there are many posts in the conifer forum on thuja occidentalis ... or arbs

this is the PERFECT time to be planting.. IF you do it right

are they really 3 inches tall.. or is that a mis-typing???

anything titled green giants.. is all within the same realm as they are thuja/arbs also .... no need to be specific to EGreens

ken

LOL, I can't believe I did that! No, they are 2 1/2 to 3 feet in height. Thanks for clarifing. Glad that it's not just ok but PERFECT to plant now. If I can find something that is taller that would be ideal but will have to see. I have to amend the soil first and that will be next week. We just dug up the stumps from the lilac's that were there.

we do not recommend amending soil when we plant trees .. which conifers are ... and that is covered in any post in the conifer and tree forums with a title that asks about planting ...

ken

Thanks for the info. But am confused. I buy all my plants at Enlish Garden's and that is where I went looking for advice and to buy the arborvitae. They suggested amending the soil because I had lilacs there. The area at least needs to be leveled with more dirt and tilled over. I also have to remove ditch lilies that cover the area. Sorry, but I am very new to gardening.

If you saw some of the lean soils that arbs (and many other conifers) grow quite well in, you'd see they rarely need amending. Having had lilacs there before doesn't matter as long as the soil is workable.

tj

Hi taxinjazz, I just finished doing the same thing about 2-3 weeks ago. I had to cut down 18 arborvitaes after they had been ruined by an ice storm a couple of years back, so I planted 9 3ft arborvitaes in the holes that were left for me by the man who grinded the broken ones down. It was a huge pain in the butt too, I not only had to deal with tons of roots, but also lots of rocks and so far, they seem to be doing okay, even in all the torrential rain storms we've been having these past few weeks.

I did amend the soil somewhat, it was hard for me to do, but wouldn't have if I had known ahead of time that it's not a good idea. Anyway, the real test will be how they do through the winter; we have some real nasty winters here in western Massachusetts.

I would like to touch base with you next spring to see how well yours are doing, and I'm sure they'll be doing just fine. The arborvitaes that were along the fence line prior to the ones that I just planted were magnificent before the ice storm, and my soil isn't the best, that's for sure.

Good luck!

Linda

Taxinjazz,
You had lilacs growing there, so your soil isn't bad soil.
Just remove everything that you want, including the lillies.
Till the soil, you have the right idea.
You don't have to ammend the soil if it is decent soil.
THe roots on your tree must grow into the surrounding soil as it grows bigger for strength and support.
If you put compost into the soil, the roots aren't going to want to spread into the soil that doesn't have it.
THe roots will stay where the good compost is,not venture out and spread, which they should, especially when the tree becomes larger and needs nice deep, wide roots for support.
So, unless your soil is absolutely horrible like mine, (I can't even call my dirt soil), you really shouldn't use anything but nice natural soil when you plant it.
And mulch.
Lots of mulch.

It has now been a few years and my arborvite are doing very well and look beautiful. Very happy with the outcome. I do have one concern. I may have planted them too close together. I ended up finding 8 arborvite that were 6 ft. tall at a good price. I planted them all in a row and after looking online I found a grower that said I could plant the trees 2 feet on center I believe. I planted them 2 1/2 feet on center which is 6 inches less than what is recommended from most places. I was told that the trees should grow outward when they get to close together. Is this true? I have at least 4 ft from the fence so I'm hoping they will grow out to meet the fence once they become a full hedge.