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Caring for Arborvitaes in the Winter
Caring for Arborvitaes in the Winter
Caring for Arborvitaes
I came across a very good article from Michigan State University about caring for arborvitaes during the winter. In the article, procedures are outlined on how to prevent arborvitaes from becoming deformed due to heavy snow accumulations.
Living in northern Illinois, snow is a common occurrence during the winter. I had (notice the past tense) a row of arborvitaes that would bend nearly to the ground under the weight of heavy snow. Even when I was able to shake off some of the snow, they still bent to the ground. Come spring, the trees kept their distorted appearance and looked like they all were having a bad hair day. If I would have read this article many years ago, I may have been able to save the time and effort it took to remove the 8 arborvitaes that ranged in height from 8 to 12 feet.
Snow fall has been light so far this year in the lower midwest and upper midwest, so it would be a good time to follow the procedures outlined in the article and allow your arbor vitaes a chance to maintain their nice columnar shape.