5 Emerald Green Arborvitae Tree Starter Plants – Thuja Privacy Evergreen Bare Root

Overview

Transform your outdoor living area with the stunning beauty and practical privacy offered by these emerald green arborvitae starter plants. This collection provides 5 healthy bare root trees, ready to establish themselves and grow into magnificent specimens. Known for their dense, vibrant green foliage and naturally conical shape, emerald green arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Emerald Green’) are a gardener’s favorite for creating lush, living privacy screens, elegant windbreaks, or striking decorative elements in any landscape. These easy-to-care-for evergreens maintain their rich color throughout the year, adapting well to various climates and requiring minimal upkeep once established. Whether you’re a seasoned horticulturist or a beginner looking to enhance your garden, these trees offer a perfect blend of aesthetic appeal and functional benefits.

The emerald green arborvitae is a versatile and resilient conifer, celebrated for its upright, columnar growth habit and brilliant emerald-green needles. Unlike some other evergreens, this variety retains its vivid color even through harsh winters, ensuring your landscape remains vibrant year-round. These privacy tree plants are shipped bare root, a method that promotes strong root development upon planting and allows for easier handling. They are an excellent choice for those looking to quickly establish a natural barrier or add significant visual interest to their property. With proper care, these starter plants will rapidly mature into impressive, stately trees, providing years of enjoyment and essential screening.

Key Benefits

Investing in emerald green arborvitae for your garden brings a multitude of advantages, enhancing both the beauty and functionality of your outdoor space. These trees are celebrated for their distinctive characteristics and ease of cultivation, making them a top choice for various landscaping projects.

• Lush Evergreen Foliage: Enjoy a rich, brilliant emerald green color that remains vibrant and attractive throughout all four seasons, providing continuous visual appeal to your landscape.
• Exceptional Privacy & Screening: The dense, columnar growth habit of the emerald green arborvitae makes it ideal for creating natural privacy screens, living fences, or effective windbreaks, reaching heights of 12-15 feet.
• Low Maintenance & Hardy: These resilient trees are known for being easy to grow and require minimal maintenance once established. They thrive in USDA Zones 3-8, adapting to a wide range of environmental conditions.
• Versatile Landscaping Use: Perfect for defining property lines, creating background elements, or serving as individual specimen trees in both large and small gardens. The thuja green giant‘s adaptability allows for various design possibilities.
• Rapid Growth Rate: Experience noticeable growth of 1-2 feet per year with appropriate care, allowing your privacy hedges or landscape features to establish quickly within a few years.
• Drought Tolerant: Once mature and well-rooted, these emerald green arborvitae trees exhibit excellent drought resistance, reducing the need for frequent watering and making them an eco-friendly choice.
• Aesthetically Pleasing: Their elegant, compact form and consistent color add a sophisticated touch to any garden design, complementing various architectural styles and plant palettes.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your emerald green arborvitae is straightforward, making it an excellent choice for gardeners of all experience levels. These resilient trees thrive with proper attention, especially during their initial establishment phase. For optimal growth, these arborvitae prefer full sun to partial shade, meaning they should receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily for the best color and density. While they can tolerate some shade, too little light can result in sparser foliage. Ensure your planting site has well-draining soil; while adaptable to various soil types including clay, loam, and sand, they do not tolerate consistently wet or waterlogged conditions, which can lead to root rot. Amending heavy clay soils with organic matter can significantly improve drainage.

During the first year after planting, regular watering is crucial to help the bare root plants establish a strong root system. Water deeply 2-3 times per week, especially during dry spells, ensuring the soil remains consistently moist but not soggy. Once established, evergreen privacy trees like the emerald green arborvitae become quite drought-tolerant, requiring less frequent watering. Fertilization is generally not necessary in the first year if the soil is rich, but a balanced, slow-release fertilizer can be applied in early spring of subsequent years to encourage vigorous growth. Pests and diseases are rarely a significant issue for these hardy trees, though occasional monitoring for spider mites or bagworms is advisable. Pruning is minimal, primarily for shaping or removing dead/damaged branches, best done in late winter or early spring before new growth emerges. Plant spacing is important; for a dense hedge, space plants 3-4 feet apart, or wider for a more open, individual specimen look.

