if they will not accept the gift.. i would move them in fall.. when you are sure there will be no more 100 degrees day .. and nights will be more certain to be in the 60's or so ... actually though.. if it were me i would not move a 10 foot tree ... but if they dont want them.. and they want them moved... and you have to dig them out anyway ... may as well try ... ken

I planted 50 leyland's 3 years ago. They were in the 5 gallon buckets, about a foot tall each. Now they are 12 to 14 feet tall. Not one has died, gotten cancer or been toppled. I live in Northwest Georgia. These trees have seen the most extreme weather our area has seen in years. Let me give some unsolicited advice, with all due respect. 1. Whether they are green giant or leyland or arbovitae of any kind: Make sure you know your soil, make sure you know your frost level, and make sure you PLANT AND WATER AND FERTILIZE them appropriately. If you don't have time to manage them, then don't plant them. 2. Plant them far away from structures you don't want them to grow into. i.e: fences, buildings, septic tanks, neighbors who hate their shade etc. 3. plant them double their pot width, ONLY to the top of the pot you bought them with and with 1/2 native soil and the other half conducive to your local weather and environment. Be prepared to tie them off with rope that have maybe some cut pieces of garden hose around the rope to keep them from choking and which will help keep them level in high wind times if you are in a high wind area. 4. Applying water and appropriate nutrients is huge, but easy. GG's and Leyland demand alot of water if on a slope with hard clay or dense soil. Down south if you are in red clay, then water them morning and night for the first month or two. If you are up north or in moist soil, once a week watering with any spronkler system is going to be ok, just dont overwater at night, stick to early mornings. I applied 10/10/10 in a circle about 1 foot out from the tree bole in early spring, and then again early summer, because my red clay is very acidic, hence the 10/10/10. Nice basic nutrients. 5. Don't flip out about the cancer issues that you might tend to google; you are planting a long term resource for shade and beauty and perhaps privacy, so pay attention to your trees....daily. If the branches are browning on the outside but green on the inside, that ok, it's just growth. If you see a ring around the trunk, then do some research, I won't go into detail here. Just watch your trees, and remember, if you are planting in a row or around fences/property, your soil may be very different from one side to the other. The pic below is a recent one of my Leyland's after 3 years. They started out at about a foot. This is in PACKED Georgia red clay with lots of rocks. You may experience some growtg difference, but if they look healthy, they are healthy. I must say: Your initial soil preparation is huge. Plant them well. The GG's and Leyland's have a tap root that if given proper care, will grow deep and delve for nutrients. Out of 50 planted not one has died or had a problem. I am not a tree doctor nor do I play one on TV. I am...a lover of oxygen.

I think many conifers grow very slowly. Pine trees are the exception. They grow very fast. You may consider those, but they are wayyyyyy more than 20ft. Another fast growing conifer is the Witchita Blue Juniper. It will get 4-8 ft wide and 15-20 ft tall. If you plant them, make sure to plant 4 feet next to each other. It can be used as a screen or a windbreak and will need no pruning. It also has appealing color. Goodluck with what ever you choose.

to repeat some ... interior browning is normal.. no conifer holds its needles forever ... they are a full sun plant for prime growth.. yours appear shaded.. which will not hurt them.. other than reduce vigor to some extent ... i doubt they had mites ... i think your sales man made part of a boat payment ... otherwise ... and this is going to be hard for you ... THEY LOOK ABOUT NORMAL... you have rather large transplants.. that is not favored here ... they take longer to get 'established' ... and the shade issue may extend that .. and they are probably still working on that ... seriously .. that looks like a normal GG .. and its alive.. what more do you want ... seriously.. they grew 2 feet in a year.. 2 years after a large transplant.. and you are not happy about it???? what more can they do.. barbie you a burger and fetch a beer .. then what.. you will complain the beer was warm .... lol i suspect.. your only problem is your expectations of more ... GG NEVER live up to the hype that surrounds them .. they are not going to grow 3 to 5 or more feet per year .. IMHO good luck ken