Arborvitae – Split Apart by Snow

Q: During the December snow storm our arborvitaes were damaged. The tops are split and leaning over. Originally the tops were together and nicely pointed. Is there anything we can do to repair the damage?

A: A couple of my landscaper friends use green hook-and-loop (Velcro) tape (click for sources) that’s sold in garden centers for holding up plants. It comes on a long roll, so you can use whatever length is needed to pull together the splayed limbs of your shrubs.

Since the tape is not very noticeable, you can leave it in place indefinitely.