These trees are incredibly adaptable and can withstand a wide range of temperatures within their hardiness zones. Protection from harsh winter winds in exposed locations can be beneficial for younger plants. With these simple guidelines, your bare root arborvitae will flourish, providing beautiful green foliage and excellent screening for many years to come.

Size & Details

This offering includes 5 individual emerald green arborvitae starter plants, which are shipped as bare root specimens. Bare root plants are dormant and free of soil, making them lightweight for shipping and encouraging robust root development once planted. Upon planting, these starter trees typically range from 6 to 12 inches in height, ready to establish quickly in your garden. The emerald green arborvitae grows in a naturally narrow, pyramidal shape, reaching a mature height of approximately 12-15 feet and a width of 3-4 feet. They boast a moderate to fast growth rate, adding 1-2 feet in height annually under ideal growing conditions.

The mature size makes them perfect for creating substantial privacy hedges or as elegant vertical accents in your landscape. These trees are hardy in USDA Zones 3-8, indicating their ability to withstand a broad spectrum of winter temperatures. They are known for their consistent deep green color, which persists throughout the year, providing continuous visual interest. Expected time to reach a significant privacy height (around 6-8 feet) is typically 3-5 years with good care. These robust starter plants are cultivated to ensure a successful transition into your garden, offering a reliable foundation for your landscaping vision.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big do these emerald green arborvitae get? A: The emerald green arborvitae typically reaches a mature height of 12-15 feet and a width of 3-4 feet, forming a dense, columnar shape. This makes them ideal for privacy screens and hedges.
• Q: What condition will the plants arrive in? A: Your emerald green arborvitae will arrive as bare root starter plants. This means they are dormant, without soil, and carefully packaged to ensure freshness and health for optimal planting.
• Q: Are these plants suitable for creating a privacy hedge? A: Yes, these privacy tree plants are exceptionally well-suited for privacy hedges due to their dense foliage and upright growth. For a thick hedge, plant them 3-4 feet apart.
• Q: How much sunlight do these arborvitae need? A: Emerald green arborvitae thrives best in full sun to partial shade, ideally receiving at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day to maintain its vibrant green color and dense growth.
• Q: What USDA Hardiness Zones are these emerald green arborvitae suitable for? A: These emerald green arborvitae are hardy in USDA Zones 3-8, meaning they can tolerate a wide range of winter temperatures and are suitable for many regions across the United States.
• Q: How fast do these trees grow? A: With proper care and ideal growing conditions, emerald green arborvitae can grow at a rate of 1-2 feet per year, allowing you to establish a substantial hedge or landscape feature relatively quickly.
• Q: What kind of soil is best for planting bare root arborvitae? A: The best soil for bare root arborvitae is well-draining soil. While they are adaptable to various soil types like clay, loam, and sand, good drainage is crucial to prevent root issues.
• Q: Are these plants drought-tolerant? A: Once established, emerald green arborvitae are quite drought-tolerant, requiring less frequent watering. However, consistent watering is essential during their first year to promote strong root development.
• Q: Can I grow these in a container? A: While possible for a short period when young, emerald green arborvitae are best grown directly in the ground to allow their root systems to fully develop and support their mature size.
• Q: Is the Thuja Green Giant the same as Emerald Green Arborvitae? A: No, while both are popular Thuja varieties, the ‘Emerald Green’ (Thuja occidentalis ‘Emerald Green’) is distinct from the ‘Green Giant’ (Thuja ‘Green Giant’). Emerald Green is more compact and has a brighter green color, while Green Giant grows much larger and faster. This listing is for emerald green arborvitae.