It's important to get the rootball wet when you water. Newly planted shrubs sometimes dry out even when the soil around them is moist. A soaker hose once a week should be plenty for Arborvitae until they get established. Also, if they are in an exposed locations, providing some protection from winter wind, and even staking if necessary, might be a good idea.

Thanks so much for the great suggestions! This is exactly what I was looking for.

The rootballs were like concrete when the shrubs were delivered the day before install, so I was out there watering them at 8pm that night. :-) Because I was concerned about them from the start, I deliberately ran the soaker hose very close to the trunk of each shrub so the water would reach the roots.

I'll try the sprinkler for the next few weeks and will also check on whether the landscape fabric is actually repelling water.

Thanks again,
Liza

I dont use a sprinkler at all. Just use a hose with a pencil size stream and stick that right under the trunk for 20 min or more. Mine seem to be doing OK watering like this once a week. Got to get that water to the root ball.

You are getting good advice, I'd say. I would add though that you should water right up until the ground is frozen, not just up until the first frost. Good luck!

Simcan is right, you need to water until the ground freezes. I missed the part about the first frost in your OP.

You can also keep in mind that Arbs shed their interior every fall. So that's not a problem. I would be concerned about the browning out of the bottom branches tho..

mooie

Mooie is exactly right that all the browning inside is normal for arborvitae this time of year. Nothing to worry about. When did the browning at the bottom start? Did you notice it in Sept. when the weather was so dry in our area - I'm also SE PA. If it just started in Oct. then I'd be concerned that you are giving them too much water, especially if it is clay soil which doesn't drain well. Usually the tips and outer braches turn brown from being to dry - there isn't enough water to get to the top and edges. With overwatering, the bottom and inner leaves of a plant start turning brown. Don't know if this is your case, but it is something to think about. SE Pa has had a very wet Oct. so if you shouldn't be needing to water them. The ground is nice and wet and the days are cool and nights even cooler, so the soil won't dry out very quickly. Although arbs can handle lots of water, their roots can also rot if they are just sitting in water. We aren't going into winter with the soil being dry like we do in some years, where you need to water right up to the grown freezes. As long as you can dig down a few inches and the soil is still moist, don't add extra water. If they are mulched, you shouldn't need to water again, since we in SE PA have been under record rains for Oct.

another post suggested that you can clean up the interior branches if you wish. Put on yard gloves, start at the trunk and 'run' hands along a bunch of branches. The dead needles just drop easily to the ground. Makes a nice acid mulch for the tree, too.

I'm sure they drop off naturally, so this is a cosmetic job when you are avoiding a really nasty gardening chore.

It surprised me, though, at how much better the plant looked when it was cleaned up. It didn't look as though it was dying!

Great forum! I have a long row of arborvitae that I am having a hard time watering. I live in an arid area (southeastern Washington state - 6 to 7 in of water per year). On one side of the row I have a large lawn that is covered by large area impact sprinklers. On the other side I have an unfinished slope that is soil and rocks. I have tried drip systems and soaker hoses, but the irrigation water I use plugs those up in about a week (algae, seeds, grit, etc). So far the lawn sprinklers have kept the arborvitae going, but they need more. I don't like the idea, but I am almost resigned to a pop-up spray system (heads spaced 10 ft apart). Should I put the sprayers in the yard and spray towards the slope, or vice versa? Are there any other options besides a spray system? I also tried building a berm and running a flood system, but the slope defeated me. Any help would be great, feel free to email me at azmuth1@iwon.com. Thanks!

Liza, How did your 'Nigra' arbs make out? Are they still alive?? I am in the exact same boat with mine, so I am wondering how yours are now. Thanks!

Hey everyone thanks for all the information, my step mother has worked in the landscaping/gardening/flower business for years and recomended Arborvitae bushes. So I went to one of the plant stores in our area and bought four of them. I will be using different advice and experience to maintain these plants...again thanx a lot.

I also am experiencing the same browning issues. I can't tell if I'm either over/under watering them. I have clay type soil with the landscaping fabric underneath as well and I notice that when I water with the hose that the water puddles up and runs off some before soaking in. I'm new at this and just want to do the proper things so that our yard is thriving.

Azmuth, you can pick up a pretty decent Y filter at most garden centers. They run anywhere from about &8.00 to $15.00. You put them on your main water line (irrigation water) before it hits your spigot or your sprinkler valves, and it does a good job of filtering out all of that grit that can clog up not only pop up sprinklers, but also drip emitters. With mine, maybe once a month, I shut off the valve on my main irrigation line, unscrew the cap from the filter, take out the mesh screen, rinse it off, reinsert it, and I'm good to go. Haven't had my emitters or sprayers clog up in months since I put this filter on.

We planted some in very large containers and some in the ground. The ones in containers are struggling while the ones in the ground are thriving. I believe that the top soil that I used in the containers was not properly nitrofied.

I have started adding high nitrogen fertilizer to the stressed plants. I have not seen much in the way of improvement yet.

I still have one in the pot that it came in and it, also, is doing fine.

Thoughts?

hey ad ....

you should have started your own post.. so replies would be sent to your email ...

if i read your facts properly.. your base problem is PROBABLY using TOPSOIL ... instead of a POTTING MEDIA ...

media is engineered to cover all the variables of pot culture ... and with trees.. the most important is drainage ... and then the attendant fertilizing ...

tree roots need a lot of air.. and topsoil in a pot.. can defeat that need rather easily ... water can not move freely thru the soil ... and you end up with improper water management ...

fertilizing an improperly watered tree will harm it.. more likely.. then help it ...

how about starting your own post.. and i will bet you get a lot more replies than you get under this old post

any chance at some pix????

good luck

ken

BTW ...

arbs are thuja.. which are conifers.. which are trees ...

they are not shrubs ...

though many of the conifer peeps hang in the tree forum.. not many of them visit the shrub forum ...

so if you seek a diversity of answers from peeps who deal with these ..... you might put that post in the tree or conifer forum ...

ken

I just planted 4 arborvitae trees on the slope in my backyard. There is no irrigation system. Any tips or advice on how often I need to water? I live in Boston... How much difference does the weather make? Thanks!

Jeff1315,

Read section 12 of the link below. It should tell you what you need to know.

Weather can make a HUGE difference, but only you can accurately gauge how much difference weather in your area is having on your site.

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub