# Looking to Plant Privacy Hedge and Was Reading Another Post...



## L4Kf

Hello everyone.

I'm brand new here...which means, I really don't know terminology, plants and all that. And considering I live surrounded by forest, one might think I really should know all of that. I agree. So, here I am. 

The current issue I want to address on my property is a privacy hedge.

The 11-acre property is primarily forest, with about 2 acres of buildings, lawn and fenced-in garden area. And of course there is all manner of foliage. Unfortunately, I know little to nothing about any of it. This obviously leaves me at a distinct disadvantage.

Anyway, my original thought was to transplant some of what I have elsewhere (seeing as I have so very much of it) to the spot where I want this privacy hedge. In searching the forums, I found this post
(https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11182&p=184802&hilit=privacy#p184802), which was very helpful.

In any event, I am wondering about a few things that the other post mentioned, realizing that that post was made barely two months ago. The Thuja Green Giant appears to have been the top vote-getter from that post. I recall seeing this tree at previous properties of mine and so I think I would know it if I saw it here. Sadly, I don't recall having seen it. But I will keep looking.

Then, even if I do find it elsewhere here, it seems to me that it would be more cost-effective to just purchase the plants instead of attempting multiple transplantations. Thoughts?

But I wonder if this particular shrub/bush/plant/tree/whatever is appropriate for Zone 6b, where this particular property is located. Also (and this was addressed in the other post), being forest there is all manner of animal. You name it, it's probably been through the property: fox, bear, deer, raccoon, dog, cat, skunk, opossum (I'm pretty sure), snake, mice...the list is likely endless. It sounds like the Thuja would be of little to no interest to the animals, which is good.

Also, the soil here is more rock than soil, at least where I intend to create the hedge. Honestly, I think I'll have to use a gas-powered auger to make the holes (unless the holes don't have to be THAT deep). How will the Thuja do in rocky "soil"?

Additionally, the hedge would be located in a spot where it would not get all-day sun, as there are tall trees on either side of it. So I'd say...maybe...8 hours of sun, maximum. (Even in summer.)

So, I priced a new Thuja Green Giant plant, and it seems to be available for less than $30 each; this, to me, is reasonable. Again, it seems that just buying/planting new would be the best option.

Now, the truth is, I'm not thrilled about such a TALL bush/shrub/whatever. I think that 30' would work fine. Is there a bush/shrub/whatever that would be nearly like the Thuja but just shorter?

SIGH

So many questions. Sorry to drop all of this, especially as a newbie who couldn't help anyone else if his life depended on it. I'll appreciate whatever guidance others provide.

Thanks much!


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## pennstater2005

Emerald Green get 15' high. They supposedly can stand as little as 6 hours a day of sun without thinning too much.


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## L4Kf

pennstater2005 said:


> Emerald Green get 15' high. They supposedly can stand as little as 6 hours a day of sun without thinning too much.


I went window shopping today and saw those Emerald Green plants. My guess is that they are very similar to the Green Giants in most other respects. Might work well in my case.

I did find some Green Giants, too. I'm told I'll get a discount for buying at least two. Also told that GGs are very tolerant of soil conditions, and that Autumn is the best (or nearly best) time of year to plant them.

So, I think I'll go with six of the GGs. Thanks much pennstater2005 for chiming in. :thumbup:

Now to dig those holes....


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## gm560

Emeralds will get eaten by deer, unfortunately. They also get flattened by heavy snow and sometimes never recover, even with staking. I just removed 10 of them this spring for this very reason.

Here is another option if you haven't pulled the trigger yet.... similar to Green Giant, but a little stockier is what they say.

https://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/Green-Splendor-Arborvitae-Thuja-p/arbgsp2.htm


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## Babaganoosh

Not only do the emerald greens get eaten by deer, they end up looking like weiners. It's pretty funny. Deer absolutely love them.

