Tying Evergreen Shrubs for Winter Protection: Arborvitaes, Cedars & Yews

[@gtaylor5053]

So helpful. Thank you. I’m headed out to do this today with my Taylor Junipers and Blue Arrow Junipers. I’ve done this in past years and it really helps them keep their tight shape in our Colorado snow, but as they get bigger it gets harder. Appreciated the long-handled tool trick :)

[@GardenUPLandscape]

You're so welcome, I'm glad it was helpful!

[@tmcmat01]

Thanks for the info and you are a great presenter & instructor!

[@GardenUPLandscape]

You're so kind, thank you! And you're welcome, I'm glad it was helpful! :)

[@debschreiner3600]

Thank you for this video! You are right, there is very little information on how to prep yews for winter, so this was quite informative

[@GardenUPLandscape]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@ExperienceVidium]

Very helpful thanks - I can use the approach for my 12 ft cedar pines this winter - been scratching my head and looking for youtube help all month - this will work fine - they split apart in the winter ice

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Glad it was helpful! Good luck!

[@davidbuche]

Your comment on watering in the fall is super important if your area is extremely dry or in drought area. If you are hit with the double whammy of drought+ snow load the results can be devastating. I have a dozen 12-22 foot green giants. One snapped even though the center leader/trunk was 4-5" thick. Three others are bent. I am trying to straighten them gradually with axe straps and 1/2" lines 12 feet off the ground to a huge maple. I tied lines to each end of the axle strap to avoid choking the green giant

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Thanks for watching and for your comment! That sounds like a massive job. Just make sure that whatever branches you tie to, on the Maple or the Giant, that they wont be girdled. Sounds like you're already checking that, it's just one of those things that it doesn't hurt to repeat. Best of luck!

[@davidbuche]

@@GardenUPLandscape Thanks, I have made some progress, the 22' one that hides half my neighbors four car garage is up. Nylon 2" wide axle straps with d clips on each end are providing support. They are about 12" long. They were held temporarily in place with dollar tree scarves (bow knots that should fall apart) . I needed to use a shovel and finally a carbon fiber oar to get the 1/2" ropes over high enough branches so I wouldn't have to prune. Raising was done with a block and tackle. Two prussic hitches were needed. I wasn't lucky and the maple wasn't perfectly lined up with the bend direction. I used a 1/2" line to pull halfway down to the first lines at right angles anchoring to a Norway spruce with another axle strap. There is a lot of stuff I didn't know and guessed. I placed the axle straps 2/3 the way up the green giant. It sort of seemed right. I stopped for 30 minutes - hour during raising. I debated whether to wait a day or two after raising every 5-10 degrees but decided against that. I debated whether to stake to the ground or keep the ropes high. I chose to keep all the ropes 14'-18' off the ground. Any idea when to remove the restraints? Any test? I was thinking 2-3 years. I am amazed a 20 year old green giant was so flexible. Stuff I needed -- extension ladder, 12' step ladder, block and tackle, 13' carbon fiber oar (borrowed) that I monster taped a custom cut piece of cardboard to keep the rope from falling off.

[@SilentBob1932]

Great advice,I used Green Jute on my Arborvitae’s helps for heavy snow in Michigan and is not visible , but I still have to tie up a few bent branches in the spring, I also use Bobbex Spray to keep the Deer away in the winter.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Great tips, thanks!

[@rachelderricott5007]

I really appreciate your educated video.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Thanks so much! I'm really glad it was helpful!

[@rocraider163]

Thanks for this video. It’s late august and I’m starting to think about winter protection for my 4 Wichita blue junipers already. We get a lot of snow here in western NY. Two of my junipers are about as tall as your row of plants in the beginning of this video. The past few winters I’ve been burlap wrapping but they’re getting taller and they become a big brown blob in the winter when wrapped. I’m going to try this method this winter…

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Go for it! Let me know how it goes (if you remember come spring lol)

[@ExperienceVidium]

Pls let me know how it goes for you this winter - I can't get burlap around my tall cedars and roping them should work - they've been splitting apart a bit with the ice building up and don't want to lose them

[@ginacirelli1581]

I really wish I had found this video before it snowed. I have 20 foot cedars and they were heavily pruned last spring so they lost a lot of their support. Some of the branches are now almost touching the ground with the snow load. I really hope I can tie them in the spring and they can recover over the summer.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

If possible, don't wait until spring. Go knock the snow off and tie them now. The longer they are bent the harder it will be to reshape them.

[@ginacirelli1581]

@@GardenUPLandscape If we get enough of a melt, I will. Here in Northeastern Vermont, it would be dangerous for me to get up on a ladder with so much snow on the ground.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

I totally get it 😬 safety first! Worry about the branches later.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Thanks for watching! Subscribe for more gardening tips, tricks and hacks! We have lots planned to keep the channel going through winter! See you in the garden!

[@GardenUPLandscape]

:)

[@bellamokes5493]

Very thorough!

