Long story short I planted these for a customer in March all spring and summer. They looked amazing and then in August they started to go downhill and by now the majority are dead and only the three or so on the end are in OK shape.
I would like to rule out watering because I saw them watering regularly and also we had a fairly rainy year so I don’t think it was drought. Any ideasthe farm I bought them from said they had one year warranty and I’m testing that out now but regardless, I don’t want to play new ones and happens again.
by Efficient_Medicine57
15 Comments
What are the root balls sitting on top of, cement? These probably never got established and the roots are probably rotted.
Water sprayed onto them instead of onto the soil?
I know you said you’d like to rule out watering but that may have been the issue… arborvitae are water hogs specially when they are freshly planted, once established you can cut back some but when they’re fresh, they need A LOT
It almost certainly is a water issue. Watering regularly doesn’t mean much if they aren’t being watered deeply
This is definitely a watering issue. They need a ton of water their first year and is the most common reason they are killed early on. These look like they dried out. Could be the raised bed or the client. But they did not get enough water period
I’m also curious where you live because majority of the US is in some type of drought or dry weather right now.
improper watering or planted incorrectly.
They could be water logged… maybe too much direct sunlight. Im about to aquire these and ive done my research. Looking forward to other comments
Blacktop gets pretty hot and could be radiating heat. If its not a watering issue that would he my second guess
Arbs should’ve been planted in the ground or in a much larger raised bed/berm.
My landscaper refused to plant arborvitae until the fall. We have hot summers that go dry starting in July and often extending into late September. So he planted in October when the autumn/winter rains start. We put a soaker hose in place just in case but it rained a lot all winter. They look great now.
Warranty manager for a major landscape design/installation company in a major city here.
These are 100% under-watered – Arbs die from the top down when they don’t receive adequate water.
The bed they’re in also isn’t sufficient long-term for Arborvitae, as they generally need more room for their roots to spread, so if you are looking at replacing them, I would recommend figuring that part out first.
Also, check for spruce mites. Once Arbs become weak, the pests like to take over. If they do have mites and you replace the arbs without treating the current trees and surrounding area for the mites, the new arbs will be instantly infected.
I think there are possibly several reasons. “Raised bed” raises the question of “what’s beneath—paved level— the bed?”.. if it’s old asphalt, or impervious something or other, then…. Ugghhh.. also, if there is asphalt leeching of any kind, plants don’t like that..
Secondly, they appear to be buried too deeply, in my opinion.. I have a fence line/wall of 30 arborvitae that I barely scraped the ground, set them in untied burlap root ball right on the ground, and placed enough mulch to surround and -just- cover the root ball.. I put a 110’ of soaker hose laced around them and watered quite a bit that first summer.. they’re on a lower edge from my general property grade, and my neighbor over waters his yard regularly with times sprinklers, so I have utilized the Ron Popeil method of “set it and forget it”.. all 30 look great to this day, 6 years in..
So.. what’s beneath the raised bed, and, could be watered “too much” IF they were buried too deeply..
That’s all I’ve got.
I can’t stand these trees
You want a five gallon bucket with a pin hole at the base of each tree and fill the bucket up once or twice depending on weather. It’s the only way I’ve gotten fresh planted arbs to thrive.
Good luck with the warranty… this is an install/maintenance error.