Did I buy Green Giant arborvitae or something else?

Isabella Wilcox

last year

last modified: last year

Hi,

I purchased some 7’ tall (height after planted in ground) Green Giant Arborvitae from local nursery.

They were selling it cheaper because they are pot grown and not as full as field grown.

after receiving the trees, I realize they look more like mini trees than other Green giant photos Ive seen online. The trunk doesnt have many branches and very bare.

The nusery said I just need to trim the top 1’ off and they will fill in one year.

my questions:

1. Are these green giants?

2. How do I make them fuller?

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Comments (5)

3onthetree
last year
They look to have been bare root specimens ready for shipping, didn't sell, so then they put them in pots. You cannot plant them what looks like <12" from the fence. And maybe 36" spacing? Mature size of plants have to be considered when planting.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
The ascending branch structure makes them look more like Leyland cypress than GG arborvitae. And I agree that whatever they are, that planting situation and spacing is far too constricting. Even for the vary narrow growing arbs like Smaragd or American Pillar.
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For deep shade, isn't Magnolia Grandiflora a good choice for a privacy screen in shade? I don't know how they do in zone 6, but down here, they are are the common plant for privacy plantings. I think there are some varieties suitable for "zone pushing." There are some threads on gardenweb that discuss the success of different varieties of M. grandiflora raised northward. Resist the temptation to trim off the lowest limbs on magnolias! Whatever plant you choose, if you have the room, site your plants in a zig-zag fashion rather than a straight line. The straight line just never looks natural of course, and fails as a formal planting as well, because the trees never grow evenly. Maybe the experts will chime in on whether M. grandiflora is a good idea for a zone six privacy screening in shade. If not, maybe some holly varieties? I know they're not conifers... Terry
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Sorry was out of town. Give the arbs some room. All the information is there if you look. The closer you plant the arbs the sooner they will make a hedge but they will continue to grow in diameter since that's their genetic make up. Take a look at photos on Google. You'll see plenty of photos of Techny 8' in diameter. You gotta do what you gotta do. Plus you can prune arborvitae and it regenerates it's "evergreen" foliage from stems without wood with sufficient light. If it were I doing this, I'd space them 10' away from the mature spruce and space them 5' to 6' apart. Just my take and my acceptance to wait for them to make a hedge. +oM, have seen a lot of posters on here in zone 4 with complete rows of dead GG's. Good/great soil certainly will help significantly as will size of root mass at planting time. I imagine you have some pretty good soil up there in Wisconsin on that land? Plus you're a god damn pro at this stuff! ;-) Dax
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Peeing would not account for the glassy paleness of the remaining green foliage. Nor for conspicuous yellowing > browning extending up the center of some of the trees. Also a dog would not go along the entire row and pee on every tree, all the way around each one, and cause entire large sections to go completely dead after a few months. This is a watering issue, considering the seasonal timing - and general appearance of the trees - very likely not enough. Otherwise over-watering may be possible. If I am seeing a soaker hose or drip line and that is all you have been using it may not have been enough for newly planted specimens. Until newly installed plants root out well what needs to be monitored is moisture conditions inside the original root-balls. If you have instead been only looking at the soil around them up to this point then you may be in for a surprise.
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I am late to respond, but I just stumbled on some Green Giants at the nursery at Canadian Tire, of all places, in Midland, ON ... this suggests to me that they are more widely available now. (I have been trying to find them for a number of years and this is the first time I have actually seen them.)
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charles kidder
last year
They look like green giants to me. But there are maybe 5 arborvitaes that look like them. They grow very fast. Particularly when young. They may grow up to 5' in a single year. They'll fill in once they've past their young growth spurt.

I agree they're planted way too close. They should be spaced 4-5' minimum. I have a row where they're spaced around 7' in a zig zag pattern and the bottom 8' or so overlap each other.
Joe Williams
last year
Look like GG to me, your pics are a little blurry so it could be cypress. Regardless, like others have said, there is no where near enough space in that strip for either tree...or really any tree. GG's will block half that driveway and possibly push that vinyl fence out in a matter of a few years. Hence the name "Green Giant".
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
they should be planted 5 to 8 feet from the fence

ken

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Did I buy Green Giant arborvitae or something else?

Comments (5)

3onthetree

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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charles kidder

Joe Williams

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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