Create a living screen for your yard
Do you want to block out an offending view, shield your yard from neighbors or the public or just create a backdrop for your flowering garden?
Consider using an evergreen screen using Emerald Green arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Emerald Green’), which is a naturally columnar shaped evergreen. It has dense bright green fan-like foliage that takes on a bronze hue in winter. It will reach 10 feet tall and only 3 feet wide in a few years, though it will get larger with time. It is a great choice where space is at a premium.
Arborvitaes love the sun and moist well drained soil. They are moderate growers but can be hurried along with adequate moisture and fertilization. This also minimizes spring and fall interior shedding. They have relatively few pests but bag worms can be a problem. Keep a sharp eye out for them and treat plants immediately.
To create a solid screen space plants two to three feet apart. To emphasize their columnar shape, plant four to five feet apart and plant lower growing shrubs such as knock-out roses, loropetalum or dwarf forsythia in between and a little to the front. If you need a physical barrier but wish to keep your sight lines open, interplant with rotunda or Carissa hollies.
Proper watering is critical in your first summer. Soak the plants well when you plant them and mulch to help retain moisture. Water deeply every three to four days when there is no rainfall. A rain gauge is an inexpensive investment. One inch of rain a week is usually sufficient for most plants. Pay particular attention to plants on a slope. Those at the top may receive too little moisture while those at the bottom may get too much.
Arborvitaes generally do not need to be pruned, but they do take shearing and shaping well, hence their popularity as topiaries. You can accentuate their conical shape and keep them to a uniform size with a yearly shearing in late winter. As with all evergreens, do not cut back into the bare branches. They will not regenerate from such excessive pruning.
(Pat Brothers is a local gardener who works at Atlantic Avenue Orchid and Garden Center.)
