Imagine: “What tall growing plant can we use that won’t require frequent pruning or get bare on the bottom of the trunk?” she asked.
Name: Thuga ‘Green Giant’ aka Green Giant arborvitae
Type of Plant: A large, fast growing evergreen, good for screening in places where an 8 to 12 foot wide plant will fit. This evergreen is hardy in Zones 5-8
Why I love this plant: As many know, I’ve come to hate Leyland Cypress. But my appreciation for the equally fast-growing ‘Green Giant’ remains. This is a large evergreen that isn’t usually bothered by deer. (And yes, I do have Bambi and Company strolling through my property regularly.) It’s an evergreen that tolerates part shade, doesn’t have multiple trunks that can split with heavy snow. And it’s an evergreen that stays full from tip to ground as long as it’s getting at least a half-day sun. It’s the perfect screening plant when you need that screening to go high.
A Word to the Wise: Along with height and fast growth comes width, so before planting Green Giant be sure you can give up 8 to 12 feet to this plant. Don’t put it two feet from your fence, or even from the property line. And use Green Giants sparingly. Unless you live on a very busy road, you might consider planting a group of 3 in the place where you need screening quickly, but place other plants on either side that have different foliage and won’t grow quite so tall. Moderation in all things, yes?
And be prepared for 40 to 60 feet tall. So if you plant this on the southern side of your yard, for example, know that in about 10 years much of that yard will be shaded most of the year. Know that this is a big plant…I don’t want to hear you complain down the road that, “It’s gotten out of control!” Agreed?
You can see that I have this Green Giant planted between and among oaks. It gets some full sun and some dappled shade over the course of a day. Note that Green Giants have a bit of a yellow cast in the winter.
My Green Giants are on the Northwest side of our property. They screen our place from the road and our neighbors without blocking the sun on our flower and vegetable gardens.
These two plants demonstrate that even when planted a mere ten feet apart, plants can grow quite differently. The Green Giant on the left is taller and thinner – the one on the right shorter and fatter, although both were the same size when planted and put in the ground at the same time. You have to just love how nature is quirky and irregular.
What’s the problem with Leyland cypress? – bonnie
Great question, Bonnie! Here’s the problem with these plants: They grow fast and NEVER STOP GROWING…but more importantly, they grow very long, skinny branches. These plants are full and thick in the garden centers because they’ve been sheared annually, but most homeowners don’t or can’t do this. So they grow thin over time, not providing the privacy needed. Then they grow too big! They get 15 to 25 feet wide and 60 feet tall, very quickly. Most people plant them too near the driveway, street, fence, neighbor’s property etc and then they have to have professionals come in once a year to shear them so that they stay thicker and don’t extend into the street, house, or neighbor’s yard. Because they grow so large they shade your property and your neighbor’s and people soon find they have no sun to grow the plants they want to see. And they eat backyards and side yards up with their growth. They also get winter damage and diseases.
People are seduced by the full look of the plant in the nursery, and by the promise of “fast screening.” Most regret planting them because once they become too large and costly to shear every year it’s hard to rip them out and “go back” to no screening…so you’re stuck with the maintenance and the fact the trees are taking up too much room.
actually leyland lifespan is short as they are susceptible to ceridium canker and bagworms, etc. By the time they die they are huge and cost a lot to remove. So they are cheap up front but expensive in the long run.
As they get tall the tops shade the bottom branches which thin/brown out and you stop having privacy. Not a great tree at all.
Hi – you mention these trees grow thin over time. How fast do they grow thin? I’m not wanting to plant these myself. I live in a rural area and there is a developer who wants to build a gun range very close to my property. Their plans suggest they will build sound walls and plant Leyland cyprus and thuja trees in order to reduce the noise from the gunshots. I’m curious – if you purchase trees at the maximum heigh for planting – how long before they are effective at noise reduction? In your opinion – are they effective at noise reduction? How long does it take for the “thinness” of the trees to occur without regular shearing? Thank you!
I’m afraid I have no experience with using these for noise reduction. I do think that they would be better at noise reduction than Leyland Cypress, and they grow as fast as Leylands do. Beyond that, I don’t have any information to guide you. Good luck!
