dimanche 8 janvier 2017

Instant Gratification With Thuja Green Giants

By Scott Bailey


If you need a dense privacy hedge, an attractive windbreak, or a formal border along your drive or boundary line, there is the perfect answer in a new hybrid ornamental. Thuja Green Giants are perhaps the fastest growing of the cypresses. With a graceful and amazingly uniform shape, a growth rate of up to five feet a year, and exceptionally beautiful foliage, this marvel is also virtually care free.

These beautiful trees can be planted 5 to 6 feet apart in rows and will grow to a uniform height and width. The row will look both formal and impressive, making a wonderful privacy shield for a development home or a striking statement on an estate. A line of these majestic trees evenly spaced along a drive, forming a dense barrier, is truly a sight to see.

These vigorous evergreens need space to grow, although being in a row limits their height to about twenty feet and their width to about eight. As a single specimen, they can tower higher than a house and spread twenty-five feet around. They should be planted at least four feet from the property line or a fence, and not closer than fifteen feet to a septic field. Their roots will spread a little farther than the tree itself.

Thujas are evergreens in the cypress family. They are also known as arborvitae, a name which may be more familiar. The hybrids adapt to almost any soil, are insect and disease resistant, and don't need fertilizer once they are firmly rooted in place. Even bagworms leave them alone, as do deer most of the time. Although they are Heat resistant, they do best with regular watering during hot, dry periods. Because the best trees are grown from cuttings, they all look alike.

A seamless row of Green Giants will do more than make a privacy screen or windbreak. They are an effective sound barrier, muting noise of neighbors and traffic. They can also shield your garden from air pollution. If you're near a busy street, heavy metals from car exhaust may contaminate herbs and vegetables you grow for food. A dense hedge can cut pollution down to safe levels.

They are bred from native trees, so deer don't particularly like them. They are hardy to minus 20 degrees F, escape most damage from heavy snowfall, and grow well in zones 5 to 9. There are planting recommendations based on your zone, so be careful to plant them at the right time of year for Georgia. Check online to see sizes, prices, shipping costs, and tips on growing thujas.

By buying direct from a grower, you may find both the best price and the most vigorous trees. Ones sold in containers are advertised as better than ones with burlap-wrapped root balls or sold as 'bare root'. The size of the container caries from nursery to nursery; a six-foot tree can come in a one gallon pot or a seven gallon one. Buying multiple trees cuts the price down, and some sites offer free shipping.

Who would have thought that one day people would order trees online that are taller than they are - and have them shipped to their door? Crazy. Or have a well-established hedge (if you can call something 20 feet tall a hedge) in three or four years. It's like magic!




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