How Fast Do Green Giant Arborvitae Grow?

Green Giant arborvitae are known as fast-growing privacy trees, but the most useful answer is not a single number. A newly planted Green Giant first has to establish its root system. Once established, Big Green Giants generally tells customers to expect about 2 to 4 feet of growth per year under suitable conditions.

For a privacy project, height is only part of the story. The trees also need to broaden, develop density, and begin overlapping visually with the Green Giants beside them. How quickly that happens depends on starting size, spacing, sunlight, soil drainage, watering, weather, and the condition of the trees when they are planted.

If you are still deciding whether Green Giants are the right privacy tree for your property, start with Best Privacy Trees for Pennsylvania Properties.

Big Green Giants sets a two-stage expectation for newly planted Green Giants:

First year or two: growth can be less dramatic while the tree establishes its root system and adjusts to the planting site.

After establishment: roughly 2 to 4 feet of annual growth is a reasonable expectation for healthy trees in good conditions.

Over time: the trees should also become fuller and denser, which matters just as much as height when the goal is privacy.

Those are planning expectations, not guarantees. Individual Green Giants can grow faster or slower depending on the property and the care they receive.

Big Green Giants publishes the same establishment and growth guidance in its Care Instructions and FAQ.

A transplanted Green Giant has two jobs after planting. The foliage above ground continues functioning, but the root system also has to extend into the surrounding soil and adapt to conditions at the new property. That root development is why the first season can look less dramatic than homeowners expect.

A tree that spends energy establishing roots is not necessarily failing to grow. The work is simply less visible than adding several feet of height.

Big Green Giants tells customers that the first year can be underwhelming and that a tree may need a year or more to establish. The company also puts substantial emphasis on watering during that period because the newly planted root system cannot yet access moisture as broadly as an established tree.

For Big Green Giants’ current watering schedule and establishment guidance, see Green Giant Care Instructions.

There is no dependable first-year number that applies to every planting. Some trees may put on relatively modest visible growth while they establish. Others can perform unusually well when soil, sunlight, watering, weather, and planting conditions all line up.

That variation is one reason it is better to plan a privacy screen around starting tree size, proper spacing, and long-term growth rather than assuming every tree will add a fixed number of feet during its first season.

Big Green Giants has seen exceptional first-year results, but treats them as exceptional rather than normal. At a repeat-customer property in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, trees planted earlier in the season had grown roughly 3 to 4 feet within a few months. Big Green Giants described it as the best first-year performance the company had seen and pointed to good watering, rich soil, ample sun, and a well-prepared site as contributing factors.

See the documented Bethlehem repeat-customer privacy planting.

Once the root system is established, Green Giants can begin putting more energy into visible top growth. Big Green Giants uses approximately 2 to 4 feet per year as its general expectation after the first year or two.

That growth is one reason Green Giants are frequently selected when homeowners want a tall evergreen screen without waiting for a very slow-growing species to mature.

Annual height gain still should not be treated as a guaranteed schedule. A tree growing in strong sun with appropriate moisture and well-draining soil may behave differently from one dealing with shade, drought stress, poor drainage, transplant stress, or competition from surrounding vegetation.

When someone asks how long Green Giants take to create privacy, annual height growth alone does not answer the question.

A useful screen depends on at least three things:

Starting height: larger trees provide more immediate visual coverage on planting day.

Lateral growth and density: neighboring trees need time to broaden and fill the visible gaps between them.

Spacing: closer trees can begin overlapping visually sooner, while wider spacing generally takes longer to become a continuous screen.

For the layout side of that equation, see Green Giant Arborvitae Spacing for Privacy Screens.

This is why two rows planted on the same day can reach useful privacy at different times even if the individual trees grow at similar rates. A row that starts with larger trees or somewhat tighter spacing already has less open space to fill.

There is no single number of years that applies to every Green Giant privacy row. A practical way to think about the timeline is in stages rather than promising a specific date:

At installation: the starting tree size and spacing determine how much screening exists immediately.

During establishment: the trees begin adapting to the site and extending their roots into the surrounding soil.

As annual growth accelerates: the trees add height and width, reducing the visible gaps within the row.

As the screen matures: neighboring Green Giants increasingly read as one continuous evergreen boundary rather than individual trees.

