Do GG's do well in shade? Also anyone have experience with Leyland's?

Thanks

I am trying a GG in shade at the edge of the woods with tree root competition. So far so good. I am watering occasionally.

I also put one on a sunny slope that doesn't retain much water. (yes, I made a water well and mulched heavily). I should probably go compare their heights.

I bought 3gallon plants for $27 at a good garden center this year. THey were about 30-36" tall.

I've had my eye out for them at HD and Lowes, but never saw them there.

I plan on sticking Irish Spring bars around them all just to be safe. Deer are a fairly mild problem here. ONce in a while they have come around. I always keep deterrents around anyhow.

Thanks Wendy that is very helpful. How long has the one in the shade been in the ground? I hear that Leyland's are better for shade but GG's better because deer will leave them alone. If they do bother it use the egg wash solution to keep them away. One dozen eggs (strained) and 2 gals or water in sprayer works as well as store bought concoctions.

I have been toying with the idea of adding the Emerald Green because of it's shorter height than the Green Giant . I had read that they wanted full sun and will do poorly in my conditions which are 3 hrs of sun in the morning under neighboring Silver Maples, in the root zone of those trees. So I decided against them. I also struggle with the issue DTD brought up about placing them on any side of your house other than the north. Unfortunately the West is the side I need privacy on and all along that lot line I am trying to establish decidious shrubs.

I started out with small plants and of course, they are having a slow time of it getting going under those trees.
I am very tempted to add something evergreen to one location so I don't have to look at my neighbor's shed and usual messy area around it. I think if I do, it is going to create more shade for the other plants trying to get as much sun as possible. The Mahoney's here has the Emerald Green on sale for $20. which is the shorter variety, I think. I don't have deer problems here at all, but with either the Green Giant or the Emerald Green, I didn't think I had enough sun for them. Now I see treeoracle's photo and his appear to be planted right under trees and I wonder how much sun they are getting.

The 12-14ft range of the Emerald Green is just the right height for me and even one placed judiciously could at least screen out part of what I am looking at, but I thought one narrow tall plant among rounded decidious shrubs might look foolish and I probably would create too much shade with three of them.

Wendy, did you learn something about the GG that made you think they could survive under trees? Would the GG and the Emerald Green have the same cultural needs?

Great photo treeoracle.

Thanks :-)

thoroughbred, mine has been in the ground since May. Every time I go check on it to see if its struggling, it looks perfect -- not a speck of browning. Ditto for the one at the top of the hill that must have been powder dry from time to time this season.

pm, It was mostly a shade issue rather than dry-shade issue. I added 3"-4" of compost initially to the entire large area. I provided supplemental water the first 2 years and some even this the 3rd year. So far so good.

I have been researching good evergreens for awhile for my woods edge in shade as alternatives to hemlocks. There were no definitive results. But I ended up with Blue Princess hollies, Taxus capitata (left unpruned) and arborvitea. There was an order among them of which would most likely do better, but I forget what it was. I just got them all. The hollies get the most sun which isn't saying a lot. I also have a Jap Umbrella pine and Oriental Spruce 'Skylands' that are on the most sunny end (4-5 hours).

I assumed all the arborviteas would have the same cultural needs. But I am not sure if there is a difference between east and west -- except that one is Z3 and one is Z5. Being Z5A, I would have preferred the Z3, but GG is Z5. EG is Z3

Great advise thanks wendy!

Thanks Wendy..I also researched my 'woodland' edge, although I have to laugh to call it that. [g] I also ended up with Blue Princess and Taxus, the Hicksii version. I had not found arborvitae in my research as one that would tolerate the shade and particularly my dry shade. Silver Maples are notorious water hogs from what I have read. What type of trees are you planting near?

pm, my woods are mostly pines and oaks. Yes, bad but not as bad as maples from what I hear.