Hi, I could use some help/perspective. I planted two greens about 13ft from my home and 2 ft from my privacy fence. I am trying to block neighbors view. But I didn’t do enough research at the time on height and now freaking out as they will eventually tower over my roof. Should I move them or maybe I am overthinking this?
They will grow to at least 30 feet high and 12 feet wide. You have to take the “Giant” part of their name seriously. Move them while you still can.
I was thinking about planting these in my Cape yard to provide a wind barrier as my garden is only .4 mile from the beach. They would have a southeastern exposure. Is this too much sun or too close to the beach? Thanks Pam
Pam,
It depends on a few things. 1. Is there anything else between you and the beach that breaks the wind? Buildings that are two stories high, for example? Larger trees? If so, they should be fine but if there are only 1 story buildings and smaller trees, they might be a bit too exposed once they get tall. 2. Do you need a really tall plant for screening? These grow VERY tall – would they block a neighbor’s view of the ocean? Would they shade what is now a sun-filled garden on your or your neighbor’s property? They will grow 30 feet high or higher. 3. If you need a wind screen, my guess is that you don’t need such a tall plant. I’d plant a mixed screen if I were you, including some upright Hinoki False Cypress, upright Yews, and Eastern red cedars. All of these are very wind-tolerant. Do them in groups of three, slightly staggered into a triangle if there is room, with a blooming shrub such as a LimeLight Hydrangea, Rose of Sharon and Physocarpus ‘Center Glow’ in between the groups. That way you get assorted colors and textures of foliage, flowers and the wind screen as well.
My neighbor recently had groupings of green giant planted 2-4 feet from our shared property line. He has a very large lot. His home is about 20 yards from the property line. My lot is long and very narrow. My home is about 8 feet from the property line. There was a swale between our properties. The shrubs were placed higher then the ground level and plenty of much wasadded right up to the fence pushing the swale entirely on my property.. I am very concerned because his plantings will completely dominate my yard and control what I can and can not do with that side of my property. What are my options?
Marta,
Yes, these grow to be very tall evergreens so if they are to the south or west of your land they will shade your yard significantly. If they are planted to the North of your land they will not shade your yard as much. If they are planted on your neighbor’s side, however, there isn’t much you can do except talk to your neighbors about your concerns. This is also true of the pushing of the low, moist area onto your yard in the process. If your neighbors had a landscaping firm do the work it’s possible that they are not aware of the changes that were made to your property. I’d suggest that you ask the neighbor to come over to look at the impact on your yard with you…they may or may not agree to move the trees further toward their house, but if you don’t approach them in a friendly manner to begin with you’ll never know what might have been possible. Worth a try.
Have you had any disease problem with your green giants?
No – I have never had any disease problems nor have I noticed any in our area. But every region is different and I don’t know about the place where you live and what diseases are common there.
Thankful for your response. I live in Georgia and unfortunately an arborist told me that my 8 large leyland’s – over 50 ft each-have seiridium canker. I am going to try to save them, but there is no cure and the treatment cannot be guaranteed. I will use green giants if they have to be replaced. I wanted to know if green giants are prone to disease as well.
Miriam,
You’ve hit on one of the reasons I hate Leyland cypress. Green Giants are far superior in the world of fast-growing evergreens!
I can see why you think these are great until your neighbor plants them on your property line. These should not be allowed to be planted unless you have the proper growing space.
Nothing should be planted on a neighbor’s property. But know that you have the legal right to cut any and all foliage that extends over your property line, so if you’d like to trim your neighbor’s plants where they hang over your yard, by all means do so!
I live in North Georgia..I have a 160 feet wide backyard shared by two neighbors. I am planning to do three of these around the deck..What other option you would recommend to grow on the side?
These get far too large to grow near a deck.
Hi! Great site! I’m planning to purchase 6 to 7 foot Green Giants. I’ve read that they need at least 6hours sun/partial shade a day. Since they are already at my desired height will they die if I have less sun time.
Thank you,
Melinda
Melinda – if they are already your desired height you’ll be upset when they very quickly add 14 more feet to their current size….
