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You are here: Home / Gardening Tips / Pruning / Training Arborvitae and other Conical Evergreens to Grow with a Single Leader.

Training Arborvitae and other Conical Evergreens to Grow with a Single Leader.

Published : March 31, 2017

46 Comments

Trees and plants are no different than any other creature on the planet.  If you want them to be nice, to act right, you have to train them when they are young.

With conical evergreens like Spruce trees, pine tree and upright arborviate it’s important to train them when really young to produce only one main leader.  Often times when young they tend to produce multiple, competing leaders and it makes for not such a nice plant down the road.

For one thing, conical evergreens with multiple leaders are often pulled apart in the snow or wind and can split right now the middle.

Even with something as small as Dwarf Alberta Spruce, it’s really important to train them to a single leader and you do that by removing competing leaders.

See this Video on Removing Unwanted Leaders.

Emerald Green Arborvitae.

Emerald Green Arborvitae.

Interested in Propagating Arborvitae?  See this page.

Questions, comments, mean things to say?  Post them below and I’ll respond.

Take a gander at these posts...

  • Pruning Azalea Bushes
  • Tree Pruning Tips and My 5-Year Experiment
  • Pruning Rose Bushes
  • Hydrangeas: When do I prune them? Why didn’t they flower?
  • Trim Your Burning Bush WAY BACK!!

Comments

  1. Cindy says

    April 13, 2025 at 1:29 pm

    I just want to input to the discussion on cutting and training upright cedars. I am an Orchardist and have been gardening on my property for 40 years. . I have well over one hundred cedars, and multiple hedges. Many of them are over 30″ tall. I have cut up to 8″ off the top of a hedge row, or off of singles. I have not had any adverse effects. The hedge or single may look a little ratty,or disheveled on the very top for a year or two, but they all have come back and commence thick growth.
    One of my hedges that I took about 6 ” or more off of about 10 years ago, has gained so much height that it will need to be done again this year..I feel that cutting more than half the tree off may be detrimental, but otherwise they can withstand allot of cutting and trimming.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 13, 2025 at 6:33 pm

      Cindy,

      I agree, I’ve seen them trimmed hedge like with a very nice effect.

      Reply
  2. Wayne moir says

    January 18, 2023 at 7:04 pm

    I have a cedar hedge that I never took care of. It is now about 14’ to’ tall with big branches growing.
    Can I cut this down to about 5’ or less without hurting the cedar trees and trim the branches.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      January 19, 2023 at 8:28 am

      Wayne,

      I can’t say for sure nor guarantee any results. But if it were mine and it were way too tall, I for sure would trim it.

      Reply
  3. Gregory Arnold says

    May 18, 2022 at 11:47 am

    I have 6 year old emeral green arborvitae. Can I go in and cut out the secondary leaders on these trees?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      May 19, 2022 at 8:03 am

      Gregory,

      That depends on what the tree will look like with these leaders removed. Pull them down one at a time to see what effect that will have on the tree.

      Reply
  4. Kate says

    May 16, 2022 at 9:57 am

    We recently planted several 3 foot arborvitae and some of them are leaning a bit. Do we need to stake them or will they correct themselves over time?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      May 17, 2022 at 7:27 am

      Kate, maybe stake them for a short time if they don’t stand up straight soon.

      Reply
  5. Grace M says

    July 14, 2021 at 5:58 pm

    Can you use the sand method to propagate olive trees using soft wood cuttings?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      July 16, 2021 at 8:04 am

      Yes, see this; http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/01/easy-summertime-plant-propagation-techniques-can-home/

      Reply
  6. Holly says

    July 14, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    Hi mike!

    I was wondering, can arborvitae (emerald green) be trained together to make a living fence? I know they already can be a good privacy fence without much extra work. I like the artistic aspect of training plants and was wondering if they could be bent and tied together successfully. I have no experience training plants yet, but love the idea of it. Thanks!

    Also, i bought emerald greens from home depot, the size is in a .66 gallon pot. At what point do i need to transplant them i to bigger pots, if i haven’t planted them yet?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Mike says

      July 16, 2021 at 8:06 am

      I suppose they could. I’d plant them rather than shift to a bigger pot.

