Green Giants vs. Emerald Greens for privacy
Choosing between privacy tree varieties like Green Giants and Emerald Greens is complicated by limited yard space, shade from surrounding trees, and deer browsing risks. Picking the wrong type leads to stunted growth, insufficient height, or trees that outgrow their layout constraints.
Core Friction Pattern
Analysis of 3 peer accounts across online developer and community forums reveals that “Green Giants vs. Emerald Greens for privacy” repeatedly surfaces due to edge-case mismatches between standard defaults and real-world environments. Standard troubleshooting frequently falls short, compelling practitioners to develop custom workarounds.
+8 alternative community-tested workarounds cataloged below.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Green Giants vs. Emerald Greens for privacy
- 1Planting dwarf varieties or Baby GiantsDid this help you?
- 2Looking at Junipers insteadDid this help you?
- 3Putting a 6-foot fence around Emerald Greens to protect them from deerDid this help you?
- 4planting shade-tolerant alternatives like yews or cherry laurelsDid this help you?
- 5installing a shade sail instead of plantsDid this help you?
- 6having neighbors install privacy solutions from the higher groundDid this help you?
- 7Planting fast-growing native species like Toyon, Ceanothus, or Pacific Wax MyrtleDid this help you?
- 8Paying extra to have large, pre-grown boxed trees installed instead of waitingDid this help you?
- 9Using popular non-native hedge cultivars like pittosporum or podocarpusDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Good fast growing 10-15ft privacy plants or hedges? Would need to cover 30ft section on the left and 30ft on right of my neighbors hedges.”source ↗
“Ideally we can plant close to the fence so we can shorten the depth of the raised planter.”source ↗
“I'm a little worried I'll have to plant them far away from the fence and they'll seem close to my house. Should I do several Emerald green's instead?”source ↗
“I like that the green giants grow faster and bigger but am worried I might regret my decision.”source ↗
“I'm in zone 7a and I'm building a retaining wall. My backyard neighbor who sits higher than me has massive oak trees that give a lot of shade. When the wall is built I want to put privacy trees. The Mason I hired reccomends green giants but I don't get much sun back there. Is there something else that I should be going with?”source ↗
“I need it to get pretty tall like 12-18 ft. Do cherry laurels get that high?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How to choose the right tree species and placement for a small front yard
- 4How close can you plant privacy trees to a fence?
- 6Should I remove newly planted trees that everyone hates?
- 5What to do with oddly bare ground around a tree
- 3How to choose a replacement tree after losing a mature one
- 8Why is my newly transplanted tree dying after moving from a pot?