I am planting 7 GGA between my very nosy neighbor and me. He’s always texting or coming across my lawn find out what I’m doing or telling what he and his wife think I am doing. We have lots of space And trees between us, I want to get close enough to the property line for him to understand my boundary but not so close that they grow over on his. There is no fence because they like the open space. Which is fine except for the lack of boundary issue that we have. Is 10 feet enough space from the property line? Would 8 feet be better? For the screening part I want them close enough together to make a screen do they don’t see my every move but not actually touching , how far apart should they be. Looking up the mature width it seems to vary a lot. I also have other trees that I’m taking into consideration because I want to keep them. There will be two then three then two. In groups because of where the other trees are. Thank you for your time and wisdom!
If you want to be sure your neighbor can’t prune these plants, place them so the trunk (center of plant) is at least six to eight feet from the line. These plants grow quickly to about 8 feet in diameter so if you plant them that far from the line you’ll be safe. How close together depends on how fast you want them to build a “wall” – If you want that to happen quickly, plant them six to eight feet apart, center to center. If you want a looser look that will fill into a wall, stagger them somewhat – one five feet from center to line but the next eight feet from line, spacing them six to seven feet, trunk to trunk, apart. Then the next one back toward the line again. You’ll see the most growth in the third year after they go in, and that will continue afterwards every year.
How will the green giants do on a slope? I have an approximately 100 ft stretch of hillside in my backyard that is an eyesore and I do not want to continuously have to cover with pine straw. Will these grow well on the slope and in direct sunlight? I live in Georgia, I believe zone 8.
Patrick
It sounds like you need a weed-smothering ground cover, not a tall plant such as Green Giant. Green Giant will be very, very tall and wide – kind of massive, but won’t cover that slope to avoid you having to mulch. Plus I have no idea how steep the slope is. Slopes in full sun are usually dry, so you need something that is drought tolerant as well. Look into Green Mound Junipers (NOT any of the blue ones) and Liriope, aka Lily Turf.
Thanks for the great post. If they are about 4 feet from a privacy fence and they thin out on that side, will they come back if you remove the fence so they get full sun?
Most arborvitae don’t make new foliage from bare areas – so it the places facing the fence are now bare, they will not green up again.
I just planted (yesterday) seven GG 6 feet apart (from the trunk) and 6 feet from the neighbors stockade fence. It’ll be expensive to do but should since they are seven feet tall and heavy, but should I have these moved further from the fence?
Whether you move them or not is up to you but if they are six feet from the fence to the outside of the foliage right now, they should be okay although they will press against the fence in about six to eight years. If they are six feet from the center of the plant to the fence, they will be pressing against the fence in three or four years. Will they cause the fence to rot faster? Yes, if it’s wood. Will they be bare on the fence side and ugly if the fence comes down? Yes. Then the neighbors will need to decide if they want to replace the fence so that they don’t have to look at the bare, dead part of the trees. I planted Green Giants ten years ago. They were five feet tall and about three feet wide when I planted them. Now they are ten feet wide and about 25 feet tall. You have to take the “Giant” part of their name seriously.
I planted new 24” GGA in October of 2019. I live in Zone 5a. I covered them in burlap for the winter because I was concerned about winter burn and them being young. They grew nice this first full year—sprigs shooting up to 36”. Should I cover them again for the winter or will they be fine without any protection?
There is no way I can say “they will be fine” not knowing what the future will bring. What if it’s the coldest winter on record? What if someone sprays something on them from the street? What I can say is if these were my plants I wouldn’t cover them. After all, they are either the right plants for that location or not, and if not, wouldn’t I want to know right away? After all, I couldn’t cover them once they got to be over 6 feet tall, so why not find out immediately if they have what it takes for my location?
Sometimes it’s best to do our best without trying to totally control it all…and let Nature take over from there.
QUESTION! I have a beautiful row of 16 Green Giants across the back of our half acre property. They are 14 years old. As we live in the high desert of CA they haven’t grown like they might elsewhere, but they have gotten very large. After talking to a local nursery we decided to apply Tree and Shrub Insect Control as recommended. We have never prune or trimmed them but as I tried to measure the trunk prior to application I realized that one of them had five additional smaller trunks growing next to the main trunk. I cut out three of them leaving an unsightly opening in the row. I have noticed that there are many others that also have multi-trunks. Did I just kill one of my trees? Or should I remove other sucker trunks? I thought they were a single trunk tree. Do you have any advise or suggestions for me? Thank you.