      Reply
  7. Kimberly says

    June 9, 2021 at 12:00 am

    What will happen to a young American pillar that the main leadee broke off? Just received and about a year old. Will it survive?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      June 9, 2021 at 7:58 am

      The plant will survive but it will develop multiple leaders. Select the straightest and strongest one and remove the others.

      Reply
  8. Mary lou Jackson says

    April 15, 2021 at 8:38 pm

    How do I start a new leader that does not have one?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 16, 2021 at 8:19 am

      Mary Lou,

      That’s up to the plant, eventually it will produce one.

      Reply
  9. Mary lou Jackson says

    April 12, 2021 at 2:40 pm

    I have a 3 to 4 year old arborvitae green giant which. I acidently. Whack the leader off. My question is there any way to get a new one started so it will grow tall? It is now about 4 ft.? Also do i need to keep cutting all the grass that grows around them?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 13, 2021 at 8:15 am

      Mary Lou,

      You can train a new leader up right by staking it for a while. The grass? That’s up to you.

      Reply
      • Mary lou Jackson says

        April 15, 2021 at 8:37 pm

        How do I start a new leader that does not have one?

        Reply
        • Mary lou Jackson says

          April 17, 2021 at 8:46 am

          If it will start a new leader then how long will that take it has been 2 years.m

          Reply
          • Mike says

            April 18, 2021 at 7:49 am

            Mary Lou,

            A healthy plant is going to grow and some of that growth will be upright. Just select one of those upright branches as the new leader.

  10. Chris May says

    June 22, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    Hello,

    I have a 5′ tall emerald green with three equally established leads. I’m not sure exactly how old it is, but I planted it 1 year ago. Is it young enough to establish a good leader and if so, how far down do I trim?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Mike says

      June 23, 2020 at 5:57 am

      Chris,

      That’s a good question, I’d say cut the two leaders that you don’t want down to about two thirds of the height of the plant. This is something that really needs to be done when the plants are really young.

      Reply
      • Christopher May says

        July 4, 2020 at 1:51 pm

        Thanks mike.

        Reply
  11. Josh says

    May 25, 2020 at 9:34 am

    What about a 4 year old Giant Arboarvitae with two main leads. They are now turning down away from each other. Will they adapt as they grow? Both leads are about equal in size/width and go way down near to the bottom of the trunk. Current height of tree is about 8 feet.
    If I choose one to cut off, when do I do it?
    Thanks!
    -Josh NJ

    Reply
    • Mike says

      May 26, 2020 at 7:33 am

      Josh,

      I don’t think this is going to end well with a plant that mature. ?????

      Reply
      • Josh says

        June 5, 2020 at 8:28 pm

        Darn… I decided to zip tie them together so that they stand more upright together. There is also a very old tall two leads that is over 30 feet tall and seems to be doing well. Maybe mine has a chance? After I zip tied them I also attached a nylon line to the zip tie and staked it down so that the tree is standing upright. I’m hoping this will encourage the tree to stay upright as it grows.
        I may be just dreaming though…

        Reply
        • Mike says

          June 6, 2020 at 7:29 am

          Josh,

          Only time will tell. I’ve landscaped or re-landscaped about a thousand homes and one thing I found over and over were Arborvitae that were tired or wired together to get them to stand up straight.

          Reply
  12. Rebecca says

    July 18, 2018 at 8:16 am

    Planted 5 green grove ‘pilcata’ arbs about 4 yrs ago in a windy area (we are zone 5) this winter 3 got hit while the 2 inbetween houses are fine. The 3 completely died on top except for about 2-3 feet of bottom is completely green- cut off dead portion and now looks like a bush, will they ever push a new leader or should we just dig them out?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      July 19, 2018 at 9:10 am

      Rebecca,

      I suppose they could be trained to establish a new leader, but the other two will out grow them while they try.

      Reply
  13. George says

    April 11, 2017 at 11:25 pm

    I am looking to buy a quality sprayer, any size between 2-4 gallons. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 12, 2017 at 9:00 am

      George,

      I once had a 4 gallon backpack sprayer. That was years ago and it was just too heavy for my weak back. I actually buy cheap sprayers from the hardware store. They work good and the minute they don’t I can afford to throw them away and buy another. I bought a $40 sprayer years ago and it never worked well.

