Question about Arborvitae
 

I was in France and saw (what looked like) aroborvitae used as a beautiful
dense fence/shrub to cover chainlink fencing. I REALLY liked how it looked, and
they seemed to top out at around 10-12 feet high.

Does anyone know a cultivar I could use this way in upstate NY? I always
thought arborvitae grew to 40-50 feet..

Question about Arborvitae
 

FATJORDY wrote:

I was in France and saw (what looked like) aroborvitae used as a beautiful
dense fence/shrub to cover chainlink fencing. I REALLY liked how it looked, and
they seemed to top out at around 10-12 feet high.

Does anyone know a cultivar I could use this way in upstate NY? I always
thought arborvitae grew to 40-50 feet..

Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' (aka 'Emerald' or 'Emerald Green') is a very common
cultivar that only grows to 10-15 feet. Another common small variety is 'Techny',
which is particularly recommended for northern gardens, but there are many smaller
growing forms of this common hedging plant.

pam - gardengal

Question about Arborvitae
 

On Sat, 07 Jun 2003 13:56:02 GMT, Pam wrote:



FATJORDY wrote:

I was in France and saw (what looked like) aroborvitae used as a beautiful
dense fence/shrub to cover chainlink fencing. I REALLY liked how it looked, and
they seemed to top out at around 10-12 feet high.

Does anyone know a cultivar I could use this way in upstate NY? I always
thought arborvitae grew to 40-50 feet..

Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' (aka 'Emerald' or 'Emerald Green') is a very common
cultivar that only grows to 10-15 feet. Another common small variety is 'Techny',
which is particularly recommended for northern gardens, but there are many smaller
growing forms of this common hedging plant.

Pam --

Can Arborvitae be pruned? I've got some that are about 8-10' tall and,
I feel, a security hazard. I was once told they *couldn't* be trimmed,
and I should just dig them up. Hah! Me and that backhoe I keep on the
porch?

Question about Arborvitae
 

Frogleg wrote:

On Sat, 07 Jun 2003 13:56:02 GMT, Pam wrote:



FATJORDY wrote:

I was in France and saw (what looked like) aroborvitae used as a beautiful
dense fence/shrub to cover chainlink fencing. I REALLY liked how it looked, and
they seemed to top out at around 10-12 feet high.

Does anyone know a cultivar I could use this way in upstate NY? I always
thought arborvitae grew to 40-50 feet..

Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' (aka 'Emerald' or 'Emerald Green') is a very common
cultivar that only grows to 10-15 feet. Another common small variety is 'Techny',
which is particularly recommended for northern gardens, but there are many smaller
growing forms of this common hedging plant.

Pam --

Can Arborvitae be pruned? I've got some that are about 8-10' tall and,
I feel, a security hazard. I was once told they *couldn't* be trimmed,
and I should just dig them up. Hah! Me and that backhoe I keep on the
porch?

Sure they can be pruned. Unlike many other trees/conifers, they do not develop a single
leader and so can be leveled off (topped) relatively easily. It is best to do this over
a period of time rather than all at once if you have much to remove. And avoid cutting
back so hard you leave bare wood - it will not regenerate foliage.

pam - gardengal

Question about Arborvitae
 

On Sun, 08 Jun 2003 13:12:59 GMT, Pam wrote:



Frogleg wrote:

Can Arborvitae be pruned? I've got some that are about 8-10' tall and,
I feel, a security hazard. I was once told they *couldn't* be trimmed,
and I should just dig them up. Hah! Me and that backhoe I keep on the
porch?

Sure they can be pruned. Unlike many other trees/conifers, they do not develop a single
leader and so can be leveled off (topped) relatively easily. It is best to do this over
a period of time rather than all at once if you have much to remove. And avoid cutting
back so hard you leave bare wood - it will not regenerate foliage.


Thanks. I will give them a haircut before I have to dangle from a
crane to do it. :-)