Just want to add, I’d typically plant in a staggered pattern… but never attempted a 2nd row with an existing row so tightly packed. I think the previous home owner had these planted at roughly 5 feet apart. Which I feel is a bit tight.

Ok thanks. So I should be good to plant a more spaced out row in front of this one? I get enough sun coming over the top of this existing row. Just wanted to make sure I’m not setting myself up for failure with a 2nd row. The plants I’m getting are 6+ feet tall.

those look nothing like my green giants.. so i suspect your ID is wrong ...

wonder where jordans pic is?

ken

The tags are still on them. They’re GG’s. They’re just planted too tight and crushed in.

I plant mine in a zig zag pattern. Spaced about 7' apart. Seems to be about the perfect way to do it. I think you can plant a second row. I would space them about 6' apart.

I agree they don't look like GG, but it's hard to tell from a dark picture far away.

Definitely Green Giants. As I said, the first row is crowded and a mess.

that's what you get when you croud plants

ron

This is why I want to start again with a 2nd row in front of this mess.

Are you having drought?

Those trees are showing distress beyond what overcrowding would do.

My neighbor behind me had an oak tree cut that was next to it. As the tree came down, it swiped the arborvitae. I believe there are some broken branches. The leader bent a bit too but it’s straightened out more since. This was 3 weeks ago.

Now that the oak is gone (I assume left side), the increased sun exposure should allow the more scraggly trees on the left to grow more vigorously. In fact they all should benefit from that.

I see leafless trees on the right side and I have no idea what caused that but you might want to work on removing those and adding more GG on that end to replace them.

Other than that I would'nt be too quick to plant another row in front of the existing ones.

Shade from new trees will eventually have an effect on the older trees in an increasing manner.

Instead allow the existing trees to expand growth and fill in.

The best, and most expensive, avenue would be to take out all the old trees and replace with 2 rows of same age GG so they all grow up together.

The row you see gets sun from the south - which is behind them. I’m taking the photo north facing south. If I put in a second row and pull them back 6 to 7 feet away, they all receive sun.

The trees that died to the right are a result of a red wood tree that is growing far too close and I’m having it removed. It is shading and causing issues.

New planting, 7 ft back, on the north side from existing, mature, green giants, will get full sun?

I don't understand how that's possible. Partial sun, dappled sun, maybe. :-)

These species are full sun trees and growth will be regulated by how many hours of direct sun they receive each day. I believe 6 to 8 hours of direct sun is considered 'Full sun', so they would be fine with that.

I’ve been observing the sun on the hedge. 7 feet back it is receiving full sun. The 2nd row would also be getting morning sun from the east & afternoon from the west. As for winter, I’m obviously assuming it would be less.

What I meant by 7 foot back is, there’s no shade during mid afternoon hours. Sun is pretty much above hedge.

Gotcha! ;-)

Full sun is full sun, some trees just don't so well if too much shade.

GG's shouldn't be too fussy and can generally take all they are given. ;-)

Just remember to water properly and maybe wait until late September to October to plant. Excessive heat problem is usually diminished somewhat by then or just wait until spring.

Let us know how it all turns out. :)

Bill

Thanks. Yes, the point of my post was… could I do a 2nd row? I hate how this first row is planted and it’s getting trashed by various factors. I suppose I’m more concerned with losing it and starring directly into the back of my neighbors house. I want to have a back up hedge if this one bites the dust. If not, even better. It’ll hopefully be thicker. I’d generally plant in a diagonal pattern with 7 feet between GG’s. Just don’t have that option here and don’t want to start from scratch.

If you plant 7' back, I think it will be OK. While they prefer full sun. they'll grow in the shade too. Just not as much.

I agree, green giant arborvitae is more shade tolerant than eastern arborvitaes so should do well even with less than what's considered 'Full sun'.

As mentioned, the more sun, the more energy they'll have to produce foliage faster.

my point was simply.. if you are trying top match the plants.. i dont think the old ones are green giants ... if you dont care... i sure dont care ...

if you can dig holes.. you can plant anything.. anywhere you want ... i wouldnt run a trench acroos the foot of the old trees for fear of disturbing too much root system ... but i see no reason you cant dig a few independent holes to plant new trees ...

if i were you.. i would plant GGs .. the real ones.. and plan on removing the old ones when the new are big enough to effectuate your site block ...

i do note you have planted a tree.. and that will be a faster better long term sight block ... one problem here.. was the original planting was presumably done directly on the property line.. and that is never a great plan... if you have any more space than a postage stamp ....

and i would NOT RELY ON BIGBOX to sell you properly labeled stock.. mail order the real plants from a dedicated conifer grower...

ken

If you have the room i think you’ll be very happy with the second row. The spacing sounds fine and i think youll be happier with their growth in the shadier spots than what you have on the first planting. Not to beat a dead horse but i also dont think what you have are GGs, I’ve been seeing a bunch of Thuja ’nigra’ misslabeled as GG. Just a thought.

Another thought is to cut down that newly planted pear tree once the GGs take hold. The pear looks like it will shade the area, and only become a pest in the future.

Yea I see that about the pear tree. I may move this about 6 feet forward since it was recently planted.

If that's a bradford pear, I would dig it up and dispose of it. I'm surprised they're still legally being sold. They spread like crazy and once mature will split apart during a heavy thunderstorm.

I actually planted 3 Cleveland pear trees because this is the last year they’re being sold in Ohio. I had planned to “pleach” them to create another layer of screening. So with a more compact, pruned shape, they should be out of the way of the GG’s.

I hate plant nazis who want to dictate what others can plant. I feel you can't fight nature and every plant was invasive somewhere at some time. But, I have to warn you, Bradford pears are really bad trees. Ignore the insane invasiveness of them. Way more invasive than 99% of trees listed as invasive. Probably won't be an issue on your property. Only nearby open fields that may be already infested with them. They have a terrible growth habit. They turn into a giant sail with very little structural support. A heavy wind will make them fall apart and need to be cut down. I think it's an integral part of their life cycle. They explode, sending seeds everywhere and then new trees have a nice sunny open area to grow by the hundreds. No matter how you prune, you can't change how the trunks splits into heavy branches at extreme angles 4' or so off the ground.

I have Cleveland select pears in my neighborhood that are 15+ years and Bradford going on 40. None of these have split. I’m aware of the problem they have. I agree to disagree on the pruning. If you manage these trees, the weight is reduced from the top.