I would first call the landscaper and have them correct the problem. Landscapers I've used always return, at no charge, to correct problems and replace dying plants up to a year after installation.

They may need to dig a little to get the rootball straight, or add stakes.

You have a fence and a row of arborvitae, right in front of the fence? Hope you don't have any problems with the fence deteriorating and needing upkeep.

It's an ugly chain-link fence; part of the reason I had the hedge planted in the first place. No upkeep concerns there.

I'll call the landscaper and see what he says, but if NOT ... that's where I'm thinking of ways to straighten them up myself. I'd hate to damage the roots, hence my idea of simply straightening them up with a rope fence, and then eventually simply cut the rope once from the other side when they're growing right.

As always, it depends on what, exactly you are talking about with each specimen. If the whole top is bending over then maybe the plant is actually falling over. If the bottom is straight but the upper part has arched over, that is something else.

I put in a hedge of arbor vitaes that were 6-8 feet tall and we pounded steel fence pole stakes between the hedge and the fence, then ran wire between the stakes. The trees were tied with cotton rope to stabilize them until they settled into place, then was cut out.

Good luck with your hedge.

Sue

The one leaning into the yard is straight but at an angle, kind of like the leaning tower in Pisa. I guess that's the one I'm most concerned about. The others just seem to curve into each other, leaving gaps. Perhaps tying a rope between them and pull them together to the point where they're straight?

Oh, and I left a voicemail for the landscaper. No call back yet. I'll try again tomorrow. It'll be a pleasant surprise if he does indeed fix the problem, but this is kind of a low-budget operation so I'm not holding my breath.

The one that is leaning can be and should be straightened with rope tied to something sturdy like a stake or fence. Get it now before it develops a curve in the trunk. The very top will always straighten itself out by growing upwards but it can't unlean itself, so you have to do it before the tip grows into a curve.

The ones that curve, well I'd have to see them. As I said, they'll always send their new growth straight up against gravity, so you may need to do nothing. If they're small I'd consider bracing the trunk with a stake temporarily to straighten it. But they'll straighten out and fill in on their own, if it's just the new growth flopping - but the flopped stuff stays flopped, only the newer growth goes straight up, so it's wider than it started out, but still going up. Does that make sense?