uncover them and let them deal with nature themselves ...

they are fully hardy in my zone 5 MI .... and its much colder than st L ....

leave them alone .... there is no statistical difference between 8 or 9 feet ... unless you just want the exercise ...

they are tree.. they are conifers.. they are theoretically not flowering shrubs.. though i understand your use of the common term ... when googling info on such... look toward tree info ...

there are both tree and conifer forums .. though feel free to post wherever you want ...

ken

Looks fine to me. Remove the paper bags LOL.

According to MO Botanical Garden, Green Giants spread 12 to 18 feet, so you need for your plants to be half that distance from your chain link fence. That would be 6 to 9 feet, so you should be fine.

@ken...always wondered why I was told to cover them for frost and not freeze.

I went to re-measure for a second hole and really don't want to re-dig. These will not grow wide in my lifetime at this house. Just looks odd planted out so far from the fence line. Perhaps I can plant liriope along the fence line to 'fill-in' the void. What do you all think of that idea? It will take years and years before the GG max out to the mature width.

I am second guessing as I read two different ways to plant the GG this morning. I dug the hole two times the depth of the plant pot and two times the width. I read today the depth should only be the depth of the pot other wise the roots will sink and three to five times in width! Can some one let me know if I dug to deep? I mixed the solid clay 'dirt' with garden soil and cotton burr. Not too late to fix if needed. Better now than dead GG down the road.

You will find conflicting information about this online, I have planted both ways successfully. Amending the soil is where you made the mistake. You NEVER amend the soil. So you are going to dig them back up, then backfill with the native clay. See link below. I like the liriope idea, can't hurt. I like 'variegata'.

==>>>https://caldwellhg.blogspot.com/2016/08/planting-potted-stock-trees-shrubs.html

@Logan Thanks for the link. Yikes! The native clay has been mixed in with the cotton burr and some garden soil. Would you suggest I start another hole? I like the variegata liriope too. Thanks for the idea.

I would move them away from the previous hole (anywhere that would have been affected by the soil amendment) and re-plant in that spot. You could most likely plant the liriope in the amended soil (it would be no different than putting it in a raised bed, etc.) and you would have no problems. When you plant a tree or shrub, they will spread their roots no farther than the amended soil due to difference in drainage, organic matter, etc. Imagine it like this: If you live in a big house, you wouldn't like moving to a small house, but if you lived in a small house your whole life, you wouldn't want to live in a big house. Glad you found my blog helpful!

@ Logan, I still have the grass plugs I dug out. Do you think the grass plugs/sod would grow back in the amendment soil hole?

If watered, most likely. I don't worry about grass. For me, everywhere I see grass, I see the opportunity to plant something more interesting.

Ya know, I am beginning to think the same thing. This is my first house so I am very new to gardening. I have nice thick green zoysia in my backyard which I hate to see dug up buuut on the other hand I see beautiful backyards that are so cozy and private with all of the shrubs, trees, flowers and I love that look. I keep asking myself, what do I do on my grass in the backyard...nothing but cut! I live in KCMO (came from NC) and want to attract bees, butterflies and birds with items I plant. The GG is to hide my neighbors ugly house but will help hide my house from the busy street. win-win. I have no trees and one lilac bush. Sooooo back to what you were saying....I think planting something colorful in those holes IS an excellent idea! Thanks for mentioning!

You are welcome! I can suggest some shrubs, trees, etc. if you want. Start a new thread, or contact me off forum. I will try to get some more pictures of my landscape uploaded to my profile, in the meantime check out what I do have.

Hello, it is been a year and a half since I’ve planted my giant green arborvitae’s. They have grown and survive two winters. I am thankful. Question I have, I know I need to redo the mulch area but should I extend it by mulching in between the trees and get rid of that grass? I am in zone 5b. Kansas City.

Widening the mulch all the way between the trees will need to happen eventually and would be wisest for their health but honestly if I could widen the beds and still mow between them I would not do it yet. Creating square mulch beds also makes it easier to mow around them BTW.

@ Mens Tortuosa, Funny you mentioned about the square beds. When I mow around 10 circular birds needless to say the world is spinning LOL thank you for the idea of the square as I have never seen.

but should I extend it by mulching in between the trees and get rid of that grass?

==>>> extend mulch as far as needed to keep the idiot with the weedwhip away from them ... or the mower ... though i suspect.. you arent using a riding mower ... so you dont need huge mulch rings ....

otherwise... its just a waste of mulch .... as the trees are probably going start growing with some vigor.. now that they are fully established ...

up to you.. if you want the exercise..

they should be rather free range by now... unless there is some severe drought.. and then i might just give each a good deep drink during such ... otherwise.. let them learn to deal with ma nature ...

you did good.. be proud ...

ken

ps: i was the idiot with the weedwhip.. i consider said description a term of love.. lol ...

Thank you Ken. No rider, they frighten me, yard is small plus I love the exercise with a push mower! I’m old-school and trim everything with scissors instead of a Weedwhacker!