" Green Giant " arborvitae ( Thuja " Green Giant " ) , hardy from U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 5 through 8 , is a tight - grow , disease - resistant evergreen often recommended to replace the canker- androot rot - prone Leyland cypress ( X Cuprocyparis leylandii ) . Although " Green Giant " might seem superior , it has drawbacks as well as advantage .
Green Giant Facts
Step 1
Arborvitaes make handsome hedges . Their heavy growth and sculptural foliage adapt well to both formal and informal landscape . " Green Giant " is a cross ( genus Thuja plicata x Thuja standishii ) arborvitae that grows rapidly — 3 to 4 feet per year under ideal conditions — to a stature of 40 to 60 fundament . They are more disease - repellent than the Leyland cypress , which is intrepid from USDA geographical zone 6 through zona 10 , and more deer - resistant than other Thuja mixed bag .
Almost Perfect
" Green Giant ’s " hardiness orbit extends across temperate parts of the land — on the Gulf Coast or in much of California , they are not as heating system tolerant as the Leyland cypress tree . Although rated as damaged infrequently by deer , " Green Giant ’s " soft leaves become more attractive when slight else is available during winter , if it ’s surrounded by plants seldom damaged — or when cervid are starve .
Size
" Green Giant " makes a carefree hedge — if you desire a 30 - pes - tall screen . A lower hedge requires work . Arborvitae , like other evergreens , loses old leaves from the interior of the tree outward as new increase begins each give , so chop back branches too energetically exposes inner limb , which stay bare after leaves brown and cliff . " Green Giant " grows 3 to 4 foot p.a. , so it requires conservative sheering several times a time of year to keep it 5 to 10 feet tall . ladder and special equipment might be needed to tame an uncorrected hedgerow . In addition , " Green Giants " grow 12 to 18 foot wide , so give them enough space to maturate — place plants 5 to 6 feet apart for a hedging .
Light
" Green Giant " needs a elephantine place in the sun . The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree suffers when it is put in shade , under overhanging evergreens or against the wall of a tall building . blending results in brown on the shaded side , odd growth or a leaning tree in search of sunshine . This indigence for full sun imply keeping country around your hedging clear of plantings that might maturate and shade parts of the hedging along its distance , leading to spotty outgrowth and brown patch .
Bagworms
Bagworms , named for the shaggy cocoons where they spend the wintertime , emerge as larvae from May to June and live on your " Green Giant " all summer . Male bagworms become moths , but female bagworms return to the grip to consist more eggs in September and October . Bagworms have lifelike enemies — predatory insects and doll — and you could pick off the 1 1/2- to 2 - inch bags . insecticide are only efficacious on the larval cat as they emerge from their bag in springiness .
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