I am an experienced gardener but have not dealt much with trees so I might have stretched a bit with taking on putting in a large hedge. However, I was desperate to get a privacy screen at the back corner of my property. I purchased seven of the 5 ft. green giants and planted them in large tree planters. I was extremely pleased with the trees when they arrived. They were all as tall or taller than promised and in very nice condition. I planted in late spring which is tough on a plant in Texas since the big heat comes early, but all survived and thrived through the hot summer. I lost one the next year and could not figure out why, but the remaining six are now about 9 feet tall after only 20 months and they have done well through two hot summers, a mild winter, and now a tough winter. ,Gotta love any plant that can handle both 106 degrees and 18 degrees., We had a horrible outbreak of web worms in the spring, but they didnt touch the Green Giants and I have not used any pesticide on ...