Is this arborvitae savable? - Ask Extension
This arborviate was trimmed while it was all visible green growth. Then all this dead growth appeared. Is it a dying shrub? If it can be saved, how...
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Is this arborvitae savable? #869408
Asked May 21, 2024, 9:37 AM EDT
This arborviate was trimmed while it was all visible green growth. Then all this dead growth appeared. Is it a dying shrub? If it can be saved, how can green growth be regenerated? Thank you!
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
Hello,
Sorry to say the green part was shaved off and the shrub has no means of growing foliage from the brown inner twigs and stems. A yew can recover from a trim like that (it takes a few years but it can recover) but an arborvitae, like most evergreens, can't. It will continue to grow from the green foliage that was left on top. You'll have to decide if you want to keep it with the brown base or not. But it's not dead.
Good-luck!
