Friday, April 1, 2011

Moving a Hedge of Very Large Arborvitae

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I have a huge hedge of 'Pyramidal' Arborvitae I planted beginning in the year 2003. It has grown quite big and beautiful and does provide me lots of privacy and beauty in the winter when nothing else is green. However, I planted this hedge in the wrong spot and with the completion of the privacy fence I decided to move this hedge.

Let me explain why this hedge was planted in the wrong spot. At the time of planting I had terrible neighbors and my main concern was privacy. Additionally I did not want the hedge close enough to the fence so as to be damaged by the adjacent property owner. The chainlink fence itself suffered quite enough damage by itself without having a living hedge be destroyed due to vandalism. Therefore I planted the hedge about seven feet from the fence. The arborvitae themselves can grow to about 5-6 feet wide. I really should've planted the hedge only about four feet from the fence because I lost that amount of space inside of the hedge and fence. I really missed the space too because who is going to use space between a fence and 11 foot tall shrubs? Normally boundaries and privacy fences would be on the outside of the living area of a yard not set several feet into the yard area.


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I felt pretty confident I could move this hedge pretty much by myself. Normally moving shrubs this big is not a recommended project due to the trauma mature shrubs suffer their mortality rate is very high. I myself have lost one or two over the years in part due to moving. But here is the caveat, these shrubs grow in a low spot where water tends to flow underground just beneath the roots of the arborvitae. The area almost always stays wet in the lower area but does dry out considerably on the higher ground area. The total length of the hedge was to be 35 feet. The higher end of the area had the shorter shrubs (probably due to less water and more tree root competition) and the lower end had the very large shrubs. The two shrubs I have lost from this area were both growing above the water level and so were not privy to a good underground source of water. By the time I realized they were in trouble it was too late. But now that I know of the situation I'll be able to monitor it more closely this summer so I decided to move these shrubs.


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There were eight shrubs in total ranging from 6 feet to 12 feet tall. What was I thinking??? I was able to move four of the eight shrubs by myself. I don't even want to ever think of doing something like this again. I began by digging the huge holes to accommodate the rootballs. I then cut around the root balls being sure to stay outside of the canopy if I was able to do so. This meant I had about 30-40 inch rootballs. In order to be sure the roots were completely cut and to dislodge the shrubs I leaned them over. This part was easy.

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Moving the shrubs and their rootballs over was not so easy. Here we are looking at the before the move photo. See all of that room between the fence and the arborvitae? I used to have some barberry growing here but have since removed it. Anything that is invasive or has thorns has to go and the barberry fit the bill. I used the chainsaw to take them out. If you look all the way down past the hedge you can just make out a swing near the fence. Just on the other side of the swing is the end of my property and also the pond that belongs to my neighbor. To the right of this hedge there was about a three foot walkway between this hedge and a hedge of crepe myrtles and a small picket fence. This garden is known as my picket fence garden and I grow only touch me nots, the arborvitae, and the crepe myrtles in it. I wanted a bigger walkway so that the crepe myrtles would get more sun, I'd have more room to walk, and the yard would feel larger in this area without the shrubs infringing upon the space.



Ah, here we go. All moved and back into place-kind of. In order to move the bottom four shrubs I had to get my neighbor to come over and help Mr. Fix-it and I. What a big job!! The rootball with the trees must've weighed 300 pounds a piece and it was tough moving the shrubs over. Fortunately we did not have to move them far and were able to drag them into place pretty well. The hedge is now an even 36" from the privacy fence and each shrub is 48" apart. They should grow together nicely and recover in a few years. Can you see the swing and pond now? A much better view now I think and more breathing room for me and the crepes.  I wish I had taken a before shot on this side of the arborvitae but just now realized I did not. It's hard to tell just how much more room we've gained with moving this hedge over.


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The last time I moved some of these shrubs was in 2008. It also happened to be the year of the Master Gardener Garden Tour. My garden happened to be on the tour and I vividly remember I had a bunch of ropes holding these shrubs in place so that they would not fall over. I learned from prior experiences that without the roots to anchor these tall shrubs into place these shrubs will easily blow over. Blowing over is not such a big deal because I can usually set them up easily, but each time a shrub blows over the rootball is set back again. To prevent blow overs I have anchored each and every shrub in two different locations with more ropes. Not the prettiest thing in the garden but definitely functional. In a year or so I'll be able to remove the anchors and I'll still (hopefully) have a beautiful green arborvitae hedge....


in the garden....

And to think I am publishing this on April Fools day! Everyone beware...in the garden... and have a great weekend!



Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

31 comments:

  1. Good Morning Everyone.
    Tina that was a massive endeavor. I do remember when I did such things. I can see it does give you a lot more room. Hooray. They sure are nice trees.
    April Fools-----just another day.

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  2. Great work. And it shows, too. Beautiful photos. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  3. Wow...that looks like a BIG project!
    Rene
    Your words of support for me and my *mess* have been such an encouragement to me...THANK YOU for sharing your heart with me.

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  4. Girl, you are a glutton for punishment!! :D Hope you are all doing well. When are you coming to NC?? Carla

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  5. When you told me about moving these last week, I thought you had lost your mind. Now after reading the details involved, I KNOW YOU HAVE LOST YOUR MIND GIRL!!! LOL...

    You are such a brave soul to tackle such a big, heavy job in the garden. There is no way I would even think of this job, much less carry out the plan! The Saint would say “No Way Jose” and the trees would remain where planted. We had a tough time removing two boxwoods in the past. They were so heavy we had to knock off dirt from the roots in order to move them! We gave up after a bit and ended up pruning and cutting the bush and roots. We ended up sending the entire things to the compost bin!

    Kudus to Mr. Fixit for going along with some of your crazy ideas girl. I know the Saint would shake his hand over this one as he would never take on such a job with me. LOL

    I think I will try a good April Fools Joke on the Saint today with moving something large and see what he says. Hee hee….

    Tina, you are my Garden Hero Girl…

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  6. Good job. I tried to move a large rhododendron and had the problem of the wind tearing the rootball loose even though I put anchors. They have such shallow roots, If I try it again I will use some of those huge landscape pins to push through the roots, as well. It is still alive but only a remnant of its former self. It was worth a try.

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  7. I cannot even begin to imagine how heavy that was. Keeping my fingers crossed for its survival this summer.

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  8. Lola, Big job indeed. I'm glad it need only be done once. I'm more precise with planting now.

    ACIL, Thanks!

    Miss Gracie, My pleasure. Not a mess at all, just look for that beauty.

    Carla, Not sure but we will be coming sometime. I wasn't sure if we would or not but looks like maybe summer or fall. Hoping to go to Biltmore when we come too. I'll be sure to email you I want to hear all about the girls exciting news.

    Skeeter, You are too funny. I've seen you two tackle some hard issues in the past so I know you could do it if you set your mind to it. It is probably best you took those boxwoods to the dump. I have found the mature ones and even small ones do not transplant well at all. Such a shame too.

    Everyone have a great day it is lovely here.

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  9. Thanks Janet, Me too! I will have to be very diligent with watering. Sigh.

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  10. Well I'll be dipped in peanut butter! That's one helluva project you took on there. Build those muscles!!! Looks good and I know you will enjoy having a little more breathing room.

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  11. Wouldn't it be nice to own a tree spade? Or at least a forklift? So much easier to move those huge root balls. Guess who else planted those trees for privacy? Only these are planted too close to a pool lanai. Today's my kind of day, so I might as well celebrate.

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  12. Holy cow Tina!!! I know you have always been one heck of a hard worker but I think this borders on insane. Well done job!!

    It is no April's fool here....the 6 inches of sno is real. We are having such a late spring anyway and now this. They say it will turn to rain here on the coast before the day is over so it will take it but it will still set the already soggy ground back for drying out. I have been going out and doing some things but my w/c has been tearing up the lawn so will probably have to stay inside for a couple of weeks. Darn it!!!

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  13. If anyone else had published this on April Fools' Day, I would have thought this was a joke. But knowing you, Tina, I am not surprised that you would tackle such a big project. Wow, what a lot of work! I remember last year one group of MG's decided to move a large arborvitae in the Idea Garden that was probably half the size of yours. I think it took 3 or 4 people to do it! By the way, I have some overgrown yews I'd like to move...are you coming in Illinois any time soon?:)

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  14. What a big job Tina. I'm glad it worked out ok. I'm here to let you know that the blog that was coping all our work has disappeared.

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  15. That is a huge job! I know how heavy rootballs of mature shrubs can be. I moved a Mexican Orange not long ago and it blew over with every breeze, finally I staked it in place after getting tired of standing it back up. I can't imagine doing that with 12 foot tall shrubs. I keep wishing our neighbor might think about taking some of his way too close to our house Cedar trees down and put up a row of Arborvitae.

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  16. Gosh, that's a huge task! I'm actually looking into these hedges though as we have a neighbor we'd like to hide.

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  17. One of the eagle eggs hatched! I am captivated at watching them. I saw both male and female on the nest and changing shift work. Did not know they both share in the task of hatching the eggs.....

    AWESOME!!!