      Reply
  14. Ellie says

    April 8, 2017 at 10:31 pm

    Mike,
    I have an adult Arbor vitae with numerous shoots, which during winter splits. Is it to late to remove most of the unwanted shoots?
    Its about 15 years old.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 9, 2017 at 8:33 am

      Ellie,

      Yes, it’s too late. Most people simply tie the trees together from the inside.

      Reply
      • Ellie says

        April 9, 2017 at 9:19 am

        I have 2 blue spruce that grew next to a Willow tree (which we removed). Will the rubbed off branches thicken back in on the spruce? Thanks much.

        Reply
        • Mike says

          April 10, 2017 at 6:58 am

          Ellie,

          Depends on how bad the damage is and how much sun those areas receive. If they get sun, they should fill back in, but it will take some time.

          Reply
      • Amy says

        February 9, 2021 at 4:14 am

        I also have 14 year old Green Giants, many with multi-leaders. One of them had five smaller side leaders and the tree was showing signs of stress (?). I wish I had checked before, but I didn’t and I removed three of them very low to the ground. I was waiting for my husband to use the chainsaw for the thickest parts to completely remove them. Did I just kill my tree? Will it fill back in now that it has more space between trees? I’m NOT TOUCHING any of the others with multi-leaders. It’s in a line of 16 and was on the curve which not has an ugly open space. :>( I wish I had found your site first! They have been the easiest trees, but a local nursey told us we should apply Tree and Shrub Insect Control to protect them and I needed to get close to the trunk to apply it.

        Reply
        • Mike says

          February 9, 2021 at 9:52 am

          Amy,

          I’m sure you didn’t kill the tree but it needs time to fill back in.

          Reply
          • Amy says

            February 9, 2021 at 3:26 pm

            Thanks Mike. They were fast growing the first three to five years, now that they’re mature do you have any idea how long that might take?

          • Mike says

            February 10, 2021 at 9:35 am

            Amy,

            Probably a couple of years to get nice and full again, maybe 3 years.

  15. Judith Collins says

    April 8, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    What about Mugo Pines…. I want to start some off a huge pine bush 5 foot tall circumference about 5 fit

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 9, 2017 at 8:36 am

      Judith,

      Mugo pine are usually started from seed, a very slow process. Takes them year to get to any size. Thus the price.

      Reply
  16. Deborah says

    April 8, 2017 at 10:48 am

    Hi Mike,

    My daughter and son-in-law have the opposite problem. They purchased about 2 dozen evergreen trees or I should say tall, narrow shrubs for around the front of their property for eventual privacy, Not sure exactly what they are, but it probably doesn’t matter. They are about 6′ tall and have one leader. The problem is the leader is so tall and sparse (at least a foot above the rest of the shrub). It looks like it should be cut down to match and blend in with the rest of the tree. But if this is done, wouldn’t it cause it to branch out into multiple leaders and have the problem you describe, but on the top of the tree and even get worse as it grows? Any suggestions? They really look terrible the way they are. Thank you for all your emails and videos. They are so helpful!
    Deborah

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 9, 2017 at 8:43 am

      Deborah,

      We’ve concluded that they look terrible the way they are, so might as well give pruning a shot. Cut that leader down, but it at a straight angle, not straight across. That will encourage one single leader right below the cut. As they start to grow keep an eye out and remove any competing leaders to gain that one single leader.

      Reply
  17. Steffunny says

    April 1, 2017 at 7:36 am

    Hay Mike!

    I have a quick question about rooting in sand … i’m in the Deep South … a covered box isn’t gonna get tooooo hot? Even in the shade?

    I’m in zone 8 … but it gets so hot and humid here its similar to the zone 9 I used to be in.

    Reply
    • Mike says

      April 1, 2017 at 9:02 am

      Steffunny,

      Typically when we root in sand we either do during the winter months, http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/01/easy-winter-time-plant-propagation-can-home/, or we do so in the summer months http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/01/easy-summertime-plant-propagation-techniques-can-home/ But the secret? The true secret that probably 90% of our members use? http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/mikes-plant-propagation-kit/

      Reply

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