We have a client with an Arb hedge that is probably in the range of 14-15' tall. It was planted about 10 years ago so they're well established. Problem is that over the past winter or two the snow loads have caused many of the main stems to bend over.....quite a bit in some cases. We tried to tie all the leaders up together in hopes that they would support eachother but the ones that are falling over are putting too much force on the straight leaders causing them to lean with the crooked ones. A couple of them are almost touching the ground. After a couple attempts we abandoned the job to try to find a better answer and means of supporting plants of this size that are in such poor shape. We have a couple thoughts in our heads and have spoke with Bartlett on some different options but they all seem quite extreme. Does anyone have any good ideas or experience in handling something like this. There are probably 50 or so plants that make up 2 hedges, one on each side of the property. Other than this issue the Arbs are all in top condition and the client desperately wants to keep her privacy. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
Arbs, IMO, are not the best choice for hedges of that height. You are seeing the main reason why - they cannot take a snow load. I prefer junipers, they are much stronger. Now, back to your question. Can you take the height of the hedge down to about 8 feet? Can you remove the offending branches that do not want to cooperate with tying them back in, without compromising the look of the hedge? If all else fails, replace the screwed up arbs.
No we can't take the arbs down to 8'. Reason one is that they are a crucial part of her landscape and screening neighbors and number 2 arbs don't look good at that size when you cut them in half. If we remove some of the problem stems it will again open them up way too much leaving huge pockets of space that will never fill in real well. Basically we're stuck with what is there and we need to support them in some manner. Replacing the hedge is not an option as she just spent big $$$$ with us building a berm w/ planting,, irrigation, a new beach, etc and does want to have the extra cost of this many plants at the current size. Besides that they are still healthy good looking plants, there are just parts of them that are leaning out quite a bit.