I've got a row of green giants and they are starting to mesh together. I couldn't be happier with these so far.


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## L4Kf

gm560 said:


> Emeralds will get eaten by deer, unfortunately. They also get flattened by heavy snow and sometimes never recover, even with staking. I just removed 10 of them this spring for this very reason.
> 
> Here is another option if you haven't pulled the trigger yet.... similar to Green Giant, but a little stockier is what they say.
> 
> https://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/Green-Splendor-Arborvitae-Thuja-p/arbgsp2.htm


I have enough deer to start my own football team, so, yeah...deer-resistance needs to be very high. In comparing the GS to the GG, I like that the GG will eventually be quite wide at the base (in addition to the high resistance to deer). For my particular situation, I think 6 will work.

Thanks much, gm560, for the response. :thumbup:


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## L4Kf

Babaganoosh said:


> Not only do the emerald greens get eaten by deer, they end up looking like weiners. It's pretty funny. Deer absolutely love them.
> 
> I've got a row of green giants and they are starting to mesh together. I couldn't be happier with these so far.


That meshing of the GGs sounds awesome. It seems that would make a very effective privacy wall, AND be a bit challenging to physically breach, too. I hope to achieve that as well.

Thanks, Babaganoosh, for saying something. :thumbup:

P.S. How long ago did you plant yours?


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## gm560

L4Kf said:


> gm560 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Emeralds will get eaten by deer, unfortunately. They also get flattened by heavy snow and sometimes never recover, even with staking. I just removed 10 of them this spring for this very reason.
> 
> Here is another option if you haven't pulled the trigger yet.... similar to Green Giant, but a little stockier is what they say.
> 
> https://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/Green-Splendor-Arborvitae-Thuja-p/arbgsp2.htm
> 
> 
> 
> I have enough deer to start my own football team, so, yeah...deer-resistance needs to be very high. In comparing the GS to the GG, I like that the GG will eventually be quite wide at the base (in addition to the high resistance to deer). For my particular situation, I think 6 will work.
> 
> Thanks much, gm560, for the response. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

 :thumbup: I actually just planted 3 Green Giants myself. FWIW I found Lowes by me to have the best prices. $22 for a 3 gallon pot. Tree's are probably 3-4 feet tall. HD was $30 for the same size root ball, and they seemed a bit shorter. I would have bought from a nursery by the prices they wanted at my local garden centers were insane.


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## Babaganoosh

I put them in last spring. I'll take a picture later.


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## L4Kf

> :thumbup: I actually just planted 3 Green Giants myself. FWIW I found Lowes by me to have the best prices. $22 for a 3 gallon pot. Tree's are probably 3-4 feet tall. HD was $30 for the same size root ball, and they seemed a bit shorter. I would have bought from a nursery by the prices they wanted at my local garden centers were insane.


I found them locally for $40, but only if I purchase at least two. That seemed high to me, and I'm glad to have you confirm that. I may go back there and make them an offer, as they claim that they're a slow-to-move item, AND it's the end of the season(?).

Was checking out these (https://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/Large-Evergreen-Privacy-Screen-s/43.htm). I like! Still have to see what they want for shipping, as I think I'd like to do maybe one a week for six weeks. I think that'll just fit the ideal planting season....


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## L4Kf

Babaganoosh said:


> I put them in last spring. I'll take a picture later.


That'd be great. What would you say is the amount of width/height added since they were planted? I was stunned to read that these can grow 24-48" per year under decent conditions. I'd love that. Just makes me sad that I didn't do this years ago. I'd have a great privacy wall by now. :sorry:


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## gm560

L4Kf said:


> :thumbup: I actually just planted 3 Green Giants myself. FWIW I found Lowes by me to have the best prices. $22 for a 3 gallon pot. Tree's are probably 3-4 feet tall. HD was $30 for the same size root ball, and they seemed a bit shorter. I would have bought from a nursery by the prices they wanted at my local garden centers were insane.
> 
> 
> 
> I found them locally for $40, but only if I purchase at least two. That seemed high to me, and I'm glad to have you confirm that. I may go back there and make them an offer, as they claim that they're a slow-to-move item, AND it's the end of the season(?).
> 
> Was checking out these (https://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/Large-Evergreen-Privacy-Screen-s/43.htm). I like! Still have to see what they want for shipping, as I think I'd like to do maybe one a week for six weeks. I think that'll just fit the ideal planting season....
Click to expand...