Do not remove any other trunks! They are NOT “sucker trunks” but are how the plant naturally grows. Any that you take out will create bare areas that are not likely to fill in. Why the insect control? Did you see and identify insect damage? In general, avoid all insecticides unless absolutely necessary, and only after you have an accurate diagnosis of the problem, usually from an extension service.
Thank you. We live in the High Desert of CA and although they have grown and are full they looked like they were struggling. They would get bronze/copper areas and near dead areas. They always seem to recover, but never looked like the pictures all green and lush. I’ve thought it’s due to how dry we are here and wanted to give them deeper, longer water only a few times a month, but my husband set the water timer to less water more frequently.
I’ve already applied the Tree and Shrub to the first three trees. After what you advised I think I’ll take a wait and see approach before giving it to the rest. They have been very easy trees and we’ve never touched them before. Boy do I wish I hadn’t touched them yesterday! I wish I had found your site first! :<(
Now that they're mature it sounds like you don't think it will fill in. Is that right? I wish I could send you a before and after picture.
Thank you for your advice.
At this point you’ll have to wait and see what happens, but since Thuga don’t put out new growth from old wood, it’s unlikely that they will fill in. No need for photos. May The Force be with you!
Can the top of these be trimmed? As in letting the lush width grow, but trimming the top at 6-8 feet. Or will this kill the tree?
It won’t kill the tree if you trim off 6 to 10″ but if they are really tall, and you cut down to 6-8 feet, you will expose wood with that cut that can indeed lead to rot and death of the tree. Not to mention make it look odd. Once these are tall there is no making them short again. And even if you start trimming a few inches every year when they are six feet tall, you won’t stop them in their tracks. It’s nearly impossible to fight a plant’s genetics unless it’s planted in a shallow, bonsai dish.
I am considering planting Green Giants on our new property line as a privacy screen to block the road beyond. We are building a new home on the high point of 28 acres. The property line I’m wanting to plant the screen on is the East line that is shared with a pasture full of cattle on the other side. I’m not worried about my “neighbor” at all, The house will be roughly 230’ from that property line. My concern is the electric power lines run right above the property line fence. My thought was to plant the center of the tree about 8’ from the fence thinking in my area it will get maybe 12’ in diameter. I thought these only grow to about 40’ but now I’m unsure reading the comments above. We live in NW Kansas. Lots of wind & not a lot of rain. We have very sandy soil on our property. Per our conservation office, they say to deduct 25% off the trees maximum height for our area.
Will I be ok planting at that 8’ distance from the property line or do I need to allow more space?
Also, on the north side of house we’re going to do a 3-row windbreak. Is the Green Giant a good medium evergreen/arborvitae to use there as well with CO Blue Spruce? TIA
If you plant the center of the Green Giant 8 feet from the line you should be okay, but if you go 10 feet that would be better. These plants get large. You don’t say how close to the side of the house the windbreak will be – but if it’s closer than say 20 feet to the house it will feel pretty claustrophobic after ten years…not sure you need such a tall windbreak. I have no idea how blue spruce do in your region – look at them as you drive around to get a sense of how big they grow and if they stay full to the ground or not. (In my area they do not.)
Very good info thanks a lot . I have few question , 1) Can you prune the Green giant at the bottom of the tree on all sides for about 4 feet from the ground after it reaches about 10 to 12 feet , ? ,any restrictions on trimming in general ? 2) I read in the above posts that it will take up to 8 feet in diameter at mature time is that true? . 3) How many years it will take for green giant to mature ? I am planning to plant them in MD with about 6 feet apart and four feet from property line.
Yes, you can do this if you don’t want the privacy from ground up. Note that if you do it you can never go back – it won’t regenerate growth below. The general rule of thumb when you are doing this is to never remove more than 1/4 of the plant’s total height. So if the plant is 1 feet tall, don’t remove more than 3′. These are fast growing trees. Within 5 years they will be over the property line since they very quickly get to be ten feet wide.
Hi there! I realize this is a tad old but I’ve been seeking some answers on my GGs and your page is so informative!
I planted 13 6’ green giants along the NE side of my 3 acre property after my neighbor chopped down alllll of the 40 year old trees on his wooded lot. Two of them died thanks to his dogs coming over into my property and peeing on them almost daily. I ended up having to put up a fence anyway to protect my privacy screen! What a joke. So two questions – a third tree was damaged on the bottom 1/4 due to dog urine. I was able to catch it early and trim out the dead areas – the rest of the tree seems to be surviving – but after reading your blog now I’m wondering what to do…I assumed it would fill in over time. Is that not the case?