I think the Green Giant is a great tree, just don't by it from thujagardens.com. The trees they send are about 1/4 the size of the tree they show in there sample picture. The Better Business Bureau give them a giant F with a warning. Look them up at the BBB by their phone number. I support the tree. I just don't want anyone to make the same mistake I made. I think the Green Giant is a great tree, just don't by it from thujagardens.com. The trees they send are about 1/4 the size of the tree they show in there sample picture. The Better Business Bureau give them a giant F with a warning. Look them up at the BBB by their phone number. I support the tree. I just don't want anyone to make the same mistake I made. I am trying to spread the word. Has any one else been cheated by this company. They will not answer email or phone messages after you pay.

Report them on the garden watchdog, at dave'g garden -google "garden watchdog and it will show up. That's where most people check before they order from a new mail-order nursery.

Is it ok for me to plant the green giants close to my septic lines? If i run them across the back of my properly line, some will only be 10 feet away from the septic lines. My concern it that they will work their way into these lines, and cost me a lot of money down the road. Please advise.

I think this question is a little outside our area of expertise, and you should consult the building department guys at your town hall for recommendations. That said, most conifers have compact root balls, without the wide spreading surface roots that trees like maples have.

The recommendations for planting I've seen on line (which you can google) are pretty conservative. It also may depend on what you mean by "septic lines" - drainage field lines are certainly going to have different requirements than solid pipes that run to town sewers, for example.

I need something in our backyard fir privacy and would love to get the GGs however our backyard is extremely wet and gets a sizeable amount of water when we get heavy rains. Would these be able. To hold up in these conditions? If not what would you recommend, preferably that grows fast. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Wondering if you planted the Hybrid Willows. I'm looking into them a.s.a.p. How well have they been doing for past 3 years??

I have planted some of the trees in question and some that might be of help. Last year I planted 17 hybrid willows in shaded areas, and all that didn't get eaten are now budding. Apparently bunnies like to eat them and 3 got nipped to the ground and I believe 2 are dead. Because they came through the cold winter so well, I am going to buy another 15 and plant in a number of different locations. Couple years ago I planted 3 dawn redwood trees and I must say I am impressed with how resiliant they are. Before I put up a fence, the snow was so deep it broke all the branches off and had to grow from scratch every year. last year they grew about 2.5 feet and now have nice little green buds on all branches. I can't wait to see how they do this year. I ordered 15 Thuja GG and have spots marked and preped for their arrival. I will keep you informed on how they arrive and how they grow this year. I think they will be fine as I plant with care and use a mineral spike on all conifers. Also, this year bought 3 royal empress trees, repotted them a couple days ago and now have tiny little buds. This tree is supposed to grow insanely fast with beautiful purple flowers. I will keep informed as to their progress.

Royal empress (Pawlownia) is a terrible pest in many areas - I'd check with your county extension agent about problems you may encounter with it.

I have one that volunteered in my yard. I cut it to the ground every fall to prevent flowering and seed formation; the leaves are huge when it's treated this way. It's an interin solution, and I plan to dig it up when I get a chance.

The trees that produced the seed are about a mile away - must have blown in or been dropped by birds.

I would never plant one of these, having seen what they turn into!

Here is a link that might be useful: PCA Alien Plant Working Group - pawlownia

HMMMMM, will have to do check into that. I do not want to get into the invasive species battle. I know they are hard to kill once established. I think it should be pretty easy to dispatch by notching it with an axe and adding a little brush be gone to the wound. Thanks for the info, I will keep a close eye on it.

While paulownia is a garbage tree in general, I would love to see it take over places like the outer Cape. The landscape of scrub oaks and pitch pines that currently exist there easily makes it one of my top ten ugliest places on earth.

Now now, tree oracle, are you stirring the pot (forum) again? I guess you're one of those people who won't mind when the Sagamore Bridge goes under construction again, messing up the traffic onto and off the Cape.

Claire

diy_dude, You probably won't have to worry about paulownia if in zone 5, seems to die back alot and is more like giant big-leafed perennial.

naturalstuff, Hybrid willows work good as temporary option while the slow evergreens take their time. It depends on your needs whether it would be a good option for you.

