Fast growing trees and hedges for zone 7a?

[JayhawkSD]

2. Whatever you plant, get it off to a good start.

Use "starter pellets" when you plant it. These are fertilizer pellets which you put in the back-fill, a few inches outside the rootball and about 6" to 12" deep depending on the size of the plant. Go with one strong in Phosphate and Potash which will develop a strong root base.

I had a 24" box African Tulip tree planted at the same time that neighbors planted 15 gal African Tulip and Sycamores. Mine started out about ten feet tall, while theirs were about six feet. Five years later mine is higher than my roof (two story building) while theirs are barely over ten feet.

African Tulip, by they way, is a nice tree for 7a. It is almost evergreen; stays in full leaf all winter, then blooms beautifully in May or so and toward then end of that month drops about 75% of it foliage. Never gets the "bare" look of a deciduous tree though. Sets new leaves in July and is fully green again by end of August. Grows pretty fast if you give it a good start, and doesn't need much water.