Question
My neighbor recently planted ~25 arborvitae trees along 50 ft of our property line.  They are approximately 3.5 ft high, and 1.5 ft wide.  My white stained cedar fence is setback 1 foot off the property line.  The trees currently extend ~ 2 inches over the line, so ~ 10 inches from my fence.  Will these trees grow so the width abuts my fence?  If so how long should I expect that to take in New England region? Will the moisture from these trees deteriorate my fence at a faster rate than normal?

Answer
Paul,
If my neighbor had a white cedar fence I wouldn't have to plant trees,but some people are different I guess.Most people use trees OR a fence,but not both.This cause conflict between neighbors.I sure hope they do not cause problems with your fence.I am pretty sure that most Arborvitaes have a medium growth rate,maybe 4 to 6 inches per year,but that is just a guess because there are many varieties and I am not clear as to what variety you are speaking of so I went to Google for some helpful info for you:

http://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?ID=78

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/county/cass/horticulture/treeshrub/sizegrow.htm

http://www.evergreenplantnursery.com/category-s/1.htm

http://www.mortonarb.org/plantinfo/plantclinic/planttrees/plantclinic_planttrees...

Hope theses are helpful to you!