Green Giants may be deer resistant, but they are not deer proof. We just had the worst winter since I planted my Green Giants 6 or 7 years ago in terms of high snow pack (northeastern MA) and the deer ate a few feet of the bottom of each of my approximately 20 Thuja Green Giants. They had never touched them before, because I think there was enough brushy food available that they preferred in previous winters. But make no mistake, deer do not "hate" Green Giant enough to not eat them when hungry.

They also munched on some native red cedars we have as well.

Does anybody know if the lower greenery will grow back at all? There are still branches, but they have been stripped of the green.

Pete

Thanks for the update, Pete. I've been considering GGs for a couple of years but have put off planting until we are also able to install a deer fence. You've confirmed my suspicion that deer will eat just about anything...

I am not sure about about rejuvenation for Thuja, but suspect that the prospects are bleak. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you though...

Your arborvitae should be OK if the branches were just stripped and not eaten back to the brown part of the branch. In general arborvitae can stand up to pruning any green areas of the branch. But if you prune them back too far on the branch, the damage is permanent.

Deer will eat anything if hungry enough but I have yet to see ANY damage on mine and I have a seriously bad deer problem. It is not unusual at all for me to walk outside and see seven to ten deer in the backyard browsing around. I've gone through a lot of trial and effort (and money!) trying to find things that they don't like to eat and Green Giants are definitely on that list. I may have to get a hunting license this year so I can take care of my little deer problem. Mmmm...venison.

Are the Hybrid Willows deer resistant?

I'm looking for privacy in my back yard as well and the Hybrid Willow and Thuja Giant seem okay in most cases. My issue is that I need a screen that will give me 25-35 feet high total coverage, not just to the tip of each tree's center. Does anyone know of a privacy screen tree I can plant that will grow 40- 50 feet fast?

How fast are you talking about? The Green Giants will easily reach 40-50 ft in a decade. If you are talking about a short time frame then very little fits the bill. Possibly some bamboo?

I live in Dallas Texas, does anyone know if the Green Giant does well here??

Cari, this is a New England forum, but there must be one for Texas, too. Good luck!

Cari - I'm attaching a link to the Texas Gardening Forum. Someone there may be able to help you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Gardening

I am in zone 5a, have to fight neighbor's Green Giants, like climbing on a tall ladder to cut its branches back to let me access part of my own garden. When planting make sure that the whole future GG will be on your own property. GGs do not stop growing, no conifer ever will stop growing at its rate. GGs probably will grow taller at 1 to 1/2 ft per year, forever. They will also grow at probably 1/2 ft per year wider forever. Make sure that you offset the GGs centers from your property line by 10 ft, they will get 20 ft wide some year in the future. GGs are probably nice in large landscapes, not in 1/2 acre lots i.e..
Emerald Green thujas are much better behaved, I have 2 in my 1/2 acre lot, next to neighbor's monster GGs.

This is a great thread with great info!! I'm new to gardening but have fell in love with it! I want to plant some green giants against a chain link fence to block out my pool from my neighbors prying eyes.... A lot of websites such as burgess say they can be pruned to any size or shape and I was wondering if there was any truth to this? My plan is to buy 8, 5-6ft GG and let them grow for a few years....an then lop off their tops at about 12 ft.... And then trim them into 1 solid rectangular hedge along the fence...I was going to use hybrid willows until I found out they weren't evergreen and kind of a garbage tree......... Anyone have any luck at using the GG as a hedge like this? Thanks

I would choose something else to use for your hedge. You are looking to keep a fast-growing 80 ft tree confined to 12 ft. It's not going to be easy. You will be trimming this hedge every time you turn around in order to keep it in bounds. It's certainly possible but it will be a lot of work. Emerald arborvitae are slower growing but they only get to be around 15-20 ft tall so they would work better for your situation. Many types of juniper grow upright , tall and relatively narrow and would also work. You may also consider some tall shrubs.

