The Best Trees to Plant in Calgary for Privacy (That Actually Survive Our Winters)

A lot of people in Calgary plant trees because they want some privacy. Maybe a neighbour’s window looks right into your yard. Maybe you want to block the view from the back alley. A good row of trees can solve that problem and keep doing it for a very long time.

The tricky part is that Calgary is a tough place to grow trees. Our winters are long and cold. We get chinook winds in January that make it feel like spring, then a hard freeze two weeks later. The soil in many parts of the city is heavy clay. Not every tree you see at a garden centre is going to survive here.

Here is what actually works. If you’d like advice tailored to your yard, Calgary Tree Works can help you choose.

Colorado Blue Spruce

This is the most common privacy tree in Calgary, and there is a good reason for that. It can handle temperatures as low as -40 degrees, well within the tolerance of Zone 3. It stays green all year, which is important if you want to block a view in winter too.

A full-grown Colorado Blue Spruce can reach 15 metres tall. That is about as tall as a five-storey building. It can also be 5 metres wide, so you need to give it space. If you plant several in a row, put them at least 4 to 5 metres apart. Plant them too close and they will crowd each other out in a few years. See our guide on how far you should plant a tree from your house, fence or driveway.

These trees grow slowly at first. For the first couple of years you might wonder if anything is happening. But once the roots get going, they grow steadily and look great doing it. The blue-silver colour is one of the nicest things you can put in a Calgary yard.

One thing to watch for is a disease called Rhizosphaera needle cast. It makes the needles on the inside of the tree turn brown and fall off. You can treat it but you need to catch it early. These are among the signs your tree needs professional attention.

Lodgepole Pine

The Lodgepole Pine is native to Alberta. That means it evolved here and knows how to survive our winters. It grows in a tall, narrow shape which is perfect if you do not have a lot of space going sideways but want something tall.

It grows faster than spruce and handles dry conditions well once it is settled in. If your yard has sandy or poor soil, a Lodgepole Pine will do well where other trees might not.

The one thing to watch is wind. A tall narrow tree moves around in Calgary’s chinook winds. If it is in an open exposed spot with nothing around it, it can lean over time. Plant a few of them together rather than just one on its own.

Siberian Larch

The Siberian Larch grows fast and handles Calgary winters easily. The catch is that it loses its needles every fall. So it is not going to give you a year-round screen.

If you mainly care about summer privacy, when you are actually using your yard, a Siberian Larch is a solid choice. It puts on more height per year than spruce and has a nice natural shape.

Swedish Columnar Aspen

This is a great option if you have a narrow space to fill. It grows in a tight upright column, sometimes only 1.5 metres wide but up to 10 metres tall. You can fit several of them into a small area and create a reasonable screen.

The downsides are that it loses its leaves in winter and the roots spread out aggressively underground. Keep these trees well away from pipes, your foundation and any underground lines. Also, like most aspens, it can send up new shoots from the roots in your lawn and garden beds. This is part of the trade-off with many fast-growing trees in Calgary.

Common Caragana

Caragana is technically a large shrub but it gets planted and shaped like a small tree all the time. It is one of the toughest plants you can put in a Calgary yard. It handles poor soil, drought and cold without much fuss. You can clip it into a neat hedge shape or let it grow into a loose screen.

It will not block a second-storey window. But for lower privacy along a fence line, it is very reliable.

Things to Think About Before You Plant

How tall does the view go? If you are trying to block a second-floor window, you need something that will eventually reach 6 or 7 metres. Spruce and pine will get there. Most shrubs will not.

How wide is your space? This is the one that catches people most often. A full-grown Colorado Blue Spruce needs 4 to 5 metres of space side to side. If you plant them 2 metres apart because you want a denser screen faster, you will end up with crowded trees that block each other’s light and drop their lower branches.

What is near the planting spot? Think about pipes underground, fences nearby, your house foundation and any utility lines. Some trees have roots that spread very far and cause problems for all of these things.

Are you going to water it? New trees need water. Even tough conifers need to be watered once a week or so during dry spells in their first two or three summers. A spruce that dries out in its first July might survive but it will be stressed for years.

Spacing: More Important Than Most People Think

The instinct is to plant trees close together so you get a full screen faster. That makes sense in the short term. But overcrowded trees end up weaker, shorter and less healthy than ones that had room to grow.

For spruce, give each tree at least 4 metres. For pine, 3 to 4 metres. For columnar aspens, 1.5 to 2 metres is fine because they are so narrow.

If you want a denser screen sooner, plant a double staggered row rather than squeezing a single row together. You get better coverage and the trees do not suffer.

When to Plant

Spring and early fall are the best times to plant trees in Calgary. Spring gives the tree a whole growing season to get its roots established before its first winter. Fall planting, done early enough, lets roots grow while the soil is still warm. Note that if you’re planting near an elm, there are additional seasonal restrictions on tree work in Calgary to be aware of.

Summer planting is harder because it is hot and dry. It can be done but you have to be very committed to watering.

Be Patient

Privacy trees take time. A Colorado Blue Spruce planted as a 1.5-metre nursery tree is going to take 8 to 10 years before it meaningfully blocks a view. A Lodgepole Pine might get there in 6 or 7 years.

That can feel like a long time. But the trees on this list are tough and they last. They are not the most exciting choices in the world but they work in Calgary, they survive our winters and they do the job you need done.

If you are not sure what will work best in your specific yard, talking to an arborist before you buy anything is worth the conversation. Reach out to Calgary Tree Works to get started.