Second, I had needle drop in the early winter (zone 7)…all of the trees seem to be thinned out a bit. Is this natural for the season?
No, in bare places the plants won’t fill in again. Drop of oldest foliage is common.
I live in the city, where our lots are only 40′ wide and the non-patio part of the backyard only runs about 25′ deep, and my neighbor has an above ground pool with a small deck that’s ON the property line at the right edge of my yard. I have a 6′ wooden fence, but since the deck sits 4′ above ground level, anyone on it is staring down into my yard, making it feel like a fishbowl. My patio area is decently private thanks to being on the opposite side of my small raised back porch from them, but as a person who loves to garden, the pool situation is unfortunate, but I bought the house with it there and it’s not going away. The neighbor and I are pretty friendly and I could possibly ask them to create a privacy wall on their deck, but suggesting they erect a wall may not be the most elegant solution or the best idea for my garden, and the usual fast growing evergreens suggested as screens seem too wide unless I can let them grow along the fence while shearing them away from the center of the yard eventually. To avoid fall leaf drop into their pool as well as a spreading canopy that they’d likely want to cut back to maximize sun, a relatively upright evergreen nearish the fence line seems ideal, but will anything be 10 feet tall within five years or so without eventually shading out my entire yard? I’m on year three in this house and would like to actually be somewhat comfortable in my yard sooner than later. I could also plant smaller varieties of deciduous trees farther into my yard since I really only NEED screening from May to September and bare trunks and branches would provide enough filtering of the eyesore to satisfy me the rest of the year when it’s not actually in use. The deck is only about 8′ wide, so I wouldn’t need to create an entire border necessarily. Any suggestions? I’m in zone 6b, the spot in question is SW of my house with full sun and there’s nothing bigger than a shrub within 50′, clay loam soil, I can definitely irrigate the spot in question, and I’m open to spending more on more established trees especially if I can get away with only buying one or two. (Thanks for listening to my tree therapy needs!)
You need a local person to look at your situation. This is FAR too detailed for a comment in a blog post. But know that Green Giants are much to large for most urban settings.
Great info. I have a home that one of the sides is wood fenced by the county but is on a relatively busy street but where they will justify putting a concrete wall.
Any thoughts of staggering versus row to row for some noise abatement and how far from the fence? It’s about 200 feet. Thanks!
Your decision about how far from the fence totally depends on how much space ou have. I’d plant these with the center of the plant at least 8 feet from the fence, knowing how wide they grow. If you’ve got the room, stagger them.
Would it be possible to plant them 3-4 ft from a wood fence and trim them into basically a privacy hedge in a couple of years. Also would they damage the fence while growing
Joe – these are far too big to plant 4′ from a fence. You would need to plant them 6′ from a fence and even then they’d press against the fence in ab out 7 or 8 years. Take the name “Green Giant” seriously. If you need to plant 4′ from a fence, plant Emerald Green Arborvitaes, even though they are slower growing.
I have 1 acre in back yard bordering he turnpike .removed 22 old pines last yr need to replant would like GGA .looking to screen area of 140 ft across fence to fence . trees need to be able to stand sun and wind that blows to the south ..hearty trees to block out the roadway how many fo you suggest ?
You can plant these between 6 and 10 feet apart center to center.
We are planting these to create a privacy screen at the back edge of our 0.75 acre yard. We are on a hill in Pittsburgh and can see directly into neighbors houses behind us so the height these provide will be welcomed. There is no concern about encroaching on fence or property line; however, the back edge of our yard slopes down. My question is how far away from the start of the slope do we need to plant these to ensure good growth but also maximize our yard space? Thanks!
It’s really impossible for me to comment on this since I can’t see your yard or know how steep the slope is. To guess wouldn’t be doing you any favors!
Hello!
I live in Lake Tahoe and was so excited to find green giants at a local nursery as I’m looking for screening evergreens (literally crazy neighbor across the street and we have restraining order against her.) The trees are 10’ tall now and nursery sales guy said they won’t get much taller here??? We are planting in our front yard with full sun at hottest time of day, elevation 6,250. What growth should we expect?
