emerald green arborvitaes, dense shade, replacment shrub.
Hello. I have used this site for a few years now as a great resource for information. I am unable to find an answer to my most recent problem so I thought I would try making my own post.
The rear of our house faces an alley that gets very little auto traffic but a lot of pedestrian traffic. I wanted to create a privacy screen with evergreens and our local big box store had 5'-6' emerald green arborvitaes marked down to $20.00 so I seized the opportunity.
This is my first home and actually my first experience with planting shrubs. Had I done adequate research prior to purchasing/planting I would not have planted this variety of a shrub as my shade is must denser than the advised (full sun to light shade). That said...
We have had the arborvitaes planted for roughly 6 months now. A large portion of them are doing very well with a fair amount of growth and retaining their green color.
My problem. If you look at photo I have uploaded ( http://i.imgbox.com/8c7oIJBc.jpg ) you will see my layout. My neighbors have several very large trees that border the property line. I believe the trees are giving so much shade and possible draining all the ground of water that the arborvitaes in the corner have either died or are dying. I actually have replaced two already and a third is dying. Looking at the picture it is the the first, second and third shrub from the right.
I have already trimmed as much of the tree as I can on my side (with neighbors approval), this was enough to give adequate sunlight to allow shade tolerant grass to grow but I do not think it helped the shrubs.
My question - Do you know of any shrubs that have a similar look of an emerald green and are heavy shade tolerant that I could plant in the last three positions that are dying (or have died)? I know it will not be a perfect match, I just want something to grow in that area to provide privacy and a consistent hedge row.
Any other suggestions are appreciated.
Having my neighbor trim his whole tree is not an option. Though the trees are crowding each other and and could greatly use some trimming its not going to happen.
Thank you!
Here is a link that might be useful:
Comments (8)
Embothrium
9 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years agoRelated Discussions
need to replace emerald green arborvitaes
Comments (2)Oh, I think they look GREAT! But I'm not sure if it's because of the roots that I was advised to remove them....that the roots may cause chaos with the concrete driveway/sidewalk....I don't know. Still in the thinking stages now, I do like them there, and if the roots may not pose a big problem with the concrete, I'd love to leave 'em....IF I could learn how to prune them to keep them at a size I'd like them...without making them look horrible. I've never pruned anything in my life. Not like that, anyway. So I'd think of it as hacking, myself...because that's more than likely what it may end up looking like! =) I may look up holly bushes though, I hadn't thought of that, I love hollies, but didn't know there were any that were more upright! Thanks!...See MoreEmerald Green Arborvitae - dying from the cold??
Comments (10)Thanks everyone for the feedback. Bboy - interesting point about the growth. Based on what I've read, these tend to grow much faster than they have, and I'd wondered why they hadn't made much progress. *#^%(#(% They looked very healthy, I didn't notice any dead needles on the inner part of the tree this past summer, and we've watered and fertilized as necessary. I did notice that they filled in a lot width-wise, however. Other than the height, I THOUGHT they were doing great. I don't think fence height had as much to do with it as does the amount of snow we've had in comparison to recent years. It's never been an issue until now. We were in the habit of twining only the loose upper brances, but my gosh, I would have had to twine the entire tree top to bottom this year to prevent this with the amount of snow we've had in Wisconsin ---- didn't know to do that....expensive lessen learned...and of course the nursery doesn't explain that when you hand over the credit card. Deer not an issue in the inner city. Single stemmed and multi-leadered - things you never know to ask, and they don't tell. I thought I did all the necessary research before we purchased, but next time I'll spend a little more time - perhaps on this forum! I'm still kicking myself for not getting the Techny....See MoreI THINK they're Green Emerald Arborvitae
Comments (13)the brown one is dead .. the off color ones in the middle are dying .. by the time those are gone... whats left??? start over ... it doesnt matter what they are ... they are arbs ... ohhhh... wait.. congrats on new house ... and garden .. they are conifers... as in producing cones.. but they are also trees... they NEVER stop growing ... it just a matter of decades and annual growth ... though some might slow down in old age ... ones that claim to be shorter in 10 years.. just grow less.. each year ... i am confused by the pix.. which show a large yard.. then the plants.. i suspect.. yours is the small yard behind ... remove them ... and for a thin version.. consider degroots spire at the link ... IF you get single leader plants .... they can be about 18 inches wide when 10 feet tall ... but they will never stop ... and they have no snow load issues ... of which.. you didnt tell us where you are.. for other options... but these old tree dont look like heavy wet snow ever collapsed them ... good luck ken Here is a link that might be useful: link...See MoreAccelerate Growth of Emerald Green Arborvitae?
Comments (4)where did this idea start Lopped broadleaf plants do produce quick growing shoots in an apparent effort to replace the suddenly lost top volume. But because of the cutting back that same volume will be less than if the specimen had been left to proceed with enlarging itself in its own natural way. In other words the often whippy shoots produced in response to the amputation do not in total have as much bulk as the original growth would have produced during the same subsequent period of time. This was actually tested decades ago by planting blocks of the same kinds and sizes of trees, cutting half of them back and then after replacement sprouts had been produced digging and weighing all of the test subjects. With the recurring outcome being that the control plants (unpruned group) consistently weighed more....See MoreJSMix
9 years agowannabegardnr
9 years agoJSMix
9 years agooutback63 Dennison
9 years ago
Alice nithya
3 years ago
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)