Hi everyone. We have a few american arbor vitae bushes outside and are looking to try and make them grow as soon as possible to provide some privacy. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Any idea on what is the best fertiliser to use? Thank advice is much appreciated!
No idea but good luck!
0 likesYou should water an established ARB every week or two depending on the climate where you live. Mulching the soil around the plant is helpful to maintain even moisture. Just leave a small area around the trunk unmulched. Apply an all purpose, or an evergreen fertilizer according to package directions. Arbs don't generally need a lot of fertilizer but if you want to encourage more growth I would fertilize in the spring. They do not tolerate much pruning so if you do any make it very light. If you see any bag worms sacks, hand remove them. Spider mites can also be a problem. They usually appear in hot dry weather. It is normal for them to drop leaves from the inside. I think the key is in moisture. Depending on the climate of your area, I would water deeply every 2 weeks. It likes moist but not soggy. Of course if it rains then you don't need to water and mulching helps keep moisture even.
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I have about a dozen gigantic ones that came with the house. They are right in line with a few sprinkler heads and I don’t really need to water them. Unless if they are a new, not established plant. If they are a new planting you need to water a lot. I live in northern Utah. I think they grow faster if they are in full sun as well. I would also recommend getting a shop vacuum to clean out the crown of the trunk every couple years at least or something.
0 likes Oh also. At first the sprinklers were hitting the foliage a lot, and I noticed some black stuff growing on lower branches. I cut those off and sprayed them with some anti fungal stuff, and luckily it hasn’t come back. But now I make sure the sprinklers are not hitting them directly
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I just bought a house with 2 of these. The previous owner hacked off the tops and the inner branches are very brown. They are also leaning heavily away from the house. Frankly theyre pretty ugly. Any tips?
0 likesThe best way to get any evergreen to grow is to fertilize it with liquid iron. You can find liquid iron on amazon. We bought 3foot Colorado blue spruces 4 years ago they are all now 7 foot plus tall and at least 5 to 6 foot across on the bottom. We also use it on other evergreens and it helps them to grow and be healthy. We only used it once a year but I am sure you could use it more often.
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