I finally got permission to remove more of the hemlock hedge that I inherited from the previous owner of my house, but I’m struggling to figure out what to put in its place. My wife wants a green border hedge and agreed to arborvitae but the type I had in mind (Emerald Green) is not deer-resistant. I found a “Baby Giant” western arborvitae on Fast-Growing-Trees.com but I’m not happy with the mature width. What I basically want is something like Emerald Green Arborvitae that matures anywhere from 10 to 20 ft high, doesn’t attract deer, and requires minimal maintenance. Is there anything better out there or is Baby Giant the best option I’m going to find?
Not the answer you want…but i would go with honey locusts and make a guild of thorny blackberries like Kiowa. All have nasty thorns… deer will get some…but the blackberries are tough. Probably could have some grapes climbing the honey locusts as well. Depending on length i would add some Sea Buckthorns as well. Deer will hate you.
2 Likes
Whatever you choose, just remember that deer eat anything if they get hungry enough. Nothing is truly deer resistant except the really toxic plants like monkshood.
2 Likes
I was watching the page tonight, still undecided, and the 10 pack of 1 quart plants was down to only three left. I’m not sure if they’ll “restock” them with some existing inventory that’s just not in the system so I put in the order. Now I need to hurry up and make up my mind while I can still cancel.
Some of the Chinese cedars? Juniperus chinensis “Hetzi” for instance.
Just a thought. There are numerous other select cultivars of this species also.
Wouldn’t those be cedar apple rust hosts?
Probably more rustic than you are looking for, but a woven fence of living willow can be an interesting barrier. They may browse it, but I saw this video on YouTube recently and the women talked about how the living fence was enough to keep deer from getting into her main willow beds, so I don’t think they destroy it and it grows very fast so should come back from browsing.
Here is the video I saw with a link to start where she talks about the fence. There are lots of videos on the actual creation of living fences. Interesting stuff.
2 Likes
I’m doing things a bit backwards, but my current plan is to do some hedging with thorny stuff as identified above at the back of my property, but let the stuff I plant on the front approaches be … sacrificial. That way, they can browse, but will hopefully be satisfied enough to stay away from my main plantings. There is an odd, low, sheltering spot as well that I plan to put stuff just for them once I’ve cleaned up the rest of the areas the former owners neglected.
In the meantime, I’m annoyed they are browsing my youngish trees a bit heavily because they can get to almost everything.
1 Like
Possible I suppose.
There being no mention of CAR in the above proposition that produced my response though.
I have not personally observed CAR on chinese junipers, but doesn’t mean they can’t play host. Most yards or factories or subdivisions have some such junipers…everything from
'Sea Green" to Blue Rug to Bar Harbor is all over most city locations. Juniperus scopulorium, also a red cedar, isn’t as bad as the eastern red cedar (Juniperus Virgiana).
1 Like
After some obsessive reading through the product descriptions, I have settled on the “Full Speed A Hedge” arborvitae. Its maximum height is too much for me, but that’s nothing a ladder and a trimmer won’t be able to fix. I’ll call Fast-Growing-Trees tomorrow to see if I can cancel my order, and then order “Full Speed A Hedge” from a competitor.
1 Like
From what i understand they are TyTy nursery as well… prepare to be upset/angry.
Popped up on scene couple years ago…has to be big corp…you sure they’re TyTy?
And any case, I think the giant arborvitae by any other name isn’t going to make a hedge anybody can trim, plus there’s BAGWORMS that put deer to shame in the speed of their
damage.
Im not sure of anything on TyTy… however i think TyTy has around 40 online websites of various names in various states… none are open to the public. As stated at the very bottom of each site.
there is a big stink on it on FB on the backyard fruit tree board. Someone ordered trees from TyTy and FGT and said that they are the same… so not sure exactly.
I think its weird that they are so ‘big’ but not open to the public…
So far they have gotten me on Preppergardens and Carribean Garden Seeds… i didnt make the connection until they scammed me.
Crazy thing is that they have no problem sending you replacements… they send the wrong thing or dead…then you complain…then they ship again at no cost…and fairly fast. Crazy business model that they do very frequently from what i read.
1 Like
Even if they don’t eat a plant deer will bite off part of it just to check it out. We have a quarter mile, double row of Norway spruce. The deer don’t eat them but will bite tops out of small trees and drop them right next to the trees.
1 Like
@Joe
Google,images of deer damage on arborvitae.
Most of the ones I have seen have been heavily browsed as high as they can reach !
1 Like
Any issues with the hemlocks currently there or are you planning ahead for their ultimate demise due to woolly adelgid? If they are still in decent shape you could plant something like rosebay rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) under them, they do great in the shade and thrive in same soil conditions as hemlock. As an added bonus they are native. Once they are established you could gradually cut out the hemlock.
A 40 year old hemlock hedge looks pitiful…unless you never touch or shear.
1 Like
I called them first thing in the morning and they were very pleasant, and immediately issued a refund. Upon checking the refund they were $2.10 short. I called back in and it was fixed. Looks like I had good luck.
That’s precisely why I’m seeking western “deer resistant” arborvitae. You can see the damage around here. Some of them have it and others don’t. I suspect the ones that show the damage are mostly Emerald Green.
It’s too big. The hedge takes up 15 to 20 feet of space, and there’s more space that’s my property on the other side of the hedge. If left untrimmed these get to be about 100 feet high. The “ultimate demise” is not a consideration at all.
1 Like