Burgess by the way is not a reputable company. If you look up a company at Garden Watchdog (you'll have to Google it, this site won't let me link to it) then you can get the scoop on various companies.

Yes, an excellent thread. I too am an amateur and now realize the "green giant" name should've been a tip-off. Looks like the Emerald green thuja is the right choice. Thanks!

I have a sloping back yard that I tried to border with GG afew years ago. I got them very small at about 24in. Where it tends to be wet through winter spring in the lower portion they did not survive. Is GG not wet tolerant or do you think if I started with a larger arb. it would do OK?

Ibanez,

This is from the University of CT on the culture of Thuja plicata Green Giant.

Culture

easily transplanted from containers and B&B
likes moist air
prefers moist, deep, loamy soil
tolerant of acidic and alkaline soils
generally quite adaptable and tolerant once established
can be sheared to maintain shape and size
full sun; partial shade is tolerated but plants become thin, open and much less appealing
tolerant of somewhat wet soils

Small is usually OK when dealing with conifers. In fact over in the Conifer forum folks generally do not like large balled and burlap plants.

If your plants died this winter, it could be a few things.

1. It could be the water. Not many plants will sit in water for a good period of time. You could build a berm in that area to keep the roots out of the water.

2. Heaving - did you mulch your plants? This winter did not have snow cover and thus small plants would be more likely to heave out of the ground exposing roots to freezing weather.

3. Wind exposure - it could be that that part of your property is exposed to a strong (especially northeasterly) wind, thus desiccating the young plants. A wind screen for a few winters could solve this problem.

I would try the berm and the mulch first. See if that solves the problem.

Steve

I concur with the comments above. I have 10 GGs i put in about 10 years ago and they are about 25 ft tall now. we love them. I need more and am trying to find some in the ct area. any suggestions would be great. when i bought them they were about 5/6 ft tall

I have bought some from thujagardens.com and others online and it is a waste of money. I think i bought 50 once and they were all dead within 2 years. buy larger ones is my suggestion. going cheap is a waste of money.

good luck

Thanks. They didn't die from winter, they just slowly didn't do well until death. It's funny because the line that follows the yard back, you can see in the higher part of the yard they are the largest growth, and going down towards the wetter area they get smaller and smaller until the back row which all died. So this is why I think it was the water issue.

oldpatct--not sure if you're still looking for green giants, but just in case:

Van Wilgen's garden center in Branford has pretty big ones (maybe 6-7 feet, but I'm guessing) for around $85. We bought one from them last year and it's doing beautifully.

The real find, though, is Agway in North Branford. Today I bought 2, each about 5-6 feet, for 29.99 each!! They look great. That was the sale price, but the regular price is only $33. If you're not close to North Branford, maybe you have another Agway near you? They had them listed in their circular, which makes me think they would've shipped to all stores.

Thanks Krdpm

I will call them and head over tomorrow to the Agway. Much appreciated. I love these trees

This thread is 10 years old, I am impressed. Last update was about 6 years ago but all good reading. I have 5A with the urban farm house and barn. O's Fruit Farm I started out with Thuja occidentalis "Green Giant" down the west side every 8 feet. I needed a snow fence for the peach and plum orchards. It has worked out well. Deer is a major problem but mostly due to the peach, plum, apricot, cherry, apple, blueberry, blackberries and strawberry orchards. So I fenced in the 5 acres with an orchard fence, the deer jumped right over it with ease. So we rescued a basset-hound and a bloodhound to keep deer, rabbit and about everything on four legs out (our cats stopped visiting the barn). We went back and last spring planted Thuja occidentalis down the west side. This spring already planted them down the south side. We have planted over 250 of them. I deal with:

Coldstreamfarm

I have now gone back and planted right against the fence but between the Thuja occidentalis and fence 500 Hibiscus syriacus common name "Rose of Sharon". The honey bees love them and they bloom until frost, giving the bees the much needed food in mid summer.

off, very much appreciate the link above. never heard of them. can't wait to see their "stuff."

