# How often do I water Arborvitae?



## wdarcy

I live in the Chicago area and just planted ten 9ft thuja "green giant" arborvitae. They were planted five foot on center in a a straight line, the soil was rich black and we peeled back the burlap covering the root ball. I also mulched around the base. The qustion I have is how often do I water the new planting and should I soak them or just spray the base?


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## pdqdl

It depends on the weather. I would suggest that you contact the nursery that sold them to you. They will probably have the best advice.

Too many factors unstated here to give a good answer. Size of root ball, size of plant, sun exposure, reflected heat, soil amendments added?, organic/ sand composiltion, mulching?, etc.

Probably once or twice a week will be fine until it gets above 90"

You should expect to keep the soil detectably moist (but avoiding soggy wet!) at all times until the roots begins to supply the bush. Expect probably two years before it will need no supplementation in the summer heat.


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## BC WetCoast

You may want to consider staking the trees. Around here, the nurseries recommend that the root balls of arborvitae remain tied and burlaped. They tie in a star pattern that doesn't girdle the tree and the burlap is biodegradable. 

What I have had happen is the first set of these trees I planted, I followed the accepted practice of removing the strings and most of the burlap against my boss's instructions. They promptly fell over. The majority of the roots were in the upper half of the rootball and when they fell over, only half the rootball came with them. So, I had to go back and retie up the rootball and stake the trees to prevent them from falling over. A pain in the butt when you are dealling with a 30 tree hedge.

Experience has taught me that not all trees have to have their burlap, strings or cages removed.

I have ground many of tree stump, including the cage, where the tree was very healthy (usually planted in the wrong place) and growing around the cage.


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## arbor pro

Once each plant has been thoroughly watered with a slow trickle running at the base, the best way to regularly check the moisture level is to stick a finger down past the mulch a couple of inches just like you would check a houseplant for moisture. 

If the soil is moist at that level, the soil below it will likely be moist. If it is dry, then do a slow trickle again around the entire root ball. If you have a sturdy stick or metal rod, it doesn't hurt from time to time to stick that down in beside the root ball to check the moisture level.

While you don't want the plant to go dry, you also don't want it to stand in water! Remember, roots need oxygen. They can't develop if they are constantly saturated so, it is important to allow the porous space of the soil to dry out inbetween waterings. 

A good general rule of thumb is to water your Arbrorvitaes like you should your lawn - fewer longer soakings rather than numerous light showers. This will promote good root growth.

As for staking - only do so if the trunk appears loose in the root ball. You don't want much movement but you do want some stress (from wind) on the plant so that it develops a strong stem. Staking when unnecessary can result in a weakend stem so, do so as necessary but use caution not to leave it on any longer than necessary (once the roots have established beyond the root ball).


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## TaoTreeClimber

Everything that everyone stated above is true. Dont forget to take into consideration of your soil drainage. Also Arborvitae are notrious for desicating in the winter. You may want to think about spraying some anti-transpirant and doing deep root waterings around Dec and again in like maybe again in march. Good luck.

Kenn


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