Depends on how mature the maples are, what kind of maple and kind of soil you have.

The other major question is whether they are in shade or not. Arbs DO NOT grow well in shade. They thin quite a bit. Hetz Wintergreen apparently does better in part shade conditions than other cultivars.

For my experience the larger the arb the more likely it is to have multiple leaders.

Sounds like a 1 to 3 gallon size is the way to go. Might have to wait a few years before they kick in though.

Certain maples - especially Norway maples - make it all but impossible to grow anything within their root zone. All maples except Japanese and some others have highly invasive roots. It's probably not what you want to hear, but for a small back yard the choices are removing the maple before planting a living privacy hedge or forgetting the hedge and spending the time, effort and money on a fence.

Agreed, and I'd def. add silver maple to the list of maples under which any kind of gardening eventually becomes near-impossible. So....we still don't know what you have, but this is going to be difficult. I envision fairly large arbs being transplanted into your screen area, and then slowly declining over the years. I'm also not aware of any reason why Green Giants would have any advantage. Is there some "hybrid vigor" with these? That could mean a bit better results, but heck, where my land is, GG's are not even dependably cold-hardy, so what do I know? Can you "raise up" the maples....? That is, remove some lower branches, thereby lifting their crowns and creating both more space as well as more light? That's about all I've got, and that's not even dealing with the root competition issues.

+oM

dad did it under a HUGE silver maple ...


no on green giants ... too much potential ...

dig a hole twice as big as the pot ... remove all roots.. replant in native soil ... mulch well.. and water properly ...

the real key here.. is that every maple root you sever.. will grow back.. and will grow back into the hole you dig ... you need to get the transplant established.. before the maple gets those roots back in there ...

maples are super water competitors ... so you personally have to insure the new stuff.. gets the water it needs ... until it can fend for itself..

back to dad .. he often had to replace one or two.. that simply could not make it to establishment ...

there might also be the issue of enough sunlight for them to thrive ... and not get sparse ...

potted arbs can be severely root bound ... and that could be a major problem .. if they never grow out of the hole ...

see link for planting guide

link

if .. upon digging a hole... just move over a bit.. if you run across a big maple root ... your new plants do not have to be in a straight line ...

ken

Thank you so much! This is great advice. It appears as if it IS technically possible with lots of maintenence. We had planted few last fall, one is growing brown (from inside out and then going all around). The other ones appear healthy enough but it's only been less than 1 year (just browning on the inside-- which is typical I assume for arbs).

Living in michigan, with moist soil, melting snow, and humidity, would lack of water be an issue--even though Maple competes with the arb?

most likely dying from being grown in apot too long .. and the roots winding round and round.. did you do any root surgery.. or just pull it out of the pot and stomp it into the ground ... [or field grown and the roots slaughtered on digging and sticking in the pot ....]
link

i highly doubt.. down here in adrian MI ... its a moisture issue ... unless you bare rooted it.. and did not water it in in fall ... as you note.. its just been wet ...

its either a stock 'BBStore' issue ... or improper planting and aftercare ...

see link on planting guide.. wherever it might pop up



ken

I don't know-under my late great silver maple, hostas would not even thrive. At the time of planting, they would be at their best, and go steadily downhill thereafter. And it was dry! Like Ken said too, should one think they're beating the system by amending the planting holes of things like hostas (or any other plant) being placed under or around such a tree, they need only walk away for a few minutes and that maple's roots will have completely colonized all that good stuff. Give it a whirl if you want. But at least based on my experience, it's going to be tough.

+oM