Revitalizing long row of arborvitae trees - Ask Extension
Hello, the house I'm moving into comes with 170 linear feet of arborvitae that are about 2 stories tall. They provide nice privacy and shade but they ...
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Revitalizing long row of arborvitae trees #875183
Asked June 28, 2024, 10:31 PM EDT
Hello, the house I'm moving into comes with 170 linear feet of arborvitae that are about 2 stories tall. They provide nice privacy and shade but they are of mixed health with mostly leafy areas but many bald or browning spots. I am not sure what kind of watering/fertilizing schedule they experienced with the previous owners. Since this spring I have set them up on a regular deep watering using a mix of the existing sprinklers and bringing in soaker hoses for areas that didn't have coverage and I plan to convert everything to drip in the fall. I haven't seen any evidence of pest issues. The trees are planted about 3-5' apart and it does look like they are pretty crowded so I'm not sure if that will cause eventual die-off. If they are capable of surviving, I would like to check if there is anything else I can do to promote new growth in the patchy areas. Should I get a soil test to see what nutrients I might be missing from the soil and try and those back? Should I thin out the trees at all? Is there anything else I should do? Thanks!
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Nisha and thanks for your question and pictures of your pictures of your arborvitae hedge. The browning can be caused by many factors from not enough water to frost damage or root damage. The best you can do is wait a year and see if they will recover and put out new greenery.
Do make sure your hedge is getting about an inch of water each week this summer. I would not wait to put the drip system in place, as we seem to be headed into another really hot summer and getting the foliage wet is never a good idea.
You can also call an ISA certified arborist to look more closely and see if they can tell what is going on. Here is a website to find one near you, and it's a good idea to get a second opinion from a different company to compare what they say. An arborist will also be able to tell you if the spacing is right.
https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist
Good luck with your new home!
Do make sure your hedge is getting about an inch of water each week this summer. I would not wait to put the drip system in place, as we seem to be headed into another really hot summer and getting the foliage wet is never a good idea.
You can also call an ISA certified arborist to look more closely and see if they can tell what is going on. Here is a website to find one near you, and it's a good idea to get a second opinion from a different company to compare what they say. An arborist will also be able to tell you if the spacing is right.
https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist
Good luck with your new home!
