Emerald Green Arborvitae Spacing and Growth Rate

Sheri Dorn is a versatile homesteader and culinary artist with a strong focus on organic and heirloom gardening. Holding a Master's degree in Culinary Arts, she combines her love for cooking and gardening in a unique way. Sheri is an active contributor to online gardening communities and enjoys quality outdoor time with her family and pets.
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Read in detail about Emerald Green Arborvitae Spacing and Growth Rate to create a beautiful display of these trees!

Emerald Green Arborvitae 1
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Emerald Green Arborvitae is a popular choice among homeowners, landscapers, and gardeners alike.  With its striking emerald green foliage, this evergreen plant adds an attractive and elegant touch to any landscape. This guide will tell you all the details about how to space these plants right.

Check out 16 Different Types of Arborvitae Varieties for Privacy here


Spacing Requirements for Emerald Green Arborvitae

The spacing requirements for Emerald Green Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Emerald Green’) depend on the intended use. If you’re growing them as a privacy screen or hedge, you’ll want to space them closer together. If you’re growing them as individual trees, you’ll want to give them more space.

  1. For a Tight Hedge or Privacy Screen: Emerald Green Arborvitae will grow to be about 3-4 feet wide. For a tight hedge, plant them about 2-3 feet apart from center to center. This will allow the branches to touch and form a solid screen once they are fully grown.
  2. For a Loose Hedge: If you want a loose hedge where individual trees are somewhat distinguishable, plant them 4-5 feet apart from center to center.
  3. For Individual Trees: If you are planting Emerald Green Arborvitae as individual trees and want them to have plenty of space to grow without their branches touching, plant them 6-8 feet apart from center to center.

Emerald Green Arborvitaes will typically grow to be about 12-14 feet high, and they grow fairly slowly, about 6-9 inches per year. So, keep their mature size in mind when choosing a planting location. They prefer full sun to partial shade and well-draining soil.

Learn about the Care and Growing Arborvitae here


Is There a Systematic Way to Plant Emerald Green Arborvitae

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Indeed, there’s a systematic way to determine how many arborvitae trees you’ll need to plant, based on the purpose of planting and the available space. Here’s how you can calculate it:

1. Determine the Purpose

If you’re planting a hedge for privacy, you’ll want Emerald Green Arborvitaes to be closer together so that their branches overlap and create a dense screen. For Emerald Green Arborvitae, which usually gets 3-4 feet wide, a good spacing for a solid privacy screen is about 2-3 feet apart (measured from the center of one tree to the center of the next).

If you want the individual trees to be distinguishable but still form a loose screen, you might space them 4-5 feet apart.

2. Measure Your Space

Measure the length of the area where you want to plant the trees. This is where you’ll be planting them side by side.

3. Calculate the Number of Trees

Divide the total length of the planting area by the desired spacing between Emerald Green Arborvitaes. For instance, if your hedge length is 50 feet and you want to plant for a tight hedge (2-3 feet apart), you would need between 17 to 25 trees (50/3 = ~17 trees, 50/2 = 25 trees).

Check out some amazing tall grass for privacy ideas here

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