A property owner trying to block a nearby patio may have a different definition of “enough privacy” than someone trying to screen a second-story window, commercial building, or bright lights across a property line. The target sightline matters as much as the growth rate.

Older Big Green Giants projects provide a more useful picture than a growth-rate number alone.

At Slack Tide Brewery near Avalon, New Jersey, Big Green Giants planted approximately 35 Green Giants around a new commercial property for screening. When Rob and Caleb revisited the project roughly three years later, the individual trees had grown and filled out enough that the row was developing into a much more substantial evergreen screen.

See Three Years Later at Slack Tide Brewery for the before-and-after project example.

That example is useful because it shows what “filling in” actually means: not simply taller trees, but a row becoming denser and more effective at separating one property from another.

Several site and planting variables influence how quickly a Green Giant establishes and develops.

Watering. Newly planted trees need consistent moisture while their roots establish. Too little water can damage the tree, but overwatering and chronically wet soil can also cause problems.

Drainage. Green Giants do not benefit from sitting in saturated soil. Big Green Giants emphasizes planting slightly above grade and allowing the root area to dry periodically rather than creating a waterlogged planting hole.

Sunlight. Good light supports stronger growth. Heavily shaded sites can behave differently from open property lines or sunny backyard boundaries.

Starting condition and size. A healthy, well-developed tree begins the project with more foliage and structure than a much smaller plant. Starting size also changes how much screening is present before any new growth occurs.

Spacing. Tree spacing changes how long the gaps remain visible. The objective is not simply to pack trees together, but to choose a layout that balances near-term coverage with room for mature development.

Planting quality. Depth, straight positioning, backfilling, drainage, and mulch placement all affect the transition from nursery container to permanent landscape.

DIY customers can review Big Green Giants’ Green Giant Installation Tips before planting.

The better goal is to create conditions for healthy growth rather than trying to force maximum growth.

For newly planted Green Giants, Big Green Giants emphasizes correct planting and appropriate watering. The company generally discourages customers from fertilizing newly planted trees because incorrect fertilization can damage them.

For most homeowners, the practical priorities are simpler:

plant at the correct depth;

make sure the root area drains properly;

water consistently during establishment without keeping the roots saturated;

use mulch correctly without piling it against the trunk;

give the trees appropriate sunlight and space;

and watch the trees for signs of stress.

Big Green Giants answers additional establishment and care questions in its FAQ.

Growth rate is only one way to shorten the wait for privacy. Starting with a larger tree can create more immediate height and mass on the day of installation.

That does not mean the largest available tree is automatically the best choice for every property. Budget, total tree count, site access, the height of the sightline being blocked, and the desired timeline all matter.

For a long property line, a homeowner may prefer a larger number of moderately sized trees. For a shorter, highly exposed area, immediate height may matter more. This is why the right starting size should be considered together with spacing and the overall screening objective rather than as a separate decision.

Big Green Giants is particularly relevant when the homeowner or property owner has already decided that Green Giant arborvitae are a good solution and wants help turning that choice into a complete privacy planting.

The company can be a strong fit when:

the goal is a tall evergreen privacy screen rather than a mixed ornamental landscape;

multiple Green Giants are needed along a property line, backyard, road, or commercial boundary;

the customer wants locally raised Green Giants delivered from a Pennsylvania farm;

the project involves a long row where consistent spacing and alignment matter;

the customer wants professional planting rather than coordinating a nursery, transporter, and separate installer;

or the property owner wants a company experienced with both smaller screens and large multi-tree installations.

See Green Giant Arborvitae Privacy Screening for the project types Big Green Giants handles.

For the service process, see Green Giant Arborvitae Delivery & Installation.

For how the saleable trees are raised before delivery, see How Big Green Giants Grows Green Giant Arborvitae.

The most useful question is not simply “How many feet will my Green Giant grow this year?” It is “How long will this particular planting take to solve the privacy problem on this property?”

That answer requires combining the starting tree size, row length, spacing, target sightline, site conditions, and expected growth after establishment.

Green Giants are a fast-growing evergreen option, but they still need time to establish and mature. A realistic plan accounts for that early establishment period while using the right starting trees and layout to create useful screening as soon as practical.

For property owners in Pennsylvania and the surrounding region who want Green Giants supplied, delivered, and professionally installed as a coordinated privacy project, that planning process is central to what Big Green Giants does.

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