a number of thoughts ....

you are in the tree forum ... you are asking about a CONIFER .... and there is a conifer forum .... not a problem... but there are certain rules that MIGHT apply to conifers.. that differ from trees.. though not the basic questions you ask ...

IF you were asking a fruit production question.. in the tree forum... you MIGHT get a better answer in the fruit forum.. rather than the tree forum ... for e.g.

regardless.. here we go ... trees/conifers.. NEVER need fert, unless a soil test indicates something is lacking in the soil .... your plants are in the lawn.. if you feed the lawn.. the plants will get all they need .... and you never feed a recent transplant .... so when they are ready.. they will get what they need ... i am of the opinion that the annual growth rate is genetic.. and you are not going to change the growth rate by fert ....

i would not be planting in 90 degrees .... but you have leeway with potted stock .. there would be no reason to not buy the stock.. and place it on the north side of the house.. and hold them for a few weeks .. until the cooler weather hits ....

keep them properly watered... they need a drink.. but most trees/conifers.. do NOT want to have their roots in a bog ... so drainage is an issue .... water needs to be applied deeply.. throughout the root zone.. and then allowed to nearly dry in between waterings .... insert finger to second knuckle.. and water when it is hot or dry down there .... if you are working in bad clay .. there are a multitude of other issues .... regarding water/drainage ...

recent transplants will grow.. as they grow.. and until they get down a proper root mass... the growth rate is unpredictable ... the Amer Conifer society database should be able to give you estimated growth rates... estimates of ultimate size are usually at 10 years.. and they will continue at the annual rate thereafter ...

growth rate will be affected by the amount of sun... conifers are full sun plants... and the more shade.. the slower the growth rate ... they usually wont outright die in some shade.. they will just be more sparse.. and perhaps not grow to expectation ....

there are a multitude of variegated thuja's available by mail ... and really cool .... and they would add much to your planting in the future ....

and finally .. dont continue to add just thuja .... diversity rules .... if some plague comes along.. and you have all of one type... you can have big problems.... so as you continue on your project.. dont be limited by what the bigboxstore has on sale ....

PROPER WATERING IS REALLY THE ONLY ISSUE .....

good luck

ken

Well, OK, thanks for that. Upon inspecting the tree forum - I found several threads pertaining to evergreens, Thujas, 30ft Leylanii monsters and the like......so I assumed this would be as good a place to start as any. I guess I was wrong. Like I said - I am new here and I am not an expert gardener - but in the future I will think more than twice before posting here again. It's just hard to get first-hand advice from people, ya know?

I didn't state that we were planting these trees in 90 degree weather. But sometimes I misread things, too.

We're already well on our way to planting it all-Thuja, so there's nothing we can actually do about diversifying the stock in case of disease this late in the game. Perhaps that was a mistake by us, or perhaps it is a bit paranoid to assume that your privacy border will be struck down by rampant disease, I don't know. We will just have to look after our plants and do everything we can to ensure that disease doesn't happen.

Is there anybody out there who has actual *experience* in growing this variety? All I wanted was some chatty advice and stories from people who know this plant.

Karen P.

Karen,

Your 'Smargard' will need to be monitored carefully. They are known to die from even 10 days of insufficient rain or supplimental watering. They are also known to easily die from water logged soil planting beds.

Moist but well draining soil is a must for these shrubs. Even once they become established they will still, easily die if the moisture levels in the soil are not in the correct range for them.

I planted two of these trees which I also had purchased from Lowe's and they survived nicely for about 18 months when we received timely rainfalls at amounts from which all my landscaping thrived. Then, in late July no rains occured over a two week period. the daily high temps also reached in the high 90 degree F. ranges. All my landscaping items except for my Emerald Green thujas surivived. I will not plant any more of these evergreens in that location.

So if you want yours to survive, never neglect watering them during your dry seasons. Also, make certain that they are planted in a bed which is properly, well draining.

Zone 7 locations can vary greatly, so experience in one part of the country may not mirror that in another. 'Smaragd' is probably the most frequently planted of any variety of arborvitae - you will see them used as hedge plants in every fifth garden around here :-) They are quite adaptable to a variety of conditions but would prefer decent soil, good drainage, adequate moisture and as much sun as possible. I live in a recurring summer drought area (although NOT this summer!) and these trees, once well-established, are much more drought tolerant than one would think.

American arborvitaes are not known for a fast rate of growth - with optimum growing conditions and a couple of seasons of establishment under their belt, you can expect around 3-6 inches annually from this cultivar.

I planted 8 of these along one side of the property line, where there was a gap in vegetation, to screen out the neighbor's porch. They are planted 3 1/2 - 4 feet apart on center, in a gentle zig zap pattern. Hopefully when they mature they will touch and feather together to create a screen. They were in 6 and 10 gallon pots, 6-8 feet tall, so they were pretty big. I've read that you should start out with smaller plants, and they will establish more easily and quickly, but I wanted some instant privacy.

I have been diligent about watering them at first to get established, and during dry spells, and have mulched with compost. Nevertheless I lost a couple, and had to replace those. They haven't grown that much in two seasons, about 3-4 inches per year. I hope they'll put on some more significant growth in upcoming years.

I've heard that deer just love Arborvitae, but so far there hasn't been any deer nibbing. They do flop a bit when we get a heavy snowfall.