I just bought some in Carson City. Hope yours are doing well.
If we plant green giants 5 feet apart, how wide will they get (diameter)? I am asusming they will stop growing once they start touching each other. By planting them 5 feet apart, I am assuming I can plant them 3 feet from the property line. Does that sound reasonable?
Each Green Giant will grow to about 10 feet in diameter in the first 10 years. So they will very quickly hang over the property line. Okay with your neighbors? If you palnt them 5 feet apart they will quickly be a green wall. I assume that’s what you want. But know that once they do grow together there is no turning back should you decide that you don’t want a solid green wall…once they’ve grown together if you take one out the remaining plants on each side will be bare where they touched, and they won’t fill in green again in those areas because these plants don’t produce new growth from bare, old wood. Take the “Giant” part of their name seriously.
We are thinking about growing GG Thuja as a hedge. What is the minimum thickness you would recommend? How far apart should they be planted for a hedge?
This would be a HUGE hedge. Not really a hedge plant, in my opinion. Who wants a hedge that is 12 feet wide and 25+ feet high? Plus you can’t prune heavily since if a Thuga is cut back to much, they don’t grow back from bare woods. Not a good choice for a hedge.
We are getting 10 of these to be used as a wind break on the west side of our property. We built on 4 acres and will be planting these next to farmland. My question is do we plant them in a row or do two staggered rows? We were thinking of placing them 12 feet apart?
I’d do it staggered – that way if one dies in three or four years, it won’t be so obvious if you need to stick another one in that space. When you plant something in a row, any damage is always very noticeable.
Hello, love all the information on here so far. My question is…I’m planting a two row staggered windbreak/visual barrier. Very long, a total of 1300 ft. I ordered 200 tree seedlings. My plan was to plant them at either 12 or 13′ on center with one in between at a 4′ distance perpendicular. Should create roughly 7-8 ft between trees at the diagonal. Will this still be tight enough at that distance to create the “wall” that we are hoping for eventually?
Yes but it will take about 10 years to make that wall. If you want it faster, move them to 10′ on center.
Hi I have 9 Green Giants about 15 feet tall and the one on the end about 5 feet snapped off of top. What do I do? Will it grow or will it die??
You will wait and see what happens. It’s not likely to die but it might just get fatter and not grow as tall. In any case, it’s in Nature’s hands now.
Hello. Thank you for this post. I am strongly considering planting a Green Giant as a specimen tree to screen the view from my neighbor’s upstairs window down into my backyard. Previously the view was screened by Red Tip Photinia but after 35 years, they have died out. I have a 6 foot privacy fence. I plan to plant the GG about 12 foot from the fence. It will get about 6-8 hours of full sun, planted in the NE corner of my lot. I need to prune the bottom 4 – 5 foot of the GG back to the trunk. I need clearance to maneuver the lawn mower, see what my dogs are up to, etc. As much as I love the look of them, and would love to have one in the backyard, I’m not sure it is a suitable choice. I’m not sure that bare bottom will be good for the GG. What do you think?
I’ve found most evergreens look fine when “limbed up” but only if the top 2/3 (better 3/4) is left green. So if you plant a 6′ GG, for example, I wouldn’t limb it up more than a foot or two the first year – otherwise it will look bad and won’t get established as quickly with less foliage to photosynthesize. So I’d say you will need to live with it being full to the ground or close to it for the first three years. Maybe a taller evergreen or semi-evergreen would be better in that it will already have a trunk…maybe a magnolia?
Thank you for your quick response! A local grower has some on sale and I now feel confident about making the purchase.
I can live with it being full to the ground for the first three years. I don’t mind “limbing up” just a little each year after it is established. From what I’ve learned here and elsewhere, I should have some time before the bottom gets large enough to encumber me. My main concern was that it would weaken it and shorten it’s lifespan. I think if I plant it 12 feet from the fence the foliage over 6 foot in height should not ever encroach on the neighbors space, just their line of sight down into my yard. I did consider a magnolia or a blue cypress (never a Leyland), but I need the height sooner rather than later. Maybe if I’d planted something 10-15 years ago but the red tips still looked great then.
