonable pace, around 60 to 90 centimetres a year. The problem in a city yard is root suckering. Aspen spreads through its roots by sending up new shoots, called suckers, from underground. Plant one aspen and you are managing a colony that tries to spread into your lawn, your garden and your neighbour’s yard.

Swedish Columnar Aspen grows quickly in a narrow shape and does not sucker as aggressively as Trembling Aspen. It is a better choice for a residential yard. But the root system is still large and aggressive, so keep it away from pipes.

Siberian Elm grows fast and is very tough. It is also an invasive seeder that creates more problems than it solves in most Calgary yards.

Globe Willow grows quickly and looks distinctive. But its multi-stem structure splits apart easily, its roots are extremely aggressive and it does not have a long lifespan in a city setting. These are among the trees to avoid planting in Calgary yards.

The Trade-Off in Plain Numbers

Here is the most straightforward way to think about this: a Lombardy Poplar planted today will look like a real tree in 5 years. In 20 years it will be dying and need to come down. You will pay to remove a large tree and deal with any root damage it caused along the way.

A Colorado Blue Spruce planted today will look small for 5 years. In 20 years it will be a genuinely impressive, structurally sound tree that is still growing. In 40 years it will be outstanding.

Tree removal in Calgary is expensive. A large mature tree can cost several thousand dollars to take down. If a fast grower gives you 20 years before it needs to come down, and you factor in that removal cost plus any root damage repairs, the fast grower often does not save you money in the long run. See our guide on tree removal services cost, process and what to ask.

When a Fast-Growing Tree Actually Makes Sense

There are situations where a fast-growing tree is the right call.

If you are planting a temporary screen while slower trees establish, a fast grower works for that. Just plant it knowing it is not permanent and budget for removing it eventually.

If you have a large property, lots of space, no underground utilities at risk and you need a windbreak or shelter belt, fast-growing native species like Trembling Aspen can do real work without the risks they carry in a tight yard.

If you are planning to sell the property in 7 to 10 years and want to add tree cover before then, the fast grower creates the visual appeal you want in your time frame. What happens 20 years later is someone else’s problem. That is a legitimate way to make the decision even if it is not the most community-spirited one. If you’re on the buying side of that transaction, see our guide on buying a home with mature trees.

The Middle Ground

Some trees grow at a medium pace without the worst problems of the fast growers. Manchurian Ash grows reasonably fast, is structurally solid and handles Calgary’s climate well. Bur Oak grows slowly, but even a slow Bur Oak puts on 30 to 45 centimetres a year in good conditions. In 15 years a Bur Oak planted today will be a real, meaningful tree. For more options, see the best trees to plant in Calgary for privacy that actually survive winters.

The trees that do best in Calgary long-term are the ones adapted to this specific climate. Native species have already solved for our freeze-thaw cycles, dry summers and short growing seasons, as documented by the Government of Alberta. They grew here before we started planting fast-growing trees in their place.

What to Actually Do

If you want trees in the next few years rather than the next decade, the better move is usually to buy bigger nursery stock rather than a faster-growing species. A 4-metre Colorado Blue Spruce in a large container is expensive, but it is already a real tree when it goes in the ground. It needs careful planting and regular watering in its first season, but the outcome is a solid tree of the right species in a time frame that works.

If budget is tight, planting two or three smaller trees of a good species is often smarter than one fast grower. Those trees fill in over time, can be thinned later if they crowd each other and do not set you up for a big removal bill in 20 years.

Fast-growing trees are not always the wrong choice. Context matters. But going in with a clear picture of the trade-offs lets you decide on purpose rather than being surprised later. If you’d like help choosing and planting the right species for your yard, contact Calgary Tree Works.