Why not go for something a bit more interesting...Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera)? They grow fast and have big flowers at the top...which you could see from the elevated view top of your hill.

Anyway...where in New England are you, and is or wet soil wind an issue?

Ed Lincoln, I need winter wind and early spring protection and the Thuja occidentalis being evergreens does a great job. I have one Tuliptree down from our 2,000 sq ft veg garden, its a nice tree. I'm located in Ohio, I have an area in the south west corner of our property which lays in water in the spring, but I started a grove of Bald Cypress which dried it up nicely. Northeast corner we have a California Redwood which I brought back as just a 6 inch whip on one of my business trips. Its now towering taller than any tree we have. I like blending different trees and bushes from across the US. At one time I was just about fruit and nut trees and bushes.

Pat I have traveled up and over to Coldstreamfarm Great group of people, my day job had me on the west side of Michigan for a week. So I just called and stopped in to pick up my order. We planted some of those Bald Cypress tree at our Michigan vacation home also for a water problem. Those trees can drink a lot of water.

this thread is just what I needed to read. We are having a terrible problem deciding what to do about our back fence. It is 100' long and our "neighbors" on the other side of the fence are two story apartment buildings. We are trying to decide what to plant.

In all this discussion no one has mentioned bamboo. We are considering planting a row of Seabreeze Bamboo. Its a clumping bamboo. Could anyone with any knowledge/experience comment on the use of bamboo vice the other options mentioned here. thanks.

PS: we are in Florida.

Splats, since we are in New England, you probably won't find a lot of suggestions here. There is a Bamboo Forum here on Garden Web as well as a Florida Forum that may be more help to you. Just click the green links that are the forum names to get to those forums.

Splats

We live in Central Florida for the 80's and I had Arundinaria sppalachiana, common name is "hill cane", is a woody bamboo native to the Appalachian Mountains which southeast Ohio is part of. It makes for a fast screen. You should look for Arundinaria gigantea the
common name "giant cane" it likes swamps does great in sand soils. Lake Monroe it is one of the lakes that make up the St. Johns River system, we lived in Deltona in the beginning of our Florida life and there we found the Giant Cane east side of Lake Monroe. But I'm now going to check out NHBabs suggestion on Bamboo.

Splats

For what you need the pick of Seabreeze-Bamboo is what I would also use.

This area looks like it is in mostly shade which supposedly Thuja Green Giants do not do well in shade. Anyone have experience planting them in shade and how do they do?

Hey guys!

im looking at the gg's for my back yard. I need a privacy screen about 30-35' tall and was hoping these would work. I've read that the gg's can get up to 60' tall on their own but if you plant them in a row or a hedge they will usually end up closer to 30-40' tall, which would be perfect. Our house sits on top of a hill and the back property line is about 120' away and 20' below the house. I need a 30-35' evergreen screen to block the view of the exempt railroad tracks & the boxcars they store there which are on a 15' raised track. Thanks in advance!

I love my hybrid willows as farm trees. Pennsylvania deer are not interested in them, and as advertised, they grow three to six feet per year! I am so happy we planted them, as they are in their third year and the most vigorous are already about ten feet tall. I planted them along my pasture fence line, in an area that is always "squishy" and wet. Their aggressive roots have soaked up a lot of that water, making the area more stable, and my horses don't bother them. The branches are dense enough to provide a minor windbreak even in the winter, and in the summer they provide a lot of privacy from the road. Behind them, I planted some firs that will take 10-20 years to grow big enough to provide privacy. I've heard that the hybrid willows can only be expected to live about 20 years, which is fine, because by then my firs will have grown tall enough to replace them. I would echo what others have said about not planting hybrid willows in a small yard, or anywhere near a septic -- 100' away at least. The roots will bust through anything they contact.