Thuja Green Giant

Choosing the right plant for the right place is often a bit of a gamble. It takes a lot of experience with your local conditions to know which the best plant for a particular purpose is. When you are planting a screen or hedge, which means buying a number of plants, the choice becomes even more important. This is likely going to be the backdrop to a major part of your garden, and in place for many years, so its natural to be concerned about the choice you make – and to get it right.

When it comes to evergreens, that choice is a little easier, because there is one evergreen that literally stands head and shoulders above the competition, and it is very often the right choice. This is Thuja Green Giant. By any objective standards, for a larger screen or hedge across most of the country, it’s the top pick. Millions of gardeners have chosen it, and they have not been disappointed. If you are wondering what evergreen to choose for that new hedge, then here are seven reasons why Thuja Green Giant is probably your best choice. If it isn’t the right pick for your particular circumstances, after looking at these reasons you will know that too.

7 Reasons to Choose Thuja Green Giant

• Quick Growth – a tiny plant will be 10 feet tall in 7 years. Growth rates of 3 feet a year are common in young trees.
• Substantial Size – reaches 30 to 40 feet in 30 years, and 12 feet across
• Hardy Across Many States – from zone 5 to zone 9
• Pest and Disease Free – even deer leave them alone
• Can be Trimmed or Not – Your Choice – growth is so naturally dense, that untrimmed trees still make a solid screen
• Looks Great All Year Round – no discoloration in winter
• Lives for a Long Time – other fast-growing trees have short lives, but not this one

Thuja Green Giant is Fast Growing

When planting evergreen screening or hedges, nobody want to wait 20 years for it to grow to a suitable size. Thuja Green Giant is proven to be the fastest growing evergreen, not only in the early years, where it can add 3 feet in length to its strongest shoots, but over the longer haul too. Trials at the University of Arkansas showed it to be faster than any other evergreen, reaching 10 feet tall in 7 years, from a small plant. Start with 5 to 6 feet trees, and you will be 15 to 20 feet tall in 6 or 7 years from now – tall enough for almost any screening need.

Thuja Green Giant Grows Large

Not only is this remarkable tree fast-growing, but it grows into a large plant. Mature trees are 30 to 40 feet tall, in about 30 years, and they are 12 feet across. Now this may be exactly what you need. If you have a large space to fill, or you need plenty of height, then you have made the right choice. If you don’t have the room for plants this size, then you can off course trim them, as you will anyway for a hedge. But if you want to just let them grow into a more natural screen – something this tree does well – then make sure you have allowed enough room for their final size. Plant at least 6 feet from buildings, fences, driveways, paths, etc. Remember too that if you plant on the south side of your property, a 30 feet tree throws a long shadow, and an excessively-tall hedge may put you in shade for 4 months of the year or more. For a smaller screen for smaller gardens, choose Emerald Green Arborvitae instead.

Thuja Green Giant is Hardy

From winter lows of minus 20, to areas where it hardly ever freezes, Thuja Green Giant will thrive. In hotter areas it does need water, so if you are in a hot and dry region, you may do better with the Italian Cypress. In areas with cold winter, Emerald Green Arborvitae is hardy to minus 40, so its always the top choice where the mercury reaches the bottom. For everywhere in between, which is most of the country, if you are choosing Thuja Green Giant, you are choosing the right plant. You won’t see winter burn, and your screen or hedge will be green all year round. Remember to soak the ground below new hedges in late fall, before the ground freezes. This will protect them from any possibility of damage.

Thuja Green Giant is Pest Free

Unlike other evergreens, where diseases can strike, and pests take over, this is one tree that is almost certain to stay pest free. Nobody wants to be spraying chemicals, and you won’t need to with a tough plant like this. Even if the occasional pest is seen, with such rapid and vigorous growth, the trees will soon recover. Even better, that big four-legged pest, the deer, usually stays away too. Deer are hard to predict, but unlike most other arborvitae, Thuja Green Giant is not bothered by them under most circumstances. Any damage will be minor, and re-growth is so quick.

Thuja Green Giant Needs No Trimming

Nobody likes to have the chore of hedge trimming. Especially for larger hedges it can become complex, and time-consuming. If you have a larger property, so that the ultimate size is not a problem for you, then you don’t need to trim to have a solid screen. This plant naturally has a dense, upright growth habit, staying rounded and green right to the ground. So planted 6 to 8 feet apart, after a few years they will grow together and make a solid wall of green. It will in time reach perhaps 30 feet, but if that is not a problem you can put your trimmers up on Ebay.

Thuja Green Giant is Always Green

Some evergreens turn brownish in winter, simply due to the cold. This is not a sign of damage, just a natural reaction to low temperatures. The problem is, it means your lush green hedge does not look so great for several months of the year. With a hedge of Thuja Green Giant, winter bronzing is someone else’s problem. So every day of the year you will look at a lush green hedge, winter or summer.

Thuja Green Giant Has Long Life-expectancy

Some fast-growing trees, especially deciduous trees like willows, and some evergreens too, have a limited life-expectancy. After a decade or two they begin to look sickly, and branches break. Sections can even die back, leaving gaps. Diseases are more likely to attack, killing part or all of the tree. It can feel like you only just planted them, and they need replacing. This won’t happen with Thuja Green Giant. 30, 40, 50 years from now your trees will look great. We know this from specimens around the country, including the original plants at the National Arboretum. So once you plant them, you can forget about needing to replace them. Let’s just hope they don’t get spotted from outer space, because alien abduction is about all that is going to take them from you.