How tall for $40? My lowes has larger Green Giants as well (probably 6 feet tall) but they want $70 for those. They grow pretty fast so in the long tun the 2 feet is moot, which is why I opted to save a few bucks. Although they will probably not grow more than a few inches the first year while they are getting acclimated and setting their feet.


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## Babaganoosh

L4Kf said:


> Babaganoosh said:
> 
> 
> 
> I put them in last spring. I'll take a picture later.
> 
> 
> 
> That'd be great. What would you say is the amount of width/height added since they were planted? I was stunned to read that these can grow 24-48" per year under decent conditions. I'd love that. Just makes me sad that I didn't do this years ago. I'd have a great privacy wall by now. :sorry:
Click to expand...

They have grown about 3 to 4 foot taller within the past 18 months. Probably more but I've trimmed the center leader back 3 times. Doing that promotes a thicker, bushier growth down low. That's exactly what I want for my privacy screen.

I planted them 5 feet apart and there was lots of space between them initially. Lately you can't see thru the first few feet unless you are looking straight on.

As for the height numbers they give you it's somewhat deceiving. If might grow 3 feet in a year but that's the center leader. It's not necessarily branched growth. Its a lot more sparse at the top 25 percent of height. That's why you trim the leader back a little bit. I've also hand pruned them to promote good growth. You trim vertical shoots to keep other leaders from forming. It prevents the tree from splitting in snow.

I forgot to grab some pics but I'll get some as soon as I can. I'll also find pics of when I planted them for comparison


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## L4Kf

> How tall for $40? My lowes has larger Green Giants as well (probably 6 feet tall) but they want $70 for those. They grow pretty fast so in the long tun the 2 feet is moot, which is why I opted to save a few bucks. Although they will probably not grow more than a few inches the first year while they are getting acclimated and setting their feet.


Not sure on the height, but certainly no 6'. I'm planning on going back today, so I'll let you know.


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## L4Kf

> They have grown about 3 to 4 foot taller within the past 18 months. Probably more but I've trimmed the center leader back 3 times. Doing that promotes a thicker, bushier growth down low. That's exactly what I want for my privacy screen.


Hmm...I hadn't really thought about trimming, and how that would affect their shape/growth. Will have to do some thinking about that, and then research how to trim to get what I want.



> I planted them 5 feet apart and there was lots of space between them initially. Lately you can't see thru the first few feet unless you are looking straight on.


My situation is that the trees will be viewed from a rather steep angle, like almost in a line. So I figure that the distance between them can be greater than what you did. I'm planning on 12' or so.



> As for the height numbers they give you it's somewhat deceiving. If might grow 3 feet in a year but that's the center leader.


What do you mean by "center leader" and "leader"?



> It's not necessarily branched growth. Its a lot more sparse at the top 25 percent of height. That's why you trim the leader back a little bit.


At an apparent mature height of 40' to 60', I'm ok with sparseness near the top. I figure that a somewhat broad growth at 30' should do the trick.



> I've also hand pruned them to promote good growth. You trim vertical shoots to keep other leaders from forming. It prevents the tree from splitting in snow.


We definitely have heavy snow here. The last snow we got, at least of any significance, was some 13" and knocked out power here for not quite 5 days. The other trees similar to the GG were sagging tremendously. So this is good to know; thanks.



