I read this a couple days ago. I think the reason you may not have had a response, is most people that have planted Green Giants in New England, haven't had them in the ground for five years. I planted one as a trial a year ago. It is in a heavily shaded area, to replace a hemlock, and it has grown quite well and made it through last winter. Keep us posted how yours are coming along.

I haven't replied to this thread because you laid down some very specific criteria in the original post. However, you might find my experience with the GG's interesting nevertheless even though I'm in z6b. I planted 21 of them as a screen a couple of years ago. They were 7ft tall when I planted them and after 2 1/2 years, they are now 12-13 ft tall. I've been extremely happy with them. They have survived 2 very bad years of drought (including this year on the South Shore), high winds, and heavy snow without a problem. I couldn't be any happier with them. I also like their wonderful scent. Here are some pictures when I planted them and last October when they were 1 1/2 years older. The pictures are misleading in that they are actually in full sun even though there are trees around and forest in the background. My property is actually to the right of the GGs. I put them up to screen out my neighbor's pool (shown in the picture) and their house.

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Many thanks to Tree_Oracle and Hostasz6a for you responce.
I live on the boader of MA and NH. If your GG can go that big, mine can too, may need more year, since they start just 14". I will let you know next year (and next next year)how big those 40 GG will be.

Tree_Oracle, your GGs look great. I have many of the Nigra variety of Arborvitaes, but they don't grow that fast.

Can you tell me where you bought them, because I have never seen them for purchase at 7 ft. tall?

Thank you.

Nature,

I bought mine at That Bloomin Place in Scituate, MA. At the time I bought them, they were only $70 apiece. They usually come with a smaller rootball than most trees that size since their root system is fairly aggressive. That made them fairly easy to plant. GGs grow so fast because of their Western Arborvitae heritage. Western Arborvitae grow to be very large trees so it will be interesting to see how large the GGs eventually get. You have a variety of Eastern Arborvitae which do not have the growth rate or size of their Western cousins. Two things I don't like about Eastern Arborvitae are their tight shape and the ugly yellowish-brown color they turn in the winter although your Nigra probably don't have much of a discoloration problem. The GG's have a loose foliage similar to a hemlock that I really like. They discolor a little in winter but they are still quite green. It's kind of a purplish-yellowish-green.

Thanks Tree_Oracle.

My Dark American Nigras do stay green in the winter, but in the fall some of their leaves do turn brown and fall off. No big deal but the first year it happened, I thought they were sick and was a little in panic since I had just planted 30 of them.

I just planted one in November that I got online. It's about two feet tall. I am dying to see if it lives up to the 3-5 feet peryear of growth it's reputed to have. I have it in full sun in a very rich organic soil. I am hoping for quick privacy.

I posted a reply back in July. My GG is in fairly heavy shade, but it did manage to grow a foot the first year. Usually plants take awhile to establish. It is planted in a well drained site with plenty of compost. I kept it watered during dry spells. It did survive last winter. I bet the full sun would be real helpful. As I stated earlier, I used it to replace a hemlock that is still hanging on.

I know this is an old thread, but how much do they grow in a year, if given optimum conditions, and hoiw are the ones already listed in this post doing? Any of those members still here? Pictures anyone?