# Arborvitae Spacing and Width at Top



## Boston85 (Jul 21, 2019)

We are currently in the middle of a backyard renovation to make room for a new patio and pool. As part of that, we ripped out a number of 20-25 foot overgrown trees separating our neighbors and us. There is also a 6 foot tall vinyl fence that runs the length of our property lines. The issue is their lawn is slightly elevated from ours, and their house has a number of windows in the back, so basically there is no real privacy there anymore. When you stand in the grass it is blocked by the fence, but the further you move into the middle of the lawn it doesn't provide any privacy anymore.

With that, we are planning on installing 24 Emerald Green Arborvitae trees along the fence line. We have decided to go with the 8-10 foot size. Main reason for this is we want to try and get some more privacy back quicker than waiting 4-5 years for them to grow. We only likely need 2 feet over the fence line to where the trees would basically block out seeing into each others yard. That block out though is only regarding the height.

My worry is that if we plant these trees 3 feet apart, while at the base they will pretty much be touching and have no ability to see through, above the fence line at around 8 feet it won't be nearly as wide. So if someone is standing between trees they will still be able to see through pretty easily.

My question is does anyone know how wide the top third or so of an Emerald Green Arborvitae tree is? If we plant these 3 feet apart, will the top 2-3 feet (and then more when they grow) actually be wide enough like the base of the tree to act as a wall? If not, we may have to put two rows of trees, basically installing triangles over the 60 feet or so length needed.

Hopefully once these grow in a year or so it will be wide enough even above the fence line that we won't have to worry about it, but I don't have a lot of experience with Emerald Greens so not sure. We don't have enough room to want to put in Green Giants, so that is not an option.


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## 7824 (Oct 23, 2019)

double staggered rows


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## Boston85 (Jul 21, 2019)

learningeveryday said:


> double staggered rows


Are you saying that because they will be too narrow at the top to actually provide any real coverage? Even if they are 10 feet tall, above 6 feet is it still narrow? I couldn't find any good pictures online of that specific size to see.


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## 7824 (Oct 23, 2019)

Staggered double row is the way to achieve the type of privacy you want. You only need a few more trees because you would space them out a little bit wider than a single row planting.


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## Boston85 (Jul 21, 2019)

learningeveryday said:


> Staggered double row is the way to achieve the type of privacy you want. You only need a few more trees because you would space them out a little bit wider than a single row planting.


Thanks, that is helpful. Originally I figured 3 feet apart assuming 1 row. Then if I did a double row I thought still 3 feet apart and the second row basically 3 feet from the first. If I did 2 rows, do you think I could get away with 4 feet spacing between them? Still can keep the 3 feet separation from front to back row, but basically 4 feet apart in each row.


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## 7824 (Oct 23, 2019)

4ft spacing between trees will give the effect of 2ft spacing when you do a double staggered pattern. Distance between the two rows is up to you.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

Emerald green should get solid 8' up at 3' spacing. It won't be overnight though.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

I prefer the staggered double row approach mainly because Emerald Greens are relatively slow growers when it comes to evergreens. Emerald Greens actually maintain their max width up to 80% of their height I would say. So if you plant them close enough in 1 row you will eventually get full privacy up to 8 ft if they are 10 ft tall, full & healthy trees.

Are you saying you are going to purchase mature trees that are 8-10 ft size? If you find those at a local nursery check the width and make your decision accordingly.

I have a few and our neighborhood's common areas have several as well. I will take some photos and share tonight since we have different sizes and I can show you how much they've changed over 5 years. PM me tomorrow if I forget!


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

I was recommending patience because he said he didn't have room for green giants. A staggered double row of emeralds isn't going to be much narrower.


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## Awar (Feb 25, 2019)

Lawndress said:


> I was recommending patience because he said he didn't have room for green giants. A staggered double row of emeralds isn't going to be much narrower.


I am not disagreeing that 1 row of Emerald Greens and patience will get the OP full privacy at 8ft - in fact that's what I would do if it's my property, but it appears the OP wants the quickest solution.

Two rows of staggered Emerald Greens placed close enough will still be narrower than a row of Green Giants based on my experience, and of course much shorter at X years. Some of my Green Giants planted 5 years ago as 10 ft tall trees are currently 25 ft tall which is great but they're also 12 ft wide and starting to concern me as they're too close to the house :shock:

Here's an example at our neighborhood mail kiosk area with 2 rows of Emerald Greens. The trees are about 8-10ft tall and by eyeballing it I think they're 4 ft apart? If the rows are closer together one can still have 2 rows without them being overly wide but it all depends on the space available for the OP to work with!



Here's our Emerald Greens in September 2016 vs. August 2020 (4 years). They were 6-7 ft tall when planted but have grown well and thicker over the years, but not as wide as some other Emerald Greens I've seen. As you can see the tree with multiple leaders grows wider up top than the one with a single leader. Also the orientation of the tree may make it thicker in one direction vs. the other. Both of which will also affect privacy at 8 ft in the future. Here are the photos:

September 2016:









August 2020:


Close-ups May 2021:


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

It's true that they are much shorter in 4 years!  I think the double row is almost the same width as my green giants that were 6' in 2016. But they won't keep from getting wider unless you sheered them.


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## 7824 (Oct 23, 2019)

Keep in mind they are multi leader and will split from heavy snow. Also, I have seen some emeralds that are 30ft tall, so they can get very large. If you have deer, they will destroy them.


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## The Lawnfather (May 2, 2020)

Have you considered a flowering tree? You could find one that limbs are growing upward providing the privacy you need.


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