Spartan Juniper Sizes

13 years ago

My wife and I have purchased some Spartan Junipers and thought that spacing them 4ft apart would be good for a privacy screen, but we see so many different spacing suggestions and overall sizes of the Spartan in its matured width that we've become confused about our spacing needs.

We've read that the Spartan grows to be 3 to 4 feet wide on some sites, and others say 5 to 10 feet wide. We've read that the spacing for a privacy screening type arrangement should be 3 to 4 feet on one site and 5 to 7 feet on others.

How do we determine what's right?!?!

Featured Answer

brandon7 TN_zone7

13 years ago

Viktor,

I'm not sure how your post ended up here, but you probably won't get many responses, as not many people review this side of the Trees Forum (which is meant for posts with pictures). Anyway, to answer your questions....

Trees grow at very different rates when planted in different environments (climates, soil types, etc, etc). Sources from one part of the country are likely to have experienced very different growth rates as sources from a few states away or from the other side of the country. Also, size ratings are most often quoted for a given period of time (say 5 to 10 years). There is no single standard for how many years should be considered. Only occasionally will you see claims of "ultimate size", and, even if you did, I'm not sure it would really be meaningful.

The size ranges you quote are probably on the extreme edges of what most nurseries would quote for the "mature" (not ultimate) size of this cultivar. An "average" would probably be 4' to 6' wide. The 10' wide figure seems a little anomalous. And, to make this even more whacky, clones grown from cuttings may vary depending on things like what part of the parent tree they were taken from.

Spacing will depend on YOUR preferences. If you space them 3' apart, they should grow together much more quickly than if you space them 5' or 6' apart. If you do space them 5' to 6' apart the row may, at least for quite a while, look more like individual specimens than one solid hedge. You might also consider planting in two rows, with each tree spaced a little farther from it's neighbor but with the rows staggered so as to provide a more visually solid screen.

Finally, do take into consideration that if you are going to plant a row of these, you are likely to eventually loose a few. This leaves a gap (especially if you plant in one single row). You may want to consider planting a variety of trees to make the screen more interesting, less prone to the "snaggle tooth look if one dies, and less susceptible to pest and disease issues.

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Comments (8)

Viktor99
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks, Brandon, for the information. I thought that might be the case (on growth rates), but I needed to be sure.
We had, initially, purchased 26 Spartans, but found out we were short by ten, so today we purchased four Green Giants and arranged them within the lineup.
My wife and I pay a lot of attention to our plants so I hope that will be enough to keep the Spartans and Green Giants alive. This is just a small addition to what we have already planted around our home, and it's not the end of it. Our sixteen Skypenciles gave us a run for our money about a year after planting, but now they're the talk of the neighborhood. Now we're talking about sixteen more. lol

But, again, thank you for your information. It was a pleasure!
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dog_wood_2010
13 years ago
I have mine planted about 5 feet apart which makes a pretty good privacy screen. The gap between them will decrease as they mature but it's important to have good air circulation. They are about 20 feet tall and about 4 feet wide and loaded with berries which all the birds love. They took a pounding from Hurricane Sandy and I have a brace on the left one which took the brunt of the storm, but is recovering nicely. These are great, fast growing trees that always look good and require negligible maintenance.
Liviu Stoicescu
8 years ago
Greetings! How did Thuja spartan grow? Have they developed nicely? I am now preparing to plant them, they have a height of 30cm (1 feet). how long will they reach 3 meters (10feet)? I want to plant them 1 meter (3feet) away from each other. I hope to be ok to provide a screen protection. I'm waiting for tips and pictures! Thank you!
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
8 years ago
Tiny babies in 2008-

In 2012 (fence is six feet)-

In 2016-

Different location 2016 (from same batch)-
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
where are you liviu??? .... length and depth of winter limits extent of growing season for some of us ...

ken
Liviu Stoicescu
8 years ago
In winter(3months) average temperatures is -2* to 4*C (28* to 39*F) and in summer averange temp. is 17* to 29*C (62* to 84*F)

The minimum and maximum temperatures recorded are: -22*C (-7*F) and 38*C (100*F)

Location Romania.
Liviu Stoicescu
8 years ago
Anybody photos with spartans ?