Arborvitae are notoriously finicky. My success rate was barely 50% before I gave up on them. I wish you better success in your future endeavors.
ImpossibleDraft7208
They sometimes do this for literally NO reason… Too little water? Croak! Too much water? Croak! Look at them the wrong way? CROAK CROAK CROAK!!! And yet, there is a 100+ year old one that’s almost 1m across at the base (wooden stem!) in my town, so maybe the modern hybrids just have shitty diva genetics?
JayList
They are not drought tolerant and need to be watered properly even when established sometimes.
Coppergirl1
I hope what you learned is that these arborvitea are shallow root trees that require regular watering until they become established (like all plants). And even regular water during summer heat even after they are established. Better luck next time.
jp_jellyroll
Once they get established & comfortable, arborvitae are pretty tough. I’m in New England as well. We have about a dozen Green Giants that are 10-15 feet tall and I never water them. Just whatever falls from the sky.
The catch is getting them established takes a lot of care especially in the peaks of summer and winter. Regular watering all summer long, wrapping them with burlap in the winter. The saplings tend to be very delicate. If you can be patient with them, they will become relatively low maintenance eventually.
AbbreviationsFit8962
Don’t buy from Walmart or big box stores. I wouldn’t be quick to blame yourself. I to will only buy field grown for a reason….
craigrpeters
Norway spruce trees are going to get pretty wide – 15 ft at least. You had these planted right up against the fence that’s not enough space for a norway.
There are narrow varieties of arborvitae like de groots spire that only get 3-4 ft wide.
lizardRD
Ugh sorry. Arborvitae are best planted in fall time in New England. September is best. Sun scorch is not really an issue with these guys, they love full sun. If you plant in June you have to be prepared to water like mad! But most don’t do well. Their roots are not mature enough to handle any dry soil for even short periods of time.
If you want to replant. Plant in the next month. Fall is great because there’s enough time for their roots to mature before winter sets in and your watering requirements are decreased compared to summer. Get a drip hose and timer on them. My mature emeralds need to be watered for up to 4 hrs twice a week in the summer time. Newer plants would like need more than that. Get a moisture meter and don’t let them dry out! Another option is planting early spring like April if you want to wait a bit.
Zapme1
I wouldn’t go with spruce that close to a fence. Not sure what the plan was here? Privacy, noise, or something else?
drcigg
We took out a huge ugly hedge when we moved in.
Planted elderberry and it makes the perfect edible hedge.
Lots of green and it’s 12 feet tall. It looks beautiful when in bloom too.
geekspice
They do need TLC the first 2-3 years. After that they tend to toughen up.
lig169
I had the same problem with mine. I had to put them on irrigation with a timer and water them twice a day to withstand the intense sun in southern Tennessee with 30 to 60 days of no rain.
But 4 years in I am hoping to back off the irrigation soon. It’s a huge pain in the …..
Probably lost 20-25 trees out of 75+ yeah. Was probably over $1000 of the special patented deer resistant green giants
13 Comments
So, what went wrong?
Arborvitae are notoriously finicky. My success rate was barely 50% before I gave up on them. I wish you better success in your future endeavors.
They sometimes do this for literally NO reason… Too little water? Croak! Too much water? Croak! Look at them the wrong way? CROAK CROAK CROAK!!! And yet, there is a 100+ year old one that’s almost 1m across at the base (wooden stem!) in my town, so maybe the modern hybrids just have shitty diva genetics?
They are not drought tolerant and need to be watered properly even when established sometimes.
I hope what you learned is that these arborvitea are shallow root trees that require regular watering until they become established (like all plants). And even regular water during summer heat even after they are established. Better luck next time.
Once they get established & comfortable, arborvitae are pretty tough. I’m in New England as well. We have about a dozen Green Giants that are 10-15 feet tall and I never water them. Just whatever falls from the sky.
The catch is getting them established takes a lot of care especially in the peaks of summer and winter. Regular watering all summer long, wrapping them with burlap in the winter. The saplings tend to be very delicate. If you can be patient with them, they will become relatively low maintenance eventually.
Don’t buy from Walmart or big box stores. I wouldn’t be quick to blame yourself. I to will only buy field grown for a reason….
Norway spruce trees are going to get pretty wide – 15 ft at least. You had these planted right up against the fence that’s not enough space for a norway.
There are narrow varieties of arborvitae like de groots spire that only get 3-4 ft wide.
Ugh sorry. Arborvitae are best planted in fall time in New England. September is best. Sun scorch is not really an issue with these guys, they love full sun. If you plant in June you have to be prepared to water like mad! But most don’t do well. Their roots are not mature enough to handle any dry soil for even short periods of time.
If you want to replant. Plant in the next month. Fall is great because there’s enough time for their roots to mature before winter sets in and your watering requirements are decreased compared to summer. Get a drip hose and timer on them. My mature emeralds need to be watered for up to 4 hrs twice a week in the summer time. Newer plants would like need more than that. Get a moisture meter and don’t let them dry out! Another option is planting early spring like April if you want to wait a bit.
I wouldn’t go with spruce that close to a fence. Not sure what the plan was here? Privacy, noise, or something else?
We took out a huge ugly hedge when we moved in.
Planted elderberry and it makes the perfect edible hedge.
Lots of green and it’s 12 feet tall. It looks beautiful when in bloom too.
They do need TLC the first 2-3 years. After that they tend to toughen up.
I had the same problem with mine. I had to put them on irrigation with a timer and water them twice a day to withstand the intense sun in southern Tennessee with 30 to 60 days of no rain.
But 4 years in I am hoping to back off the irrigation soon. It’s a huge pain in the …..
Probably lost 20-25 trees out of 75+ yeah. Was probably over $1000 of the special patented deer resistant green giants