# Snow on arborvitae



## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

I got a little preoccupied prior to and during a recent snow storm and didn't brush off fresh snow from my arborvitae. Last winter either wasn't bad (we had a lot of snow) or I just didn't notice.

The top branches bent but didn't break. Since they are not even 8' tall yet, might they be fine come spring or would I need to use twine to wrap around the bent branches to help them straighten up?


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## csl23 (Jul 22, 2021)

I had a row of arbs like that when I lived in NY and it was battle staying on top of getting that snow off right away. I lost a 1/4 of one of mine cause i got to it too late. Can't hurt to twine it if you need to.


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@csl23 when that happened, did the arborvitae die out soon after or was it from the weight of the snow breaking branches?


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## ceriano (Oct 6, 2021)

Whats a better alternative to arborvitae? All of mine got split tips from snow!


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

@ceriano none that I can think of. Did yours recover eventually?


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## csl23 (Jul 22, 2021)

Jeff_MI84 said:


> @csl23 when that happened, did the arborvitae die out soon after or was it from the weight of the snow breaking branches?


The snow bent a main leader limb all the way down to base of the tree cracking it. Had no choice but to cut the leader off. It left a 1/4 of the tree with an empty space. I was hoping the branches around it would fill in the area but it never did look right after that


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## ceriano (Oct 6, 2021)

csl23 said:


> Jeff_MI84 said:
> 
> 
> > @csl23 when that happened, did the arborvitae die out soon after or was it from the weight of the snow breaking branches?
> ...


 I had the same issue last year after ice storm, I ended up digging them out and replacing them. They are not very expensive to replace.


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## NJ-lawn (Jun 25, 2018)

There is an arborvitae called wintergreen that does better in snowy areas of the country. It has only one leader, not multiple leaders. I replaced some of mine with them about 5 yrs ago. Fast growers too. I bought them at 2-3' tall and they are 12-15' today.

Also after a storm, go out and brush off the snow asap. You could also try tying and wrapping them before winter with burlap or twine.


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## Jeff_MI84 (Sep 28, 2020)

I brushed them off the best that I could and wrapped twine yesterday.

These arborvitae are located in the back, where it is slightly too high. This past summer I had real bad flooding. If the shrubs don't last, I plan on digging them out, lowering the whole area and adding a French drain, possibly with a high privacy fence. So it's not a total loss. The ones along the other fence are not two years planted yet, so I can find similar sized ones to replaced if need be.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

ceriano said:


> Whats a better alternative to arborvitae? All of mine got split tips from snow!


There are arborvitae cultivars that grow tall and narrow which lessens the chance of snow accumulation. Emerald Green and North Pole are two cultivars I can think of.


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## ceriano (Oct 6, 2021)

I planted two Italian cypresses today. Let's see how they do &#129310;


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