'Green Giants' and the Man Who Grew Them

Tom Moseley was one of those lawn-mowing kids who found out he liked working outdoors, so he took more and more landscaping jobs and learned a lot about plants, especially trees, and ended up creating Maryland Gardens Tree and Shrub Farm in Potomac, Maryland.  I can't give you a link to his business because, as I learned, Tom would have to buy a computer first, something that interests him not a whit.  Yes, he's a Neanderthal but an endearing one, I tell you, because he loves trees and shrubs and seems to know everything there is to know about them.

At least Tom's enough of a businessman to have a brochure and it lists the roughly 10,000 trees and shrubs he grows and sells, all from seedlings.  And when I called to see if he had five 'Green Giant' Arborvitae - heck, he had 100 of 'em; what size did I want?  Well, I wanted the cheapest size so they're only 6 or 7 feet tall, but that's a lot of tree for $75 each and they grow really fast.

Why the 'Green Giant', you ask?  Because several lecturers in my Master Gardener School have warned us against ever planting Leland Cypress for screening, as landscapers have done by the millions over the last few decades.   One PowerPoint included a 15-minute section entitled "What's wrong with my Leland Cypress?," the answer to which was long and multifaceted.  Everyone seems to be recommending the 'Green Giant" nowadays, for its evergreen columnar shape, its fast growth, and its resistance to the myrid problems that afflict Lelands.  I happened to buy one from Tom two years ago and it's doing great - in a crappy location - so I needed no convincing.  And here's Tom with the five I bought, ready to be loaded into my small but useful Honda CRV for the ride home.

Comments

[Judith]

I am so glad you posted about 'Green Giants' as I'd been wondering if they were worth growing--intrigued they are growing fine in a "crappy location". I like that they grow fast--I have a couple of places I'd like to screen--what is their top height & width?

[Takoma Gardener]

Oops, I knew I should have included more info. Green Giants are reported to grow at 3-5' per year to 30-50 feet tall and 10-12 feet wide. They're reported to be deer-resistant, resistant to snow and ice damage, drought-tolerant and pest-resistant, too. Also tolerate light shade. Several arborists I've chatted with recently are highly enamored of them. Susan

[M Sinclair Stevens (Texas)]

A slight nit...he's probably more like a Luddite than a Neanderthal. The latter were enamoured with new technology.

[Val]

Hmmm, we transplanted 6 ill-placed Castlewellen Leland Cypress when we first moved into this house in 1994, to the fencelines and to great effect. Uh, what are the problems? Or is the Castlewellen one not a problem?