Pruning De Groot's Spire Arborvitae
heimert
14 years ago
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Greenthumb
14 years agoEmbothrium
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Degroots Spire - single leader trees?
Comments (29)Thanks for your interest. I am in SW Ohio. 6a I have 40 arborvitae (21 different varieties) and 30 are spires. Here is what I have learned: -Buy small plants in spring. -Prune them down to 1 strong central leader. -Get them in the ground right away (or keep them in a shady spot - remember that small pots dry out really really quick). Many of my plants get moved to better locations, so don't feel pressure to make final location decisions right away. -Dig the hole large 2+ feet wide/ deep. I always add peat, sometimes sand. If you mix it well, this stuff will disappear into the soil nearly unnoticable. -Add mulch. I always add a circle of rocks around new plants so that I won't step on them. -Water deeply, then resist the urge to overwater them, but don't let them dry out. -During hot dry summer times, I water new plants 2x per week. -One year later (late winter) do some light pruning to focus energy on central leader. I also remove limbs from the bottom 10% of the plant. Repeat this for a few years. -No fertilizer needed. I usually water plants regularly for 3 years, and then only when things get really dry. -Every 2 or 3 winters, I will go through each plant and knock off the orange foliage and take out empty bird nests. I also have 30 chamaecyparis (23 different varieties) that do really well in my yard. Mostly cham. obtusa. I don't keep most of those as single leadered plants, but I do prune the heck out of them for the first few years, which I think is really important for getting adult plants with attractive shape and form....See MoreDeGroots Spire Arborvitae
Comments (3)Ken's definitely said it right in so many words and I'll say that it's typical at the top of a plant to have what appears as two leaders however one will sag more than the other off to the side (especially Arborvitae and conifers with similar foliage sprays). If this is not the case, and it's very clear and evident to you that the tree has duplicate leaders growing up side-by-side, then remove the weakest of the two. This is noticable because it is a forking along the trunk rather than a continuous single-trunk. It should be very evident for you, even without needing to post a photo. Furthermore, the sagging one will continue to sag and the next set of growth will flop over the current leader the other direction from what is now what could be what you may think to be your second double-leader. Good luck or certainly post a photo. Dax...See MoreDe Groots Spire Arborvitae
Comments (10)hey dawg.. i have an 10 footer.. that is barely 1.5 feet wide ... in no way will it get 6 feet wide .. unless maybe at 100 feet ... JUST INSURE the lack of multiple leaders.. which it sneaks in there now and then ... my z5.. just went through a z4 winter.. the ONLY browning i had was where i hit it with snow from the snow blower ... i am usually careful ... but somehow got it this year ... you should have no zonal issues ... all new plants.. suffer for a year or two ... so do not be surprised if you do get some browning early ... INTERIOR BROWNING IS NORMAL to avoid browning... you MUST do the following: plant at the proper planting time... late fall or early spring plant properly water properly mulch properly ... JULY AND AUGUST ARE NOT THE TIME TO BE PLANTING.. for optimal success ... we can inform you of all the variables... should you proceed to the point of planting .... good luck ken...See MoreCan You Prune Leaders From Pyramidal Arborvitae?
Comments (17)Do we know where Unc lives? It seems to me these trees have endured considerably more than one winter, albeit location unknown. Arbs are not typical plants of snow-free areas, so this "split like a banana peel" thing may be getting over-amplified. All that said-and as if I haven't made this abundantly clear by now, I hate these multi-leadered things, but for more reasons than just their alleged unsuitability in snow and/or ice. And I have seen this splitting phenomenon happen myself. But the main issue I've got with such plants is how very bastardized they are from the real thing-species Thuja occidentalis, a plant which, proven in my Wisconsin woods many times, is utterly qualified to handle snow. Not to mention, a far more imposing plant than these myriad icky cultivars. I continue to perceive that most responders in such threads have no idea what I'm talking about-native stands of this tree. I should think though that a true New Englander, at least from the northern half of that region, or a correspondent from northern Michigan (I know-not your home Ken) should have seen these remarkable plants, often in near-pure groves, in streamside swamps and even scrambling up moist hillsides. Oddly, in all the years I've participated on this board, not once have I gotten the sense that anybody has!...See More
gardener365
14 years agoheimert
14 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agoin ny zone5
14 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agoheimert
14 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years agoheimert
14 years agogardener365
14 years ago
dcsteg
14 years agoheimert
14 years agoyugoslava
14 years ago
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