I don't know an online place, but if there is a Costco's near you. I would try there. They cost almost 1/2 the cost of those at Lowes.

We would be about 20-25 feet back from the road. We are looking for as much coverage as possible. We had previously planted white pines that are looking quite sparse, and we would plant the GG between the house and the white pines, eventually cutting down the white pines as the GG grow. Do you have other options in mind? I attached a picture to help visualize, the power lines are across the street, so not an issue.

booberry85, thank you for the suggestion- but we have no costco nearby.

Green Giants would be a excellent choice for your situation. I also live in 5b and have planted about 25 Green Giants on my property.They make excellent screens. They need all the sun you can give them. If you have deer you will need to keep the Green Giants caged until they reach 8 to 10 feet, otherwise the deer will destroy them with their antlers around October/November. The deer won't touch them once they reach that height. Keep the grass away from them. Plant them in the center of a 6ft. circle with all the grass removed. Mulch and keep them weeded. You will have to increase that circle in a few years. I planted mine with 12ft.-15ft diagonal spacing between them in 2 staggered rows about 6ft apart. It will look silly at first, but wait and see what happens. Oh I almost forgot, I have bought some from Home depot, Menards and Wall mart, The prices will vary depending on their size. The cheapest ones I bought from Wall mart, they were also the smallest, but they have grown just fine. They were probably about a year behind some of the others I bought at twice the price.

Green giants should word well. Though they are arbs, they do get large and I would not plant them any closer than 10ft on center.

After seeing your picture, I can't imagine why you are considering such tall plants in those conditions. There are seemingly some large trees above the proposed line of arborvitaes. The latter would work better in open conditions where they get consistent bright light. In shade they'll be thin, somewhat like the pines are now. But then, the arborvitaes will get taller than the top edge of what we see in your picture. What is the point of screening out anything taller than the tallest traffic ... or at most, the power lines across the street? You only need shade tolerant shrub form plants capable of getting 16 or so feet tall, and there would be many to choose from. It seems a lot of plants would work better than 'Green Giant' Arborvitaes. Even after a plant achieved eight to ten feet height, so long as the screen was solid, the problem would be under control and in the home stretch. If you HAD to have evergreen, in your zone it would probably be Hick's yew. (The real mature height and spread is going to be double that of what is stated in any online data as that is a snapshot in time.) But the ghostly shading of many deciduous plants in winter would probably be enough to remove the offense.

@Yardvaark,
I greatly appreciate your input, the appeal of the Green Giant would be the fast growing dense foliage. Although the height is not an overall concern, you are correct that it is not necessary. I am open to considering other plantings as the area is a relatively blank slate. You are right that there is shading due to the large white pines closer to the driveway (right side of the photo). Are there other plants you would recommend to fill in the area? I am looking up more information regarding Hicks Yew. Once again thank you for your input.

@mike72,
Thank you for the input on spacing and locations. Our Home-depot has 4 very sad looking 3’ GG. I didn’t check Walmart.

@rogerzone16
Thanks for the advice on spacing!

Green Giants are not your standard arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis. They are a hybrid of two completely different Thuja species, both of which are far more shade tolerant than traditional arbs. Hick's yews are great for shade as well but grow so slowly compared to the GG's, they are unlikely to provide much screening for many years. 40+ y.o. plants nearby are only 8-10 tall

wasnt the question.. for some mail order sources?????

there is no need to spend more than a few bucks for a smaller plant ... since they do grow quite fast ...

unfortunately.. i dont know any current sources... 20 years ago.. i ordered mine from botany shop .... the were 4 to 6 inchers ... and were 50 cents a piece ...

looks like they had a tough year in 2016 .... wonder if they are still in business ... https://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/1706/

ken

I grew up in Hick's yew country and do not see them quite the same as gardengal. They were commonly planted at house corners and quickly became those evergreen columns that blasted beyond the eaves. They can grow a solid 18" - 24" per year once established if treated well, which means, not harmed. Supplemental water in dry periods always help push growth to the maximum.

Their first obvious advantage is shade tolerance. They will not have the thin foliage that will occur on many other plants grown in the shade. Too, they are very durable and long lived. "40 year old plants that are only 8'-10' tall" are either being pruned heavily or something is going wrong.

You may want to take this topic up with the American Conifer Society and other conifer authorities as Hick's yews are considered dwarf conifers, meaning they have annual growth rate of less than 6" per year and typicallly never exceed 12' in a garden setting.

The yews most commonly planted in the late 20th century as the entry "sentinels" in many residential landscapes are not Hick's yews but columnar English yews, Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata' or similar culitvars. They have a much faster growth rate and will grow signficantly larger than the Hick's.

btw, none of this is my opinion....this is all documented data.

... More of that theoretical book learnin' knowledge you're spouting off there, Gardengal. I only know what I see. At any rate, there's a big, fat speedy yew out there for this lady.

And there may very well be....but it is not a Hick's!! :-)

btw, it's not book learning at all but rather practical, firsthand experience that is documented by fact. I spent a number of years teaching conifer ID among others. And maybe it is just possible that what you are seeing are not Hick's but another type of yew??

OOH! Deer candy!

(Whatever is growing in front of my house is:

• generally upright and very fast growing
• not an English yew because they have problems with the concept of -30
• completely bare for the bottom 4 ft because of the hoofed rats

)

Hick's yew is THE common tall yew where I come from, regardless of the fact of its classification. Every Spring ... 16" of new shoots in 3 weeks. Cut it off ... 12" more coming later. It adds up.

https://www.greatgardenplants.com/category/thuja-arborvitaes

I just planted 36 that I ordered from them. They are all around 3’, some a little taller. It’s rained a lot since I planted them and I am noticing a majority are bending over. Anyone know why that might be or how to correct this?

Brian, start a new thread with your question and pictures. Include a detailed history of how much rain when. Were they container plants?

Id start a new thread. It rained around in a 1” in four days, I’m guessing, I was out of town. They were container planted.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/thuja-green-giants-bending-dsvw-vd~5686595