> I forgot to grab some pics but I'll get some as soon as I can. I'll also find pics of when I planted them for comparison


 :thumbup:


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## jasonbraswell

I picked up a Leyland Cypress at Lowe's last weekend in the clearance section. Probably a localized deal but worth shopping.


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## Babaganoosh

The center leader is essentially the trunk. With GG arbs the central leader shoots up vertically. The growth is quick. But the branches aren't thick in that area.

If you are going to let them get to full height you don't have to mess with them. Just let them grow.

Cutting the center leader is like cutting grass. It encourages it to spread wider.


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## adgattoni

The central leader is the main branch in a tree structure. Letting a tree develop multiple leader branches can compromise the structure of the tree and lead to splitting. More info on proper pruning here.

In some cases it is desirable to have multiple leaders, i.e., fruit trees in orchards are typically pruned to have multiple leaders. It increases the productivity of the tree and protects against losing entire trees from disease.


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## L4Kf

adgattoni said:


> The central leader is the main branch in a tree structure. Letting a tree develop multiple leader branches can compromise the structure of the tree and lead to splitting. More info on proper pruning here.
> 
> In some cases it is desirable to have multiple leaders, i.e., fruit trees in orchards are typically pruned to have multiple leaders. It increases the productivity of the tree and protects against losing entire trees from disease.


adgattoni, thanks very much for the further explanation and the link. I don't anticipate doing much in the way of pruning/trimming, but I still intend to read about it. Like I said at the outset: I'm brand new to all of this. :thumbup:


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## L4Kf

Babaganoosh said:


> The center leader is essentially the trunk. With GG arbs the central leader shoots up vertically. The growth is quick. But the branches aren't thick in that area.
> 
> If you are going to let them get to full height you don't have to mess with them. Just let them grow.
> 
> Cutting the center leader is like cutting grass. It encourages it to spread wider.


Babaganoosh, thanks for the education. Being new to all of this, I'm very appreciative for the help. And, yeah...did *not* know that about grass. (Wish someone would tell my grass that....)


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## L4Kf

Picked up 6 of the GGs. Three were about 6'6" while the other three were about 6'0," and paid $40 for each. Plan on getting one planted each day until they're all in...starting today.

So now it's off to read more about how to ensure these things thrive.

Thanks again for all the input. Was super-helpful! 

P.S. Photos coming....


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## L4Kf

Here is the first one, done just now. This one was the tallest, too, approaching 7'. I plan on placing them by height: shortest will be nearest the buildings, while the tallest ones will be furthest away. (The property rises to the buildings, so the tallest ones give an ever-so-slight advantage in producing the privacy the soonest.)

Tomorrow I'm back in town to pick up probably about 5, 50# bags of organic topsoil, and some mulch.

Ooooooooooo...this is so exciting!


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## NJ-lawn

FYI .....smaller trees grow faster than taller. It takes longer for a tall tree/shrub to establish a good root system.

What I mean is you can save some money and purchase the 6' ones. I planted arbs about 3 yrs ago, some 4' and a few 5-6'. The shorter ones catch up quick


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## L4Kf

Ahhh...I did not know that. Still, these were the only ones they had. Hopefully, they'll still work fine and be up and protecting privacy very soon. Thanks! :thumbup:


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## Babaganoosh

If you can get a soaker hose on them it will help establish roots. Don't fertilize until next year.

I used a drop system and it worked very well.


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## L4Kf

Babaganoosh said:


> If you can get a soaker hose on them it will help establish roots. Don't fertilize until next year.
> 
> I used a drop system and it worked very well.


These are a bit too far from a faucet. But I do plan on checking on them once a day to ensure they're moist.

By the way, there is a predominant south wind where these are planted. And so I was thinking of putting a string/rope/whatever around them until they have some bulk and a strong root system. Thoughts?