Hello, we live in N Georgia and need a fast growing evergreen 40′-60′ high. Leylands were planted near our property line 20+ years ago by a previous owner. The Leylands are still here and 50′ to 60′ tall. We need to plant 1 to 2 more trees near the property line to provide blocking from the neighbor’s outdoor lighting installed on a 30’ft pole. Our local nursery calls their Leylands “Green Giant” and said they would only grow about 30′. Does that sound correct?
Leyland cypress are a totally different plant. In my opinion, Green Giant arborvitae are far superior because they don’t need pruning to keep them thick to the ground.
Hello, I have 16 Green Giant arborvitaes in my back yard along a 6′ tall white fence with a neighbor that keeps insisting that the leaves from these trees keep falling in their yard. (funny) My question is can they trim my arborvitas? They are not hanging in their yard and are growing straight-up. And do they need permission from me to do this?
They are about 3 years old now and 14 – 16 ft tall. They were planted 5 ft. from the fence and are now barely touching the fence. They are giving much needed privacy for us. thank you
Jean,
They cannot legally trim any plant that is not hanging over onto their property. They can’t touch any plant that is on your side of the property line. And frankly, these plants don’t shed much foliage so maybe they are blaming your trees for other leaf litter? That said, bake some cookies or brownies. Take these over to your neighbors and invite them to your yard for cocktails or tea. Ignore their claims about leaves in their yard and make nice with them. Find common ground.
There is a lot of mixed information about these plants online with varying specs on height and width. I’m in zone 6 and reserved 15 “Thuja plicata green giant western arborvitae’s”. I just cleared all the dead trees that were in front of my back stone wall and graded it out to be flush with the rest of the yard. I have 90 feet to cover from left to right, planned on spacing them 7 feet off the wall, and 6 feet apart. What kind of width can I expect out of these trees? I’d like them to stay under 12ft wide and I am okay with 25-30ft tall. How can they grow wider than they are spaced? I have a lot of deer passing through my yard and was advised this would be my best option.
Thanks in advance for your help!
These trees grow about 10 feet wide in about 16 years. If they are spaced 6 feet apart they will just grow in together quickly, so you’ll have a solid wall of green instead of individually spaced plants. This isn’t a problem unless one of them dies. If one dies, the places where they touched will be bare and won’t fill in again. You will be able to plant a new one in that spot, however, should this unlikely event happen.
As a single tree what would be the 20 year maximum diameter? Good location with ample sun. Obviously won’t hold you to any answer you give. Just looking for a reasonable guess. Lots of great information. Thanks
A single tree would be between 10 and 12 feet in diameter in full sun after 15 to 20 years.
Hi there – great info! Just planted 5 of these that are about 3 ft wide and 6 fr tall, staggered along a driveway with forsythia and holly shrubs alternating in between. The site is a mix of sun and shade … slightly more shade than sun when taller deciduous trees are leafed out . The driveway is our second driveway that neighbors have an easement to pass through to their property so purpose of these trees and shrubs is to provide privacy from traffic on this driveway and street above. Any idea how fast these might grow in more shade? Also can I trim the driveway side bit by bit to keep the tree full but manage that driveway for a bit of a buffer ? Or are we just looking at the driveway side of a couple trees being bare eventually? You had mentioned will not regrow. Just wondering if a special type of minimal pruning could be useful and effective, as well as the growth in more shade – thanks! Any advice on slow release fertilizer would be appreciate. We tend to use sustaine 464
These will grow 3′ per year after they are established – their third year. They will moderate their height if there are tree branches above, but in such cases they grow wider. Count on them growing 10 feet wide (five feet out from the trunks in all directions) in the first ten years. If you cut into the center and expose old, bare branches, they do not regrow. There is no way to keep them smaller by pruning.
Do not fertilize unless you want them to grow bigger and faster.
I have a row of Green Giants along the edge of my backyard. Most were planted 3 years ago and appear to be thriving. They are about 15 feet high and 6-8 feet wide. They are starting to interlace with each other.
I have been mulching them every fall, but wonder if I should continue. It’s tough to get under the trees at this point and I’m worried the mulch won’t really air out. I’ve found a lot of advice on mulching newly planted GG’s but not so much on established trees. Thank you for any thoughts.
