Need help with accuracy of width this particular arborvitae

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NanCcan Columbia, MO Jul 21, 2011

I bought emerald green arborvitae (smaragd, Thuja occidentalis) from Home Depot, thinking I was buying the ones that grow 15' tall and 4' wide. Then I noticed the tag also had the word "shrub" on it. With a magnifying glass, I read the back of the tag with dismay; it says these will grow 8' to 10' tall and only 2' wide. If that's true, I will have to buy double the number of trees to make a privacy hedge along the back of my yard, but I cannot find any description on the internet of any arborvitae that grows to those particular dimensions. Should I go ahead and plant them on 3 or 4 foot centers and hope they fill in as described everywhere I look (except on the plant tag) - or buy more and go with 2 1/2 foot centers? (Are they just telling me they'll only grow 2' wide in order to get me to buy more?) I can't use the Thuja Giants as I have power lines 12' in from the back of my property.
These do appear a bit more columnar than pyramidal.
Help would be appreciated!!!

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flowAjen central, NJ(Zone 6b) Jul 21, 2011

An arborvitae would be considered a shrub, the emerald green does grow 4' wide and gets about 15' tall. Many of those plant tags contain incorrect info that's why it is very important to do research, that's why I LOVE this site

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ViburnumValley Scott County, KY(Zone 5b) Jul 22, 2011

Emerald Green/Smaragd will easily fill a 4' allotment. Go for it.

2.5 foot centers would be a waste of money, and you'd have overcompetition unnecessarily.

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NanCcan Columbia, MO Jul 23, 2011

Thanks for your help, friends! After listening to what you and the Extension Service said, I'm going to trust these are normal Emerald green Arborvitae and ignore the tag!

Post #8710860
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plantfreak78 Rolesville, NC(Zone 7b) Aug 02, 2011

I'm gonna throw my two cents around just for fun and to pretend like I know something :)

I've noticed that the width of Emerald Arborvitae has a lot to do with the number of stems/trunks it has. Specimens with a single trunk (which is less common but definitely out there) tend to stay in the 2-3 foot range but I've seen mature Emeralds with four or more trunks (such as the mammoths planted at our nursery) that are 4-5 feet across.

I will agree with the ignoring-Home-Depot-tags sentiment and add that that's what independent garden centers are for.

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