# Thuja Green Giant Or Cryptomeria Japonica?



## Dieseldan9 (Aug 18, 2020)

Greetings,

New user as I have been lurking for a few weeks.

i am from Massachusetts and plan on planting some trees as a natural barrier.

I am trying to decide between the Thuja or Cryptomeria.

Deer is deff a issue as is drainage in the back of my property because of wetlands.

I plan on planting around 150 to 200 feet of trees.

I am spacing the thujas about 6 feet but I am unsure with the crypto's.

opinions?

TIA


----------



## Dieseldan9 (Aug 18, 2020)

Anyone have any ideas?


----------



## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Dieseldan9 said:


> Anyone have any ideas?


@Dieseldan9 check out this thread and the responses/pics I posted:

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16935

Here's an updated pic I just snapped:


----------



## Dieseldan9 (Aug 18, 2020)

Thank you will do!


----------



## Dieseldan9 (Aug 18, 2020)

bump for a new year?!


----------



## Bermuda_Newbie (Jun 15, 2018)

I don't know about the cryptomeria japonica but I'm about to plant my green giants grown from seedlings that I got last summer. I'm hoping they take off quickly because we can see right into our neighbors yard and vice versa. There was a thread I started called something like "Show me your green giants"

https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17599&p=283898#p283898

People were very kind and showed all kinds of pictures of theirs. Good luck with your decision!


----------



## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

Right now might be a good time to look at each at whatever nursery you will get them from and make sure you like the look of each coming out of winter. Around here the cryptos seem to much more deeply "bronze" from the winter cold than the green giants. Some like that look as "winter interest" and some don't. I think it gets a lot colder where you are in MA than here.


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

@Dieseldan9 I am in a similar situation and have decided on using several trees/shrubs to create my privacy hedge. Reason being is that if a disease comes through it won't wipe out your entire hedge, or at least it's less likely to wipe it out. Last year I ordered around 90 Green Giants that were propagated from cuttings down in Florida. www.sandysnurseryonline.com . I potted them up in one gallon pots and let them winter on my front porch. They're about a 18 inches tall now. I'm also using Recurve Ligustrum and Golden Oakland Holly that I got on sale last fall. I'm going to add some more varieties but that's what I have so far. The goal is 12 months of interest with a variety of evergreen shades. I love the Green Giant, and I have 90, so my plan is to have a Green Giant back drop spaced every 6 feet in a sing row. Then my second row will be were I group the other plants. Maybe in groups of 3 to 5, spacing will be plant specific. I'm in zone 7B so our plant choices will be different but hopefully you get the idea. If something comes through and wipes out my back row then the front row will give me some cover while I reestablish the back.


----------



## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

Mature width of thuja green giants is 12-15ft. I would double check the 5-6 ft spacing. It's a big fast growing tree.


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

@uts Thanks for catching that, I meant to write 6 to 10 feet. I know that some people recommend 5 to 6 feet but I'm in no rush for these to fill in. I'm expecting my little thuja's will take around 12 years to reach a 12 foot width. From what I've read the spacing depends on what you are trying to accomplish, screen vs hedge.


----------



## uts (Jul 8, 2019)

Yeah I guess the spacing will be based on how fast you want the screen to be formed. But in the long term it might not look and be good for the trees health due to over crowding. Once established though these things can r0cket up at 3-5 feet and almost 10" at optimum in terms of width.


----------



## Grass Clippins (Apr 30, 2018)

@Dieseldan9 i must have missed this the first time I read your post but you don't want to plant Green Giant in a flood plain or marsh. They need well drained soil to survive.


----------



## Dieseldan9 (Aug 18, 2020)

Grass Clippins said:


> @Dieseldan9 i must have missed this the first time I read your post but you don't want to plant Green Giant in a flood plain or marsh. They need well drained soil to survive.


I agree I read that also I have changed my planting area to eliminate that area.


----------

