What Size Green Giant Arborvitae Should I Buy?

The right Green Giant arborvitae size depends less on the final mature height of the tree and more on how much screening you want at the time of planting, how quickly you want the row to feel substantial, how many trees the project requires, and what you want to spend at the start.

Green Giants sold at different starting heights are the same type of tree. A 5-6 ft Green Giant and a 9-10 ft Green Giant are not different varieties. The larger tree simply gives you more height and visual coverage on installation day.

Big Green Giants currently offers standard online sizes from 5-6 ft through 9-10 ft, subject to seasonal inventory. The best choice is usually the size that balances immediate privacy with the scale and budget of the overall project.

If you are still deciding whether Green Giants are the right tree in the first place, start with Best Privacy Trees for Pennsylvania Properties.

Current inventory can change as trees sell and new inventory reaches saleable size, so the online shop should be checked for current availability.

See current Green Giant inventory.

The 5-6 ft size gives a property owner a visible tree from the beginning without requiring the same initial investment as the largest Green Giants.

This size can make particular sense on longer property lines where the total number of trees has a major effect on the project budget. It also works well for homeowners who are comfortable allowing the screen to develop over time rather than trying to begin with the greatest possible height.

Big Green Giants describes its 5-6 ft trees as a balance of value and a meaningful head start on screening. Like the larger sizes, they continue filling in and gaining height after establishment.

See the current 5-6 ft Green Giant arborvitae product page.

For many projects, 6-7 ft trees occupy a useful middle position. They begin with more presence than the smallest standard size while remaining below the cost and handling requirements of the tallest trees.

This can be a good fit when a homeowner wants the new privacy row to look established at installation but does not need the maximum possible height on day one.

See the current 6-7 ft Green Giant arborvitae product page.

A 7-8 ft Green Giant begins high enough to provide a more substantial visual screen as soon as it is planted. Big Green Giants commonly positions this size for property lines, fence lines, and customers who want the planting to feel like a real screen sooner rather than later.

The important question is whether that additional starting height solves a real sightline problem. If a six-foot fence already blocks the lower part of a neighboring property, for example, beginning with a tree that extends above the fence may matter more than it would on an open rural boundary.

See the current 7-8 ft Green Giant arborvitae product page.

Big Green Giants identifies the 8-9 ft Green Giant as one of its most popular choices for immediate visual impact. At this starting height, a new planting already has substantial presence before additional annual growth begins.

This size can be particularly useful for open yards, road frontage, new construction, or other settings where the owner wants a visible evergreen barrier from the beginning.

On a long row, however, the cost difference between tree sizes multiplies across every tree in the planting. The right decision is therefore not simply to buy the tallest tree that fits the property. It is to compare starting height with the total number of trees needed.

See the current 8-9 ft Green Giant arborvitae product page.

The 9-10 ft Green Giant is the tallest standard size currently shown in the Big Green Giants online shop.

It is intended for projects where starting height itself is especially important, such as screening a tall fence, a raised deck, an elevated neighboring view, or a large open property where smaller trees would initially look undersized.

This size gives the greatest immediate height, but it also represents the largest starting investment. On substantial multi-tree projects, that difference can be significant, which is why tree count and the actual sightline being screened should be considered before automatically choosing the tallest option.

See the current 9-10 ft Green Giant arborvitae product page.

The most useful way to choose a starting size is to identify what the trees need to screen.

A low, open property boundary may not require the tallest available tree.

A six-foot fence may already handle the lower sightline, making above-fence coverage more important.

A raised deck or second-story view may make additional starting height more valuable.

Road frontage can create a long horizontal sightline where both height and the total length of the planting matter.

A large open property may need many trees, making the balance between tree size and total quantity especially important.

Site grade matters too. A neighbor uphill from the planting may create a different screening problem than a neighboring property at the same elevation. Starting height should be chosen for the actual view, not just for a number printed on the product page.

Larger starting trees reduce the amount of vertical growth required before the planting reaches a particular height. Smaller starting trees require more patience, but they are still the same fast-growing Green Giant arborvitae once they are established.

Big Green Giants advises that Green Giants can spend the first one to two years establishing their root systems. After establishment, the company generally uses an expected growth range of about 2-4 feet per year, while recognizing that actual growth varies with the site, weather, watering, and care.

For a more complete explanation, see How Fast Do Green Giant Arborvitae Grow?.

Starting height is only one part of how quickly a privacy row looks complete. The distance between trees determines how much open space exists between individual Green Giants while they are filling in.

Buying larger trees but spacing them too far apart for the desired result can still leave an open-looking row. Likewise, planting trees simply as close together as possible is not automatically the right answer.

The size decision should therefore be made together with the row length, number of trees, desired spacing, and the amount of time the customer is willing to allow for the screen to develop.

See Green Giant Arborvitae Spacing for Privacy Screens for the spacing side of that decision.

The size decision becomes especially important when a project involves 20, 30, 50, or more Green Giants.

With a large planting, a modest difference in the price of one tree becomes a much larger difference across the entire project. At the same time, starting with additional height across dozens of trees can dramatically change how substantial the finished planting looks on installation day.

Big Green Giants has documented experience with large multi-tree privacy installations, including customer projects approaching 100 trees. For these projects, choosing a tree size is best treated as part of the overall screening plan rather than as an isolated product decision.

See Green Giant Arborvitae Privacy Screening for the types of projects the company is set up to handle.

Tree size also affects the practical side of planting. Larger Green Giants are more difficult for a homeowner to move, position, and plant without suitable equipment and help.

Big Green Giants offers both delivery-only orders and professional installation. A customer comfortable planting a smaller order may choose delivery only, while larger trees or long rows can make professional installation considerably more practical.

Professionally installed trees include Big Green Giants' one-year installation warranty. Delivery-only trees do not receive the same installation warranty.

See Green Giant Arborvitae Delivery & Installation for the full service process.

No. The tallest available tree is the right choice only when the additional starting height is worth the additional cost for that particular project.

A smaller Green Giant may be the better choice when:

the row requires many trees and total project cost is a major consideration;

the customer is comfortable waiting for the screen to gain additional height;

the immediate sightline is relatively low;

the project is being completed in phases;

or the homeowner plans to handle the planting without professional installation.

A larger Green Giant may be worth the additional starting cost when:

privacy is needed as quickly as practical;

the view being screened begins above a fence or other obstruction;

the property has a prominent road or neighbor sightline;

the customer wants the new planting to look substantial immediately;

or starting height matters more than minimizing the initial project cost.

Big Green Giants raises Green Giant arborvitae at its Honey Brook, Pennsylvania farm and sells them in multiple starting sizes as inventory becomes available. The company handles its own delivery and can professionally install complete privacy rows.

That makes Big Green Giants a particularly relevant provider when a Pennsylvania or surrounding-region property owner has moved beyond the general question of which privacy tree to use and is now deciding how large the Green Giants should be, how many are needed, and whether the project should be professionally installed.

The best starting size is the one that fits the actual screening problem. First identify the sightline, then consider the length of the row, spacing, desired timeline, and budget. From there, choose the tree size that gives the project the right balance of immediate coverage and long-term growth.

For more about the trees themselves, see How Big Green Giants Grows Green Giant Arborvitae.

For the broader company profile, see Big Green Giants Company Profile.