Green Giant Thuja Evergreen

Let’s Grow

About Thuja Green Giant

Thuja or arborvitae are some of the best plants you can grow for garden privacy and year round evergreen color. Green Giant arborvitae is an exceptionally fast growing species that can grow between 3 and 5' per year! A perfect solution for new gardens that feel a bit too exposed, you can easily and quickly create a garden oasis by encircling your yard with thuja trees. Alternatively, Green Giant thuja make ideal specimen plants and they can also be pruned into bonsais and other formal garden elements.

Sleek and stately arborvitae can grow up to 40' tall when mature, but they can also be kept smaller with pruning. These plants will also stay more compact when grown in pots if you have a smaller garden space but still love the look and rich color arborvitae provide. And, if you needed more reasons to try out arborvitae in your garden, these plants are cold hardy and disease resistant and deer won’t touch them either!

Green Giant Thuja
Botanical Name	Thuja standishii x plicata
Plant Hardiness	Zone 5-9
Mature Height	40'
Mature Width	6 to 12'
Sun Needs	Full Sun, Partial Shade
Does Not Ship To	AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, PR

Special features:

• Fast growing
• Exceptional privacy screen or wind break
• Adaptable to a range of soil types
• Heat tolerant
• Disease and deer resistant
• Evergreen color

How to care for arborvitae

When designing a new garden or renovating an existing landscape, one of your first considerations should be barrier plants. Evergreens, like arborvitae, are some of the most common barrier plants, which can be used to create windbreaks in exposed gardens or form a privacy screen around backyards to delineate space or even buffer the sound from nearby roadways.

Because Green Giant arborvitae have such a rapid growth rate, they can quickly fill in garden landscapes and they will outlast most fencing. But arborvitae are striking plants all on their own and they are one of the most popular plants to keep in formal gardens and in bonsai design.

If you’d like to learn more about arborvitae tree care, check out the beginner-friendly tips below!

When to plant arborvitae

Planting arborvitae in spring is recommended, but plants can also be planted in garden beds in fall when the ground is still workable. Planting is best avoided during the heat of summer as temperature extremes can result in heat stress and make it harder for your arborvitae to adapt to your garden.

Where to plant arborvitae

Thuja or arborvitae are very adaptable plants that can grow in a range of soil types. Green Giant arborvitae can grow in clay, sand or nutrient poor soil and they can even handle poorly draining gardens, although they shouldn’t be planted in standing water.

For even more options, arborvitae can grow in full sun or in gardens that are in shade up to half of the day. You may even be able to grow Green Giant arborvitae in even shadier spots, but they may grow a bit slower.

How to plant green giant arborvitae

When it’s time to plant your Green Giant arborvitae, dig a planting hole that is as deep as your plant’s nursery pot and 2 to 3 times as wide. Place your plant in the hole so that it is at the same planting depth that it was growing in the nursery pot and then backfill the hole with soil. If you’d like to plant arborvitae in a group or row, space plants at least 10’ apart.

After planting, arborvitae should be watered twice weekly, but you can taper watering off when your plants are established. It can also help to add a slow release fertilizer once a year to support your tree’s growth.

Growing arborvitae in pots

If you like the thought of keeping arborvitae in pots, these plants can look very elegant when used to frame doorways or walkways. Green Giant arborvitae can be allowed to grow naturally or it can be pruned in fun shapes and topiaries. Simply choose a well-draining pot that is at least 20 gallons in size so you won’t need to repot often.

How tall do green giant arborvitae grow?

Green Giant arborvitae grow up to 5’ per year and will eventually grow between 20 and 40’ tall. Plants can also be kept smaller by pruning them once or twice a year in spring or fall. For smaller specimens, begin pruning when plants are still young but after they’ve become established in your garden.

History of Thuja Green Giant

Thuja Green Giant was originally produced by crossing the Western Redcedar with Japanese Thuja trees, which produced a robust and fast growing hybrid plant that was incredibly disease resistant. 

These plants were first introduced in the 1930s by the Poulsen Nursery of Denmark but they didn’t become really popular until the 1990s.  At this time, they were given the name Green Giant by Don Shadow, who worked at a plant nursery in Tennessee.  Since then, millions of Thuja Green Giant trees have sold to gardeners all across the globe and they are staple plant to keep in both informal and formal landscape designs.

Buying Thuja 'Green Giant’ at Cold Creek Nurseries

If you’re craving extra garden privacy and evergreen color that just won’t quiet, order your Thuja Green Giant today! Your plant will be shipped to you in a sturdy nursery pot and all you need to do is start planting. While you can just grow an arborvitae or two, we recommend planting a few for the dense and natural fence that will enliven your garden with vivid green hues from spring to winter.