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Snow/ice damaged Arborvitae

Alexander SE Michigan - Zone 5b

2 months ago

My Smaragd Arborvitae took a beating last weekend from 10" of wet snow. The previous weekend they handled the ice storm fairly well.
Planted at around 8' four years ago, now around 10'+ and were looking great. Unfortunately they are multi-leadered trees and the leadere split down the middle like petals on a flower. They recovered to some extent, but many of the leaders have been sagging all week.
They are calling for more wet snow tomorrow, so this morning I hastily tied some rope around each one, bunching the leaders together. They are not exactly straight, but I am hoping they will stand a better chance like this. I plan to gently dust off any snow accumulations in the morning.
Does anyone think tying them is the proper solution here? Should I leave them tied for the year so they will straighten back up? I will try to take some pics later.

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Comments (5)

Alexander SE Michigan - Zone 5b
Original Author
2 months ago
I should add, there was no breakage, only bend limbs/leaders.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 months ago
i had 4 arbs removed in the 2800 dollar tree removal project ..

i declared one a work of art.. and left it ...

i dont believe in tying up my trees.... i get rid of them ... and start over ...

im down tecumseh way ... where are you.. city name....

there are at lest two other current posts on the storm damage...

ken
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Actually, Emerald arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd') is one of THE MOST prone of the arborvitae cultivars for splaying open due to heavy snows. This is because the wholesale plant producers need to produce their plants as quickly as possible for maximum profit potential. A nice full plant will also sell much quicker/be more attractive to consumers and so the growers allow many low stems to develop and those stems ultimately become multiple leaders that splay apart in heavy snows. Thuja occidentalis 'Hetz Wintergreen' is one of the best of the arborvitae cultivars for handling heavy snow loads because it tends to grow naturally with only one leader being produced. Any of the arborvitae cultivars can become plants that can tolerate snow loads as long as you start with small plants and allow only one leader to develop. Unfortunately, most of the plants that can be found in the nursery trade are already multiple-leader plants when purchased - with the notable exception of 'Hetz Wintergreen'. Mike
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Obviously when you are dealing with 50 6 ft. Arbs you have a lot invested not to mention planting. Replacement would be the way to go if dealing with less in number and smaller plants. In your case I don't think that's an option. Not sure there. If investment was slight then replace. As brandon7 mentioned graduating to single leader plants would be your only remaining option. Select one strong leader located in the center of the shrub, and either remove all other vertical shoots entirely, or remove them gradually as new growth fills in behind the leader. This will prevent a lopsided shrub with most of the growth on one side. I would opt to remove them gradually maintaining an acceptable look as they develop gradually. If it were me, for now, I would stake and wrap them with twine to stabilize for the winter. Then began the leader reduction next spring. Dave
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google tractor supply.. believe it or not ... there are a bunch in nj ... get the twine at the link.. one HALF MILE ... for $20 .. it is a two person job .... get someone to grab the tree a foot or two up from the ground... make a circle.. pull it snug.. but not overly tight.. tie it off to itself ... and then start wrapping in a candy cane manner ... up to about a foot from the top. and then back down ... and tie again to itself at the bottom ... understand.. that all you are doing ... is closing the pores .. lets say ... where snow might gather .... YOU ARE NOT TIE-ING IT LIKE A MILITARY CAPTIVE ... it really doesnt have to be all that tight.. what you are doing.. is making the whole tree .. a single branch.. which will hold itself upright ... rather than a plethora of single branches which will bend when weight is applied ... the beauty of the twine.. is you can throw it all away in spring ... wrap your head around this: WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO STORE ALL THAT BURLAP YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT BUYING???? for next winter ... i wish i had a picture.. but i dont ... maybe someone else here has a picture .... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link
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Ken; I put up the windbreak because of all the winterburn on my conifers in the last few years, esp to on young Concolors in a new bed on the opposite side of the yard. Our back yard faces west, we're on a lake and the wind gets pretty vicious. Mike, thank you. I really had no idea those tiny little balls would get so wide! I probably wouldn't have planted that half circle if I had known because I try to plan things for as little maintenance in the future as I can (lots of shrubs, only easy care perennials - - -no staking, freq dividing or deadheading etc). I'm going to have to do the same thing with the hakonechloa grass I used to edge other parts of the same bed, eventually, those things grow SO slowly. Thanks for the heads up, because I was going to repeat the arborvitae hedge idea in the new bed. I'm getting to the point where I can tell I'm going to be slowing down soon whether I like it or not! We're also going to be planting a privacy hedge between our house and the neighbor's on the opposite side. So that would facing north on our side of the hedge with the hedge running east-west. We have only 10 feet max for bed and all because we're also working around a shed on that side. I was going to do Technys because I thought the wider tree would look better in a long line of arbs, but then I came across the multiple leader problem. Any ideas? Sharon
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Alexander SE Michigan - Zone 5b
Original Author
2 months ago
Ken, I am in Howell. My arbs provide a privacy screen along my patio. Also, I don't have the time or money to spend on new plants.

I tied them, dusted off some snow this morning. I'll hope for the best.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 months ago
This is a pretty common occurrence with arbs, even single leadered ones. All the individual branches tend to be upward sweeping so they easily catch and collect snow and the weight of heavy or wet snow can bend them out or cause them to splay. Depending on how far they splay out and for how long before the snow is removed, the damage may or may not be recoverable.

In areas where this happens routinely during winter, many gardeners elect to tie the branches together loosely before winter to prevent this happening.

Tying Arborvitaes
BillMN-z-2-3-4
2 months ago
I went in to tie up my neighbors 15' arbs, across the street one spring.

Once I got into the arbs I found several different kinds of twine, rope, plastic cords from other times that the previous owners had tied them up. ;-)

You can buy special plastic chain for this purpose but I just bought a cheap clew of paracord that worked just as well.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Mark-Chainlock-1-2-in-x-100-ft-Tree-Support-30200/202815094?g_store=&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_023_LAWN_ACC-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-SMART_SHP_NA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D28O-028_023_LAWN_ACC-NA-NA-NA-SMART-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-SMART_SHP_NA-71700000063988474-58700005690512855-92700051915081058&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzv2-jr3S_QIVbTizAB1jjgEnEAQYAiABEgLbI_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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