Green Giant Arborvitae Tree

The Green Giant Arborvitae (Thuja standishii x plicata) is a fast-growing evergreen for your privacy screen needs! This breed is a tremendously popular selection for a privacy screen. Much like the Leyland Cypress, it has a rapid growth rate. It’s capable of growing 3-5 feet every year! So, it’s ideal for anywhere you want some privacy hedge coverage and want it fast.

This variety is reliable and evergreen. It keeps its attractive rich green color foliage year-round. Furthermore, it’s low maintenance. This is because of its pyramidal-shaped growth habit. At maturity, it reaches 40-50′ H x 10-12′ W.

This durable Green Giant Thuja can hold up against heavy snow as well as ice. It’s also a wind-tolerant plant. Plant a perimeter of them around your home. They block out chilling winds, making it easier to heat your house during the winter.

It’s pest and disease resistant and rarely falls victim to deer. This makes it one of the hardiest privacy trees that a gardener can plant.

Is a noisy road next to your house driving you crazy? A Green Giant tree hedge is an ideal solution to this problem.

1. They’re cheaper than privacy fences, and they have a natural beauty to them.
2. Once they’re established, they take care of themselves.
3. They also dampen noise better than traditional fences.
4. They do things that fences can’t do. Their dense foliage filters road pollutants, such as dust and carbon dioxide, out of the air. This helps to ensure that your family has fresher and cleaner air.

Green Giant Arborvitae Care

Hardy in USDA Zones 4-8. Green Giant trees can withstand temperatures between -30° and -25° F once established in the landscape.

Plant Full Sun for best results. 6+ hours of direct sun will ensure excellent plant health and foliage coverage.

Water 2-3 times a week for the first growing season in your landscape. This regular watering allows it to send roots deep into the soil, ensuring future success. Green Giant is drought-tolerant after it develops an established root system.

Well-draining soil types are essential for this privacy tree to succeed. Planting arborvitae shrubs in wet sites with poor drainage can lead to root rot. Soggy soil types prevent microorganisms from maintaining the soil. Otherwise, it’s not a very particular plant regarding soil. It takes sandy or loamy, rich or poor, acidic or alkaline soils in stride. Sandy soils and other quick-draining soils may need more frequent waterings, but they will grow in them. Over time, they will need less supplementary water.

If you intend to keep this variety at a particular height, trim it yearly after new growth has hardened off. If allowed to grow freely, pruning is generally unnecessary. But, the removal of ‘rebel’ branches is occasionally necessary for aesthetic purposes.

How to Plant:

1. First, dig a hole three times the width of the root ball of your plant. The larger hole makes it easier for the root system to spread out.
2. Mix your native soil with gardening soil to provide extra nutrients and support plant growth.
3.  Backfill the hole with the soil mixture and top with 3-4 inches of mulch to help keep moisture.
4.  Soak the plant with a hose afterward to hydrate the plant and also get the soil and mulch situated.
5.  Soon your plant will be well-adjusted to its planting location and shooting for the moon.

Spacing Green Giant Arborvitae Trees

Plant your Green Giant Arborvitae 5-6 feet apart for a fast privacy screen. At this distance, you will need to trim them periodically to keep them from reaching their mature height of 40-50 feet tall. Otherwise, they will rub against each other and cause branch damage. If you plant them 8+ feet apart, feel free to let them grow unpruned.

If you want quick coverage and don’t want to worry about pruning them, plant them at an angle. Plant each tree about 8 feet apart from the tree that is diagonal from them. The trees in each row will be about 10-12 feet apart from each other. This will create a very dense privacy screen that you won’t need to maintain. The diagram below displays this type of layout.

FAQ’s

“Are Green Giant’s Deer-Resistant?”

Sort of. Most Arborvitae trees are not deer-resistant. Yet, there are several new cultivars that are more deer-resistant than others. This variety is one of them. Unfortunately, a starving deer will eat almost anything. But, even if this does happen, they won’t be able to do much damage to this tree as it grows up.

“Do they really grow 3-5 feet every year?”

Yes! These trees grow very fast. But, there are some requirements to achieve the greatest growth speed.

• They need to have adequate food to grow. We recommend fertilizing once or twice yearly with a slow-release tree fertilizer. Supplementing your soil with compost or worm castings also promotes healthy soil.
• They need Full Sun exposure. Sunlight provides energy for your plant to grow. A plant that grows as much as this one needs a lot of energy.
• Water is very important for plant growth. Water is another crucial element for producing new growth. Make sure that they’re not getting too little or too much.

In less than favorable conditions, you will likely experience slower growth. Around 2 feet yearly. This is still considered pretty fast, but not as fast as it’s capable of growing.

Popular Companion Plants

• Plant a row of shorter plants in front of your Arborvitaes to add rich green color and interest to your landscape. We recommend mixing in eye-catching plants. Two of our favorites are Sunshine Ligustrum and White Wedding Hydrangeas. Mix them together and watch as they play off each other’s colors and textures.
• Plant blueberry bushes in a row in front of your privacy screen. This will create a functional and fruit-bearing display for you and your family to enjoy.

Why Buy Trees Online from PlantsbyMail.com?

We’re choosy about the plants we send our customers. We try to pick and ship plants that we’d like to plant for our grandmother (and she makes a fantastic Pecan Pie). Our trees are healthy and mature in their pots, ready to take off in your landscape. Additionally, we never ship our plants bare-root to save a buck. If you’re not happy with your order, let us know and we’ll do whatever we can to make it right.

Check out some tips for Planting Hedges and Screens