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## Babaganoosh

I had to stake one of mine for about a month. If you can get water onto the ground around them and they start to root you probably wont need the strings


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## L4Kf

Babaganoosh said:


> I had to stake one of mine for about a month. If you can get water onto the ground around them and they start to root you probably wont need the strings


Ok...good to know; thanks. I plan on keeping a close eye on them anyway, so I'll be watching for that 'ol "windswept look."

Picked up some top soil and some cypress mulch today, and now have the second one planted. May go for another one today, but I'm pooped. It's been plenty warm here the last few days. Currently a heat index of 91...for September. Yikes.


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## NJ-lawn

I also recommend a soaker hose, at least til the roots are established. I've seen a lot of arborvitae die in the first year because lack of water. Once established they are self efficient.


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## Babaganoosh

Here's some sceeenshots from my security cams. Ignore the dead lawn. It's about to be renovated.

The three all the way to the left were 3 feet high and the rest were about 6 feet high when I planted them last spring. There's 16 in total but you can't see them all in one pic. The tips of the green giants are around 9 feet. See how bushy they are getting down low? That's from trimming the top. I actually need to lop those tips off today one last time for this year. My intention is to wall out my neighbor. She's a nightmare. Too much to go into. They recently put that white fence up. It's about 10 feet from their house. The lady is insane.


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## L4Kf

Boy do I miss living in the city (COUGH...COUGH).


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## L4Kf

Babaganoosh said:


> The three all the way to the left were 3 feet high and the rest were about 6 feet high when I planted them last spring. There's 16 in total but you can't see them all in one pic. The tips of the green giants are around 9 feet. See how bushy they are getting down low? That's from trimming the top. I actually need to lop those tips off today one last time for this year. My intention is to wall out my neighbor. She's a nightmare. Too much to go into. They recently put that white fence up. It's about 10 feet from their house. The lady is insane.


When you say "last spring," you mean like 6 months ago?


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## Babaganoosh

L4Kf said:


> Babaganoosh said:
> 
> 
> 
> The three all the way to the left were 3 feet high and the rest were about 6 feet high when I planted them last spring. There's 16 in total but you can't see them all in one pic. The tips of the green giants are around 9 feet. See how bushy they are getting down low? That's from trimming the top. I actually need to lop those tips off today one last time for this year. My intention is to wall out my neighbor. She's a nightmare. Too much to go into. They recently put that white fence up. It's about 10 feet from their house. The lady is insane.
> 
> 
> 
> When you say "last spring," you mean like 6 months ago?
Click to expand...

No, 18 months


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## L4Kf

Babaganoosh said:


> L4Kf said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Babaganoosh said:
> 
> 
> 
> The three all the way to the left were 3 feet high and the rest were about 6 feet high when I planted them last spring. There's 16 in total but you can't see them all in one pic. The tips of the green giants are around 9 feet. See how bushy they are getting down low? That's from trimming the top. I actually need to lop those tips off today one last time for this year. My intention is to wall out my neighbor. She's a nightmare. Too much to go into. They recently put that white fence up. It's about 10 feet from their house. The lady is insane.
> 
> 
> 
> When you say "last spring," you mean like 6 months ago?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> No, 18 months
Click to expand...

Ahhh...ok.

Am planning on another 4 GGs, for a total of 10. Have four in the ground now, and plan to have the other two (part of the six I bought at the same time) planted by the end of this week.

Also, the area in which I'm planting these actually gets quite a bit less sun that I originally said...more like 3 -5 hours during the summer and, well, less than that in the winter. Sure hope they'll do fine there.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone for the help. I'll plan on updating as time goes on.


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## L4Kf

Latest news is...

I'm done planting, at least for this season, but probably for good, unless one or more of the plantings fail. Nine total have been planted, although technically that may be too many. On the other hand, if so, it'll be a very thick wall of Green Giant. so either way, I'll be thrilled.

Six, purchased from Lowe's, were purchased (and planted) first. These were about $40 each, thick and all around 6' tall. The last three were purchased later (and planted later) from a local nursery. They were about 19$ each, thin and closer (on average) to about 5' tall.