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  18. Can't believe you're moving all 8 shrubs. That's way overwhelming for me.
    We also have to have privacy in the back yard.
    Like being able to sit outside with a cup of coffee while still in my jammies.

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  19. OMG Skeeter, are they AWESOME or what? I saw Mom feed the wee one 2 times this afternoon. I saw Mom when she brought the rabbit in last Sunday evening and I was not so sure I could handle it but I had NO problem at all. In fact I was crying for joy. The site has been down a lot today but a short time ago I actually got in to the chat. I have been watching this everyday since the 3rd egg was laid and only 3,000 viewers and the chat was always right there and I had not been able to get into chat since Tuesday. Gotta get back to it now. Dad on nest now so Mom probably will be coming back soon.

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  20. Oy! What a job!! I'm glad it worked out so well for you. I like the new pathway. I once planted a trumpet creeper on a fence to help hide my former neighbors hideous yard. Now that I have fabulous new neighbors, I pruned it severely before it took over the house. Your hedge looks much better behaved. :o)

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  21. Nice work! I think you're making a good move - and getting a workout too :) It's a much better solution than cutting them down, which is what I ended up doing with two of mine.

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  22. That's a herculean task, Tina!!! You rock!

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  23. Tina,

    First the fence and now these huge shrubs. You never let big projects slow you down. Could you give Meg some training, I'm tired of fixing and fetching everything.

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  24. How did you have the energy to do this after building the fence?
    You continue to amaze. I'm still wondering if one day you're going to move your house to a different part of the garden. :-) Hope all are happy in their new space.

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  25. I agree with Lola, what a massive endeavor to take on by yourself! Crossing my fingers for luck that they survived their move and bounce back quickly. :)

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  26. Tina, how are your arborvitaes doing? I have a couple of landscape guys coming today to help me move 6 10'-ers. Hoping they make it.

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    1. Hi Marsha! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. My arborvitaes are doing awesome! I think they have grown about 3+ feet in the three years I have moved them. They get more sun now so that is helpful too. The area I moved them to was only a few feet away and is a moist area so that also helped a lot with their survival and growth pattern. The area is the lowest area of my yard and our septic runs underground down there (the pipes are not directly under the arborvitae but moisture from the pipes runs down in that area) If you are moving big ones (10' is pretty big) you will have to really watch them. I did not lose any of these that were in the lower area but did lose two smaller arborvitae that were on the higher end of the slope. These two were much smaller and were not well established and I did not water them. They did not get the underground moisture. I've noticed arborvitae like a moist area and can tolerate part sun/shade--at least in my part of Tennessee. The two that did die were dry and I think they got spider mites. I was grateful I did not lose any of the row or any of the big ones. If your landscape guys have a spade to spade them that would be good. The rootballs are VERY heavy and I dug big rootballs. Some of the roots may have stayed in place with I moved the shrubs over a few feet. Anyhow, watch them this summer and be sure to give them a good soaking at least weekly if we don't get enough rain to keep the soil moist and not dry for an extended period. Good luck!

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    2. Let me know how it went too!!

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  27. Thanks so much for your reply. It's good to hear most of your trees survived the transplant well. Three guys were here for 5 hours today moving what turned out to be 7 arborvitaes. It has been cool but is forecast to be in the 70's by the weekend. I've transplanted them against a west fence so they will be protected at least on the lower half from afternoon sun. I will be watering them heavily. Tomorrow I will give them some B1. I will post a photo here if it's possible to do. Thank you again.

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    1. Sounds good! I did not think of a root stimulator but that would help too and the vitamin B1 (it might be the same thing). I'd love to receive a picture but you will have to email it to me. My email is ramseytina5@gmail.com. Are you in Tennessee? I am wondering with your large arborvitaes if you have the same issues I have with mine--wind blowing them around and the trunks have even begun to bend. Prevailing winds come from the west so all of my arborvitaes are leaning to the east even though I have tied them to the fence to hold them upright. It has been a rough year for the evergreens with all the ice, snow and wind here. BE sure to tie or stake your arborvitaes in place as they will be prone to blowing over. Mine even tried ripping out roots with all the ice they had this year and the soil being so moist in the winter.

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  28. I have most of them staked, thanks for the suggestion. I am in Northern Nevada. We have prevailing west / southwest winds but we are very dry this year and are in a drought situation. So far the trees are not leaning due to the winds. Most are 10' to 12' tall. With the heavy winter you've had, tying up the branches would help but you didn't see this kind of winter coming either. I do have a relative near Franklin but she is not into gardening. I will try to send photos to you tonight. Thanks very much for your help!

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