First year gardener here...

I purchased 12 or so emerald cedar trees this summer when they were on sale at Wal-mart and got them in the ground in mid/late September. They are probably knee high now.

I see people wrapping their cedar trees in burlap, preparing for winter. Is this something I should be doing?

Thanks in advance from a newbie,

Kristine

Opinions vary on whether or not to wrap and even how to wrap. Normally, you shouldn't have to wrap because emerald cedar (thuja occidentalis 'smargd') is definitely hardy to your zone.

Having said that, however, there are a few reasons why you might want to wrap them, at least for the first couple of winters.

They are newly planted, and as such, likely don't have an extensive root system, a root system that runs beyond the original planting holes into the surrounding soil of your yard.

If they were sitting in a pot most of the summer, this might have stressed as well. You probably kept them well watered while in the pot, but I know places like walmart are known for letting their plants get bone dry.

Some people do 'baby' their cedars for the first winter or two, until they are more established. Wrapping need not be complicated. I had a small cedar and I just push two bamboo stakes into the ground on each side of them making an upside down 'V' over the plant and wrapped burlap around this. Held in place with clothes pins. If you use three bamboo stakes you might make a teepee over the plant. What ever you do, I find the stakes help hold the burlap because the weight of the burlap might bend the small cedar over. The stakes also limit the amount of burlap that directly touches the foliage.

Another method is just to make a screen to shade the cedars for winter. For example, drive two stakes in the ground on the south side of the plants and staple a burlap 'curtain'. Apparently it's the sun that does the most damage so shading them helps.

What ever you decide to do, make sure you water them well and regularly (if they dry out) from now until the soil freezes. When it snows, carefully mounding light fluffy snow around the base of the trees help as well.

Glen

Take care,

Kristine

Having said that, I don't wrap my trees. I keep mine small and pruned (topiary style) and so far they've survived well.

As for wrapping, if you fear the plant will experience breakage due to snow accumulating on its branches, then do the wrapping. In most cases, cedars are conical shaped which are perfect for shedding snow, which is why I don't do these things.

I have a row of young yew shrubs (Hick's yews for hedging) and generally speaking these are very hardy plants, but since these were just planted last summer, I did do some mulching. It wont be necessary once fully established. I did nothing else.

Last winter however we experienced a great deal of snow and as a result, many branches of these plants splayed out and eventually cracked as a result. No serious harm done and since these are very hardy plants, they recovered fully by summer. This experience though made me decide to bundle the young shrubs to prevent snow from causing such breakage again. I'm using simple twine and don't see the need to burlap my plants. However burlaping is still a good idea for yews that are large at the top.

Ianna

I think another thing to consider in whether to wrap cedars is the planting location. Here the hardier ones need no wrapping, as long as they are in a part shade sheltered location which isn't so hard to do in a small city yard.

I've seen cedars, however, winter damaged beyond hope just outside the city, as people tried to plant them to make a hedge along side the highway, a very sunny, windswept location.

Also, I have a cedar on the south side of the house which I wrap every year. The sun reflects off the house stucco in winter, particularily late winter/early spring, and the plant is more susceptible to damage in this location.

Glen

To prevent heavy snow from splaying out the branches, loosely wrap green twine in a spiral around conical-shaped evergreens. Water thoroughly just before the ground freezes, and add a layer of mulch AFTER the ground freezes.

And finally, buy trees that are grown locally. Emerald cedars in particular require plenty of water and fertilizer to continue to look good. It's what they are used to out on the WEST COAST, which is where they are typically grown. Better to find a local grower and local plants!

I was covering the trees to prevent snow from piling on top.

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

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