Green giant arborvitae have become one of the most popular trees for creating a living screen. Often prized for their disease resistance and rapid growth pattern, these evergreen trees have a unique appearance and hardy traits perfect for many landscapes. As beautiful as they are, proper watering and caring will ensure their beauty for years.
So, how often should you water your green giant arborvitae trees? Generally, you need to water every day or two for the first 2-3 months or until the plants are established. Once established, green giant arborvitae trees are fairly drought-tolerant and will appreciate one inch of water every week or ten days.
For gardeners living in southern climates, you may want to water your green giant arborvitae trees more often, depending on how quickly the soil drains. Read on to learn more about watering and caring for these evergreens. Caring for them correctly can go a long way to ensuring they are healthy and growing well.
About Green Giant Arborvitae
Green giant arborvitae is one of the species of thuja but is mainly a cross between two different thuja varieties: Standishii (native to Japan) and Plicata (native to North America) varieties. It is famous for its beautiful, flat shoots and needle-like leaves that reveal a flat texture sure to grace any landscape with an ornamental look.
Notably, while arborvitae trees generally have slow growth rates, the green giant arborvitae is exceptional. As the name suggests, green giant arborvitae grows relatively large, reaching up to 60 feet tall and 15 to 25 feet wide. Unlike its peers, it has a faster growth rate, growing at approximately 2-3 feet per year in ideal conditions. For the most part, this means it will take about 30 years or more to reach its maturity height.
Because of their incredibly fast growth rate, green giants are often one of the best choices for quick evergreen privacy fences, screens, or hedges. They maintain their attractive pyramidal shape naturally, so you won’t have to work on them to keep them in ideal shape.
For gardeners considering growing green giant arborvitae trees, perhaps the most exciting thing is to know that they are fairly drought-tolerant, tolerant to light shade, and relatively disease-free. They are quite hardy and versatile to survive a range of conditions. However, they will do best with a little care.
Watering green giant arborvitae
Like most evergreens, green giant arborvitae trees prefer moist soils but aren’t incredibly fussy when it comes to soil conditions. Even so, they will not do well in overly soggy or compact soil. To ensure they grow well and are healthy, it is best to plant them in areas with well-draining soils, then water them as needed.
When it comes to watering, how often to water your green giants will immensely depend on how established they are and the season. Apparently, newly planted green giant arborvitae shrubs need plenty of water to establish a strong root system. This is best done right from planting.
During planting, put back part of the soil around the roots and fill the planting hole right up with water. This will drain into the roots zone, so there will be enough water around the roots when you put the rest of the soil back. Watering after putting all the soil back may only wet the top few inches, leaving the soil around the roots ball dry.
After planting, your plants will appreciate 2-4 hours of dripping hose per day, preferably against the stems. Because the plants do not have any roots growing into the soil, watering against the stems will allow water to trickle down and encourage roots to grow and move out to the ground. Dripping – low and slow watering – should continue for 10 days to 2 weeks.
Once the roots draw into the ground (after two weeks), change the watering frequency to once every two days and continue for 2-3 months until the plants are established. For established green giant arborvitae trees, you need to water them once a week along with using common sense.
Typically, established green giant arborvitae trees are fairly drought-tolerant. However, young trees may need to be watered over long periods of drought; otherwise, their leaves may turn yellow or brown and lose vigor. As long as the plant is established, it will do well with about one inch of water per week.
How Often To Water Green Giant Arborvitae: Conclusion
Watering green giant arborvitae trees can go a long way to ensuring they are healthy and grow well. It is all about moderation, so you don’t soak the plant or give it inadequate water. When you give your plant adequate care at its young age, it will reward you with attractive evergreen foliage yearlong for some years.