If you’re applying only an inch or two of mulch, that’s fine. Any thicker is too much. But frankly, underneath these plants you shouldn’t have to mulch for weed control. And if they are shedding foliage underneath, as most plants do, that decaying foliage will amend the soil, which is how nature feeds her plants. So I agree that underneath these plants you might not want to mulch. Just under the canopy and beyond, however, you can continue to spread an inch a year.
Thank you. I live on a hill (so some runoff) and my area (southeastern MA) can be a bit prone to droughts in the summer (definitely this one!), so I have been mostly mulching to retain moisture and keep the roots cool. It makes sense that the trees would fertilize themselves, so I will stop adding mulch below (and feeding!).
I hadn’t thought of going a bit beyond the canopy, but that is a good idea. The Queen Anne’s Lace might get sniffy, but it is given too wide a latitude anyway 😉
I have a row of green giants. They’ve been planted for 8 years and doing great until this year. One developed an infestation of bag worms and now the two next to it are infested also. Is it too late to do anything to stop them? I’ve read to spray with Bt, but one site said it’s too late to spray this year, that they need to be sprayed in June. Any advice? Thanks!
I’d go ahead and spray with spinosad, not Bt (it’s similar – look at Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew). Then spray again next June. Keep them otherwise healthy with a deep watering once a week if you can.
Hello – we have a 3′ high retaining wall that runs along our driveway, about 70′ long. The retaining wall is holding up a larger hill that is about 15′ wide, and on a 30% slope, bordered by an upper driveway. (So – two driveways, with a swath of sloped land between them). We are hoping to plant a large hedge / privacy screen to block out the upper driveway and all the traffic flow on it. Is there anything I need to consider about planting these trees about 8′ apart to create a tall privacy wall/hedge? Roots? Slope? Damage to Retaining wall? Upper driveway?
You’ll need to plant Green Giants in the center of that 15 foot area so that they don’t get too wide and go into the driveway. Slopes are hard to water so consider how you’ll keep these watered while they are getting established.
Hello- We just got 20 gga all 4/5ft from a nursery and big box store, lol. As they are waiting to be planted and still in there pot, how should we should water them? We’re going to use the as a “green wall of stop seeing neighbors thong butt every summer” I was thinking of planting them 3ft apart and 5 or 6ft away from neighbors property line, would this be good?
You’ve probably already planted them, but 3 feet apart is FAR too close! I would place them no closer than 5 feet apart and even then that is crowding them. They grow quickly… if I wanted a green wall to stop thong butt, I’d place them 6 feet apart and within two years the thongs will be hidden.
I ordered several GG for a privacy screen based in part on an online chart showing different heights based on spacing. However, I have not had much luck finding corroborating information anywhere else. Most sites/videos seem to place them at 40-60 feet tall. Is the following information accurate? Also, I’m in zone 7a if that makes a difference. I really don’t want them any taller than 30-35 feet.
Desired Height/Distance Between Trees
20-25 feet tall 5 feet apart
25-30 feet tall 8 feet apart
30-40 feet tall 10 feet apart
First of all, know that all height and width information given for plants is an estimate. Plants can grow much taller and wider than they are “supposed to” given ideal conditions. Also, they can be smaller if the soil is more compact/less fertile, the site is windy, or if there are over-story trees that limit their growth. I planted three GG’s at the same time and one is a full 10 feet shorter than the one next to it, since there is a taller oak with branches that hang over the shorter GG. In response to having a shorter ceiling, the plant has moderated its growth in height, but has become much wider than the other plants as well. My plants were 5 feet tall when I planted them, and now the tallest, which stretches to the open sky, is at least 35 feet tall only 14 years later. I pass by a “hedge” of these plants every day on my way to work, and it’s a wall of GG’s that is at least 40 feet tall and 12 to 14 feet wide. So my advice is don’t plant these unless they can grow very large.
Hi, I’d love to see the 40 ft tall GG hedge. Can you share the approximate location so I can check it out on google maps?
Sorry – I don’t have an address for Google maps.
How far do you recommend planting them from an open aluminum fence that does not touch any neighbors property? And very far from any other structures.
You’d want to plant these at least 10 feet from any fence or structure.
will this work as understory? under large oaks with partial shade? what is the risk that it won’t work and how will it look with insufficient light? yellow and brown leaves?
thanks for the response
These are too big for understory. If Rhododendrons or American Holly are hardy where you live, those would be better.