The decision to start small and grow a hedge from young plants, or invest in larger plants and get an instant result, is a perennial question the comes up with Thuja Green Giant, and other hedging plants as well. There is no ‘one answer fits all’, but there are certainly several considerations that help guide the decision. Let’s look at some of the issues, and the best way to handle your plants – big or small.
Growth Rate and Cost
It is obviously cheaper to plant a hedge with smaller plants, and the great thing is, that with Thuja Green Giant, the growth rate of young plants is high – they slow down as they get older. Young trees that are 1 to 3 feet tall might grow 3 or even 4 feet in the second year after planting – or in the first one if you plant in late winter. So they will often ‘catch up’ with larger plants. After 7 years, your small plants will be 10 feet tall, or more, and the ones you planted when they were big might easily be not much taller. That growth rate was demonstrated at the University of Arkansas, so it really is a reliable and accurate figure.
Privacy Issues
Instant privacy is the usual reason for investing in large plants, in the 5 to 6-foot range. You know how it goes – you move into a new home, or perhaps a new one goes up next to you, and suddenly you are overlooked by neighbors. We all love our neighbors, but we don’t really want to become a reality TV-show for them, so the desire for privacy is natural. With 6-foot trees, you instantly gain privacy from anyone walking on the ground, and even from most ground-floor windows. The extra cost is often worth it, for the peace of mind you gain by an instant solution.
On the other hand, if you don’t have an urgent need, then plant something smaller – they won’t take long to catch up, as we have already discussed. Use the money you save to buy beautiful and interesting shrubs and trees to decorate that beautiful private space you are creating with your Thuja Green Giants. Those trees and shrubs will grow along with your hedge, and in a few short years you will have a beautiful private garden to enjoy.
Planting Larger Thuja Green Giant Trees
When planting larger trees, there are some things to pay more attention to, so that you get the best and quickest establishment, and the fastest growth to add more feet to your hedge or screen. First, dig a wide area of ground for them. Three feet wide is not too much. One of the mistakes often made is to dig holes just big enough to take the root-ball, with little or nowhere broken up for the roots to grow into. This is a big mistake, and will certainly slow down growth very much. Instead, use a tiller to save yourself the work of hand-digging, and prepare an area 12 inches deep and 36 to 48 inches across. Add plenty of organic material, and a starter fertilizer as well. Break up the ground thoroughly, but don’t try to bring in new soil. That is almost always a mistake – put the effort instead into top-quality organic material, and dig in a layer 3 or 4 inches deep.
When you plant bigger trees, it is best to dig a trench the width of the pots all along the planting area, rather than dig individual holes. You can more easily get the spacing even that way, and even spacing will give you a solid hedge quickly. Make sure to water the trees well the day before, and use a sharp knife to cut an inch or so into the root ball at three points around the root-ball and in a cross on the bottom, after you carefully remove the pot. Place the plants in the trench right away, and don’t lift them by the stems, lift the root ball, or you may cause it to break apart. Water thoroughly.
Big trees will benefit from regular watering and liquid fertilizers during the first year, and always water the surrounding soil, not just at the stem, so that the roots quickly spread outwards.
Planting Smaller Thuja Green Giant
If you are using trees in the 1 to 4-foot range, the most common mistake is to plant them too closely together. Use the same spacing, no matter what size your trees are. If you buy a lot of small trees, and crowd them together, many will die, and the strongest will be slowed down by the smaller ones, that act like ‘weeds’ and steal water and nutrients. Over time they will naturally thin out, but not in the neat way you might like – more like a mouth of broken teeth!
Even though your trees are small, still prepare the wide area we have already described. You want the roots to spread out and find water and nutrients from the surrounding soil, and they can do that best in well-prepared soil.
The best spacing depends on the final goal. If you plan on keeping your hedge around 8 feet tall or less, then a 3-foot spacing is best. Those small plants are going to look too far apart, but really, this is the right thing to do. Without competition from each other they will grow wider, taller and be much healthier. They will grow so fast, before you know it they will be touching each other and building a strong screen for you. For a taller screen, use a 4 or 5 foot spacing. A double row, with 3 feet between the rows, and 5 to 8 feet between the plants, depending on the final height, will give you the thickest and densest hedge possible.
Young trees have small root systems, so they really benefit from regular applications of a suitable liquid hedge fertilizer. Follow the directions on the brand you buy, and apply from spring to early fall, at the frequency recommended. With most liquid fertilizers, you can safely increase the frequency if you reduce the concentration. Double the frequency, but half the concentration is the usual rule. That way you provide a steadier supply of nutrients, and you will have taller, bushier plants by the end of the season.
Whatever your choice – big or small – you can be sure that if you have chosen Thuja Green Giant for your hedge or screen, the result is going to be a gorgeous, healthy hedge or screen, rich green all year round, tough and reliable, and the perfect backdrop and privacy barrier for your garden.