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Thanks! Your coaching helped a LOT on this one! I wrote bullet points the night before so I had a script to follow ;)

[@bellamokes5493]

@@GardenUPLandscape LOVE THAT!

[@rebeccalankford8573]

When you use burlap to wrap the plants you can leave a flap opening to open it so that the plant can still get sunlight.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Fair point. But wouldn't that require you to visit your shrubs regularly to adjust the burlap? We don't visit our clients over the winter.

[@senge2648]

Great content, I have 23 green giants (5-6fts) along my fence in Massachusetts. Should I do the same for winter?

[@GardenUPLandscape]

This is one of those "it's up to you and depends on your situation" kind of things. If you are expecting a lot of snow this year, then yes, it's definitely a good idea to tie them for support. If they are under the eaves of your house where they'll get all the snow from your roof dumped on them (which doesn't sound like the case in your situation) then it's even more important. If you've ever had a problem with branches bending before, then yes. But if you aren't expecting snow and you've never had this problem before then it's certainly not vital. I'd hazard a guess that in your situation it would probably be a good precaution! It certainly wont hurt anything to be over prepared.

[@natmelnych2752]

I thought the burlap is mostly to save cedars from late winter - early spring sunburns. Because the early spring sun could be hot but the soil is still frozen, so there is no moisture for the roots. I tied my cedars last fall but did not cover them with burlap and they burned quite a bit. Took them the whole summer to recover.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Sorry to hear that! I've not seen that problem before, but I don't doubt that it happens, and it would take a long time for plants like that to recover.

[@geoseward]

Right now, I am in Texas, and I have several large green giant arborvitaes which are covered in ice and leaning over, and am waiting to see if they recover their shape after temperatures warm up. If in fact the branches are leaning over after the storm, would you recommend tying them up to try to retain their original shape.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

If they are still covered then go shake the snow and ice off. If the branches are still leaning without the weight then they have already started to warp, so yes, I would recommend tying them asap. Stay warm down there! I hope you keep your power this time! 🙏

[@Electrohawk_CopperCompass]

Thank you for the video. We're going to be doing exactly this with Arborvitaes on Saturday. Ours have looked pretty bad since big snow storm 3 months ago and we finally have a week of sunshine with the snow gone. We're in Utah and the snow this year has been phenomenal; about 1 storm every 5 days it seems. Our shrubs are about as tall as the ones in your video. Also, we will be doing some starts with Arborvitaes or yews this next spring and summer. We need them to become 16 to 25 feet tall eventually for privacy. The arborvitaes (mentioned above) have grown at a rate of over 1-foot per year, but they were 3-feet tall at planting. Do you recommend any video's we can watch to do starts? We need a row of plants (or maybe a staggered double row) for sixty-two feet so that's a lot of plants and the reason why we want to try starts.

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Wow, that's a lot of shrubs! I don't know of a good video on that topic, but my recommendation would simply be to plant them at an appropriate spacing, spread the roots well and plant at the right depth, keep them well watered (especially arborvitaes, they succumb to transplant stress often and need lots of water) and buy extras to replace any that die. If you buy a few extra and plant them somewhere else, then you'll have some of the same size to replace any that die later. Even if it's a few years down the line! It's always a bummer when you loose a shrub in the middle of a row and have to replace it with a smaller one.

[@MrSoldierperson]

I have a baby Spruce I just purchased. How do I tie up a tender baby Emerald Green 2 foot arborvitae?

[@GardenUPLandscape]

You wont need to tie it up until fall, and I don't see many problems with the shorter plants. It's really only when they get big like the ones in the video that they really have problems, unless they are under eaves and get buried with heavy snow. But you'd just wrap it with twine like I do with the individual plants in the second half of this video. Then take it off in the spring. These bigger plants we are leaving the twine for now just so we don't have to keep doing this every year, but when they are little they need room to grow!

[@MrSoldierperson]

@@GardenUPLandscape Thank you!

[@kimberlykendall7302]

Hi there! Wondering whether you found this successful when you took the twine off the following spring? Thanks!

[@GardenUPLandscape]

Most years yes! When we do this we have very little damage from the snow load over winter. This last winter was an exception. I don't think we tied them tight enough and the snow was so heavy that there was some spreading. But it was easy to correct this spring. Honestly, after speaking with a couple arborists about it, there really isn't a reason to remove the twine. As long as it's not tied tightly around any branches so it wont girdle anything, then it wont do any harm if it's just left there for several years until it needs to be redone because the shrubs grow out of that tie!

[@kimberlykendall7302]

@@GardenUPLandscape thank you so much for the fast reply!! I’m your neighbor in CdA, have a row of arbs and was out quite a few times this winter sweeping the heavy snow off so they didn’t splay. As it is, I’ve had to tie up a couple of them (plus a fastigiate pine) that ended up a little splayed anyway. Thinking I’d go the jute twine route this fall. Thanks again!!!

[@JugglerLou]

Looks like you could use me on my stilts!

[@GardenUPLandscape]

LOL! Well I am hiring right now so you and your stilts are welcome to apply!