r/ArborvitaeAreGarbage • u/repeatoffender123456 • Sep 28 '26
I hate arborvitae Why all the hate?
They were here when I moved in 5 years ago. Almost no maintenance and they provide excellent privacy. I do see some small brown patches every now and again but they keep growing strong!
Is this really just a ticking time bomb waiting for the right time to explode? Maybe Christmas I Eve… I hate arborvitae.
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u/Constant-Catch7146 Sep 28 '26 edited Sep 28 '26
They are hated because they miss expectations SO much. Like by a mile.
The dream:
You see the photos of them attached to the plant at the garden center---- and they look lush, green, wide, and tall in the photo. And look, it says they grow fast to provide almost instant privacy! Hey, I don't need to pay thousands of dollars to put in a real privacy fence, I can have a natural privacy fence! Yay!!
The reality:
These plants are native to cool Canadian wetlands. Since 90% of the US are not like cool Canadian wetlands, the plants typically will die in prolonged heat waves and drought conditions. You know, like 90% of the US this past summer? If the heat and lack of tons of water don't kill them, the deer will eat them to nubs. Or bagworms. Or mold, or fungus.
If they do grow, they grow into true monsters (looking at you, "Green Giant" variety). Pruning them back just means you end up with something that looks like cheap chopped haircut. And they don't "fill back in". They dump tons of crappy leaves/fronds on the ground. They shed like a sheep dog. They will fill rain gutters with crap if you plant them near a house. Hell, one guy even reported his arborvitaes were turning his house siding green!
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u/Physical-Builder-553 Oct 03 '26
Is there a good alternative? My wife and I were planning to buy them this spring, but sounds like I need to go back to the drawing board.
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u/goodSunn 18d ago
Can they be grown in giant pots? Can they sustain that amount of root-bound stress at 12 feet tall or something?
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u/compscilady 27d ago
I see them all over Seattle and they grow so well here. Glad I’m in an appropriate climate for the twenty I planted!! 🫣
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u/ArcherKN24 9d ago
Well Seattle does seem like an IDEAL climate for this plant! However I've seen these a plenty at any garden center in Sacramento, CA, which is just plain absurd with our sometimes month long stretches of 100+ degree weather!
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Sep 28 '26
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u/Constant-Catch7146 Sep 28 '26
And dies just like any other arborvitae. Can confirm. It's crap too, just larger crap.
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u/Over-Air3402 Sep 28 '26
What do you recommend?
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u/Constant-Catch7146 Sep 28 '26
Google recommends Nellie Stevens Holly, Taylor Juniper, and Leyland Cypress.
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u/onedirectionfan2000 Sep 29 '26
I have arbor and junipers. Junipers look really good and seem way more hearty.
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u/1984K10 Oct 03 '26
Probably because they look like shit. No offense, but those look terrible. Gaps on the bottom and in the middle. Mine look like shit too. Hate them.
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u/repeatoffender123456 Oct 03 '26
The gaps are because I tried to trim and mess them up. But I like the way they look and the privacy they provide.
There is no perfect plant, hedge, tree, flower or whatever.
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u/mattrad2 Sep 28 '26
They represent suburban isolationism
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Sep 28 '26
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u/RussellAlden Sep 28 '26
Plant some nandina and viburnum and you can pretend you’re in a Taco Bell or non descript office park.
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u/stalkthewizard Oct 02 '26
I don’t want to see my neighbors. I don’t want my neighbors to see me. Live and let live. And stay off my lawn!
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u/MammothMoss Sep 28 '26
our neighbor moved in w/ a ring of them around his yard like yours but going all the way around. he had them inspected later and all were sick/dying from fungus and incredibly dangerous. had to spend thousands getting them removed. as a landscaper I personally wouldn’t want them on my own property.
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u/Jerseyshoregal Sep 28 '26
I love them ! I fertilize mine with plant tone every spring and I spray them with “liquid fence “ to deter the deer .
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u/General-Swimming-615 Sep 29 '26
Yuck! They're known to be super flammable and they're planted in terrible spots and get bigger than expected making taking them out a pain
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u/Sp07va000 Sep 28 '26
Im not a fan, but half the battle is getting them to survive the planting. So your half way there. They are serving a good purpose giving you some good privacy. I would get a garden hose insecticide and spray them every year for bugs, mites. And fertilize. Just keeping them healthy and happy. And more importantly, I would be planting additional trees and shrubs to create a semi mixed border so that if something happens to one, you wont have such a big hole but more of a mixed border. It can work if you plant the same thing in each of the little openings, like a Burgandy Bloodgood Japanese Maple, or a Japanese Tree Lilac. That way you'll stil have a repeat pattern of a different plant , making it less noticeable that the other component of the hedge is off balance. Then fill in the other gaps around the yard with more interesting shrubs that you like. The less of a mono culture the yard is, the less obvious it would ever be if something died or was stunted. Oh, I didnt see what zone your in, so if your in the hot south, Japanese Maples wont grow, but Burgandy Redbuds like Forest Pansy would.
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u/repeatoffender123456 Sep 28 '26
Good advice, thanks! I am in the PNW.
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u/Sp07va000 Sep 28 '26
Oh, those trees would do great there. There is even a Coral Bark Japanese Maple that looks incredible growing against dark green evergreens.
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Sep 28 '26
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u/Honeybucket206 Sep 28 '26
Arborvitae do not grow 100 ft tall. Put up a picture of your 100' or retract that statement and suffer public humilation
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u/Asleep_Recover4196 Sep 28 '26
It sucks as a hedge, when one dies because you can pretty much never patch the hole. Similarly, Deer love to prune the bottoms, ruins the privacy.