Beginner Gardening: Questions about planting Thuja Steeplechase arborvitae, 1 by doyledh

doyledh wrote:
We want to plant a screening backdrop plant in our back yard, in a sunny, well drained area with irrigation. I'm interested in the new cultivar: Thuja Steeplechase, which is touted as an improvement over the Green Giant.
Here is one site that got my attention: http://www.carrollgardens.com/enewsletter/2006/01/060126-lib...
I'd like to start off with 5 ft trees if I can find them and afford them. I'm fairly new to gardening. I notice plants are usually sold by gallon size. The quotes I'm getting are: 7-gal. @ $129.00 or in a 30-gal. @ $349.00 Yikes! OK, how tall should I expect these plants to be? How rapidly will they grow?
Does anyone have experience with Thuja green giant and/or steeplechase that they would share with me?
Thanks,
--Don