The Techny Arborvitae is a clone of its parent plant the White Cedar or American Arborvitae. This special cultivar was found growing in the wild and due to its strong characteristics has been cloned ever since. It is a medium growing (1-2ft per year) evergreen that has a dark green soft foliage. In September of each year it “sheds “ all the growth that grew out the previous year and it drops to the ground creating a very nice mulch around the tree. Its parent plant is a native to the northern US where it grows extensively and some fine, large specimens can be found on Mackinac Island on Lake Heron in Michigan.
They will grow 30+ ft tall and 15+ft wide and the spreading root system is very
wind firm but the wood is not quite so strong and can be damaged by high winds,
snow and ice. This tree can live100 years or longer, its parent plant can live
over 500 years in the north. Age limiting factor is usually how close they are
planted together as close planting and dry weather will shorten life. This tree
has multiple leaders, so some damage to the top of the tree in ice and snow just
lets one of the other “leaders” take over so the effect is minor in a windbreak.
The foliage extends down to the ground, excellent for blocking winds. Deer will
eat this foliage in the winter and severe damage and death can result with
smaller plants, with larger plants all the foliage can be eaten off within 5 ft
of the ground. Deer reduction or fencing may have to be used in some areas.
The Techny Arborvitae grows well in a hardiness zone from 3-7 and likes over 25" of rain per year in areas with adequate soil to hold moisture during the dry months. Does not do well in sandy soil as has a shallow root system and should not be planted there. Will grow well in high ph soils such as along gravel roads, in clay soils and soils with extra moisture. Should not be planted in states where hot dry summers usually occur (Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, ect.) unless extra moisture can be provided.
Disease problem are few with no fungal disease problems and few insect problems
such as bag worms or spider mites in a dry hot summer.
A 2 ft potted tree should be over 8 ft tall in 5 years in good soil, adequate moisture, and total weed and grass control. Spacing--Is very important for this species, due to its shallow root system and most times are planted way to close. When planted to close and a major drought hits, the shallow root system cannot get enough moisture for this moisture loving plant and the weakest ones die or the bottom of the plants die back causing a decrease in windbreak efficiency. Single Row-- 9-Ft apart, Double row-- 12 ft between rows and 10 ft apart between plants in row, Multiple rows--16 ft between rows and 14 ft between plants.
We highly recommend the Techny Arborvitae with certain restrictions: Proper spacing and soil conditions must be followed. They are very wind resistant and we set them 10 feet apart on the outside of our 3 or more rows of trees, and at least 16 feet from any larger evergreens.
Hedge-row of
Techny Arborvitaes, 25 years old. Trimmed back from the
driveway.
|
Type |
Height
|
1-50
|
51+
|
|
Bare Root |
8"-17" |
$3.00 |
$2.50
|
|
Bare Root |
18"-24" |
$5.50
|
$4.50 |
Potted
|
18"-24"
|
$14.50
|
$13.50
|
|
Potted
|
2'-3' |
$20.00
|
$19.00
|
|
Potted
|
3'-4' |
$29.00
|
sold out |
|
Bagged |
6'+ |
$60.00
|
sold out |
Bagworm can be a problem with arborvitae, and other evergreens.
Here is a bagworm house hanging on a branch. They live in
the bag during the day and then in the evening they come out and chew
off the foliage. If you have arborvitae or any evergreens you
should walk threw your trees every year in June and July and check to see if you have any of these bags hanging
on your trees. If they can be caught early they are easily eliminated by
hand picking them off or spaying. To learn more about bagworms just do a
search on the internet as there is much information.
Here to the right is a row of arborvitae that has been hit by an infestation of
bagworms, this happened in just a couple of weeks. They have eaten all the
foliage off the trees and these trees are not going to survive. If they
were caught early when they first appeared they could have been easily
controlled and the trees would have survived with little damage. It
usually takes several years for the population to get this large to do this kind
of damage. Early detection is the secret to controlling bagworms, walk
threw your arborvitae and all evergreens during the summer looking for the bags
as shown above.
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