Arborvitae And Cypress Planting Guide

Green Giant Arborvitae and Murray Cypress are ideal for privacy. They are prized for their ornamental appearance and fast growth.

Planting them carefully and observing some common sense rules regarding planting medium, nutrition, water and access to sun can help to get the most growth out of the privacy trees.

Arborvitae and Cypress roots only occupy the top 6-8” of the soil. Digging a deep hole for the most part isn’t necessary as the roots will not go deep into the ground anyway. Also, with a deep hole there is a risk of burying the trees too deep. The plate of the tree should not be buried, but should be exposed and above ground. The plate of the tree is where the tree trunk and the roots connect. Burying the plate runs the risk of suffocating the tree when high water is present.

The trees should be surrounded with a soft medium. In most nurseries this is pine bark shaving, sand, compost, Peat Moss or any other soft medium. We usually used leaf compost and aged manure.
Applying fertilizer immediately after planting is usually not a good idea as the water quality at the planting site will be different than at the nursery where the trees grew. Immediate fertilizing after planting can lead to additional stress and potentially drying out the trees. However, fertilizing later on once the trees are established is a very important step to assure beautiful trees.
Trees should always have access to water. So the ground should never really be “gunpowder” dry, but should also not be so muddy that it is difficult to walk on it. If it rains a couple of times a week, probably no need to water.
The part of the Arborvitae or Cypress which does not receive sun will drop the leaves and die. So it is a good idea to spread the trees out a few feet apart so they maintain their full shape, but also form a green wall. Usually 5’ apart in a row works.

Tree planting is a broad subject with a lot of related information. Those interested in more in depth are encouraged to read up on the subject.

Thuja Green Giant planting guide