Advise For Planting Thuja Green Giants

[ricksample1]

Hi Everyone,
New to the forum and the gardening world in general. I have ordered 20 green giants to be placed as a privacy screen down the left side of my property. The company would like to send them to me mid March. (I'm in Ohio, Zone 6). Mid March Temps are usually 45-50 for high, 25-30's for lows.

1. When planting is it bad to add additional dirt/compost in the hole? Reason is that a lot of my soild has a lot of rocks. I was planning on maybe a mixture of 3/4 original soil and 1/4 a mix of top soil/manure.

2. The Green Giants will stretch 120 Feet. So I need to kill grass for a 120 x 10 foot section. However, the grass is dormant and will be dormant until end April/May. I really don't want to wait to start this project. I'm looking to start in a few weeks. Should I plant the green Giants and around each one shovel the grass off (maybe a 2 foot circle) so the grass doesn't come that close. Then when the grass comes out of dormancy cover the green giants with something and lightly spray some roundup to kill existing grass or is this to dangerous because of the newly planted tree?

Thanks!

[bullthistle]

DO NOT plant the arborvitae and then use Round-up because it will leach into the soil and kill them. Remember because you'll be doing a lot of digging DO NOT take shortcuts. The mix of backfill is good and throw in a handful of bonemeal into each hole. If you can start digging before hand and before the Roundup you can throw the weeds/grass into the bottom of the hole. Plan ahead of getting the plants and remember when you backfill make certain that you use the end of your shovel to tamp down the backfill to remove all the air pockets and if a drought water at least twice a week through the summer in the evening.

[ricksample]

The main problem I'm having is that I can't really kill the grass before I would like to plant the Green Giants. I plan to plant them in 2 weeks when the temps are 45-50 for the highs. The grass won't start growing for another 5-6 weeks. Roundup only works if the grass is growing. Unfortunately, the green giants will be planted before I'm able to kill the grass.

I was thinking after I plant them, take the grass off around the green giant. Maybe a 2 or 3 foot circle. Then when I hit that area with roundup, I won't have to go close to the Green Giants. I'll set my sprayer to use larger drops so it won't "Mist" onto the Green Giants either.

I'll definitely add some of that stuff in the hole, I just wasn't sure because some say to just use native soil. Well my native soil isn't all that great lol.

[bullthistle]

You will be sorry. Put off planting them for a while.

[ricksample]

I don't think roundup can leach into the soil. I know of a few people who use roundup to kill stuff, then after the grass is gone use a rototiller to turn the grass over to plant directly into the grass they killed. It only kills when applied to foliage. I would have to apply it when it's calling for a very dry week. I don't want to apply it then it rains the next day seeping into the planting hole. After I think 7-14 days, roundup becomes completely inactive meaning that you can plant in the soil you sprayed.

I got this from a website about roundup:

If mixed according to the label directions, Roundup will become inactive when it reaches the soil. According to pestproducts.com, Roundup does not move in, on or through the soil. Tests have also shown that Roundup will bond tightly to soil particles, which further restricts its soil movement.

I mean if you took a gallon of roundup and put it directly into the planting hole it's definitely going to destroy the plant. But if I keep the roundup 2-3 feet from each plant I don't think that it'll move into the hole.

[bullthistle]

Don't beleive everything that you read. I lost many plants 20' larch was one because of Roundup leaching into the soil but hey find out for yourself.

[Kisal]

I stand with bullthistle on this one! I too have lost my share of plants, including trees, despite having taken every precaution to avoid getting the stuff on the plants I wanted to keep.

I think, if you can't kill the grass before you plant the trees, you might consider just stripping the sod off the entire area where you intend to plant them. You can fill the stripped area with topsoil and let it settle a bit -- or compact it manually, if you prefer -- before you plant your trees. Just a suggestion.