Went through about 15 bags of topsoil and half as much cypress/mix mulch. It was more $$$ than I expected, but I have no regrets so far.

Every six months I plan to measure them. In the meantime, of course, I'm watering and keeping a close eye on them.

By the end of 2022 I hope to have dramatically increased the privacy with these GGs. Then, another 2-5 years later, the house/yard/garden should be completely invisible to anyone, anywhere on the road, even up to my gate. Woohoooo!!!

Thanks again to :friends: for your guidance, thoughts and encouragement.

Here's to property privacy. :clapping:

P.S. I've created a new post regarding how to deal with an unsightly and unwanted stump. Thoughts?


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## NJ-lawn

Here's my wall of Cyprus trees.....



Five years ago they were 3' tall. They need to be trimmed to keep them tidy, not the prettiest trees but they grew fast, which is what I wanted. We have an inground pool and my neighbor has a raised deck so it created relatively instant privacy. Took only a few years before they grew into each other.


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## RDZed

jasonbraswell said:


> I picked up a Leyland Cypress at Lowe's last weekend in the clearance section. Probably a localized deal but worth shopping.


Keep an eye out for bagworms. They will destroy Leyland's in a season. Also, be aware of both Seiridium Canker and Needle blight. Both are spreading around the country like lightning and destroying massive amounts of Leyland. My neighbor had to remove 40 mature Leyland's that had been hit with Seiridium Canker.


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## jasonbraswell

RDZed said:


> jasonbraswell said:
> 
> 
> 
> I picked up a Leyland Cypress at Lowe's last weekend in the clearance section. Probably a localized deal but worth shopping.
> 
> 
> 
> Keep an eye out for bagworms. They will destroy Leyland's in a season. Also, be aware of both Seiridium Canker and Needle blight. Both are spreading around the country like lightning and destroying massive amounts of Leyland. My neighbor had to remove 40 mature Leyland's that had been hit with Seiridium Canker.
Click to expand...

I'm staying routine with a yard spread like spectrazide. Any other recommendations?


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## L4Kf

Good day all.

Not sure if anyone is still paying attention to this post, but I am back a year later to provide an update.

To recap, one year ago I planted 9 Green Giants. My plan was to continually monitor (which I do) and provide updates every 6 months.

I think I missed the March 2020 update, but considering nothing of note happened over the cooler months, there was not much to be missed.

Now, one year in, and I have statistics on their growth. But first, I want to mention that they all look to me to be doing well enough. The "runts" are still the runts, pretty much, in terms of both upward/outward growth and fullness. Still, they all look healthy to me.

Other than what I said earlier about "outward growth," I think they're growing proportionally. Anyway, the image shows their vertical growth progression. Overall I am pleased.



Thoughts, suggestions, concerns, recommendations...whatever...all will be appreciated.

Thank you!


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## Allan-00

@L4Kf I love it when somebody enjoys nerding out with spreadsheets as much as I do. Good info! I hope to do the same in the spring.


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## billa9b0ng

Allan-00 said:


> @L4Kf I love it when somebody enjoys nerding out with spreadsheets as much as I do. Good info! I hope to do the same in the spring.


Lol I thought the same thing


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## L4Kf

Allan-00 said:


> @L4Kf I love it when somebody enjoys nerding out with spreadsheets as much as I do. Good info! I hope to do the same in the spring.


Glad you liked it. Spreadsheets provide meaningful data that either depress or inspire me. In this case...inspire.


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## 440mag

Pretty sure you know now to avoid Emeralds but, in case not: AVOID EMERALDS at all costs!!!!

The deer have devoured ours to the point they are an eyesore at the entrance to our property and I am faced with ripping them out and replacing them (thinking 6'-10' variety of crape myrtle). Ugh.

OP, best o' success; your in great hands here at TLF!


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