Growth rates among arborvitaes vary across the spectrum from extremely slow (miniature and dwarf varities) to quite rapid (Green Giants, for instance). What type (species, cultivar, etc) did you buy?

first/.. they are conifers .... not shrubs.. those words will matter in the future.. especially in regard to pruning ...

second.. as noted.. arb really means little ... we need to know the second latin name.. as well as a cultivar name.. to be able to research the annual growth rate.. after establishment ...

ken

P.S.
If you know the cultivar name (example: 'Hetz Midget'), you really don't have to know the species name (the second latin name). Except in rare cases, a cultivar name should only be found once within a genus.

True for the dwarfs growing slow - I have one that's got to be close to 20 years old and is just now about 6'.

Thanks for the responses! I have emerald green arborvitae. I forgot there are so many different kinds! So let me know! Thanks!

Normal growth rates for Emerald Green (Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd') are between 6" to 12" per year once established and tapering off as they reach about 12' to 15'. I'd be suprised to see more than about 18" per year even in ideal conditions.

From Googling for information on Emerald Green - which is very easy to do...

Mature Height: 10-15 ft.
Mature Width: 3-4 ft.
Growth rate: Moderate (6"-12" avg. per yr.)

Another site confirms moderate growth rate; up to a foot a year once established. Grows faster in full sun.

When it comes to living things, there are no absolutes - only guide lines arrived at by study and observation.

Protect them (especially over the winter) to avoid severe damage if you're in deer country.

I think there is a little bit of an art to googling when it comes to getting information about plants. There are lots of sites with incorrect or misleading information. I find completely incorrect information quite often on sites like Dave's Garden and many nursery websites. Some types of sites are more reliable than others. Most of the time, I've found ag extension sites to be reasonably reliable. Anyone without quite a bit of experience should at least look at a number of sites and get an average of many opinions before accepting the data from a google search.

Oh, and the other part to the art of googling is knowing what terms to use. Sometimes five minutes of thought before googling can save you thirty minutes or more of reading and searching.

This cultivar is rather slow growing in my area (zone 5 Milwaukee).

Typically takes a 3ft'er 10 years before it hits 10ft.

They seem to do best in well drained, consistently moist soils.

I planted some Emerald Green Arborvitae a couple of years ago. I live in upstate NY and my area has a lot of clay in the soil. When I planted the trees, I purchased a few loads of good topsoil, tilled and amended the soil and then placed the trees in a raised burm(term?). They seem very happy there. They are thriving and grow at around 1ft. per year. They get a fair amount of sunlight in their location.

Lillyfinch,
Look at the plant places (HD, Lowes) in the end of September, buy yourself a good 6-7 footer for about 30.00 and mulch and water real well.
They aren't expensive to get a decent size tree or shrub.
i love Emerald green, I have one I bought last fall, it is small, but I knew they grew slow.
You can't beat the gorgeous green color, go buy bigger ones.

I just purchased 2 Emerald Green Arborvitaes. They are about 3 ft tall. I planted them in pots to stand on each side of my doorway that faces south. I live in SE Oklahoma. Can they be kept trimmed back to a height of 5 ft? Or do I need start over with something else?

One of my famous asides follows: The parent species-Thuja occidentalis-is always and everywhere considered slow-growing. So, up in my plantation, this an old farm field, I occasionally transplant native species T. o.'s that are coming up suppressed in too-deep shade or over-crowded under a mother tree in the woods. I have no idea how old these things are at time of moving, so that skews what I'm about to report, just a bit. Anyway, back maybe in 2010 or so, I moved some into an area where I've also planted some red pine, white pine, Norway spruce, etc.....all known to be fast growers. Last weekend, standing there looking at this patch, the tallest of all were the Thujas. And by a considerable margin. Now this is perfect conditions for that species, but it ain't shabby for the others either. I found that interesting, that the native tree, at least in youth, does not appear to be all that slow a grower. Keep in mind, most of the named cultivars of this plant were selected for even greater foliar density and this speaks to a slower overall growth rate, or height increment anyway. The species, by contrast with these cultivars, is a rangier, more tree-like thing, with easily discernible branch tiers, not unlike a spruce or pine. Not the tight little bun of a cultivar. They still end up being very dense, but not in the hyped-up manner of 'Smaragd' et al.

+oM

gailfergie, growing trees in containers acts as a natural dwarfing mechanism. Since the root run is restricted, the top growth will be restricted as well. So do not expect these containerized trees to grow at the same rate as inground planted trees would grow. It should be relatively easy to maintain them at the desired height but don't wait too long before you start with pruning/shearing to keep them in form. It is better to do a little trimming or shaping early and often than to wait and be forced to cut back too heavily.

You should also be aware that growing a tree long term in a container is not a 'plant and forget' situation. You need to be diligent about finding the correct potting soil, pay careful attention to both watering and fertilization and be prepared to unpot, root prune and repot in fresh media periodically. If you search on the Container Gardening forum you will find a long running thread on growing trees in containers that should be very helpful.

Thank you so much for this information! Most appreciated!