Cutting Thuja bushes

Rudi · Hazel Tree Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

Would anybody be able to help me with the following query? I bought a new house that has a row of Thuja Brabant bushes along the perimeter fence. (I think they are Thuja Brabant but am not sure – I am basing this on comparing them with similar bushes in my local garden centre.). The bushes are young, probably 3-5 years old and were quite bare looking. A friend advised me to cut the leading shoot so as to allow the bottom and middle parts to thicken out. I did this. What my friend didn’t tell me was that the bushes should only be cut when they have reached the desired height. Unfortunately, they are now about 1.5 m high, but I had hoped for them to grow to 2m+. Will they stay at this height permanently or will the leading shoots eventually grow again. Thank you for your advice and insight.

verge · Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 1:08 pm Post subject: The Right Time to Top Thuja

Hello Rudi.
If you can post a pic or two of the hedge then maybe we could confirm it is Thuja "Brabant".
Ideally it is best to top these trees when they get to their ideal height, but what you have done will not stop them growing upwards for long. They will not stay at that height permanently, the the leading shoots eventually grow again. You can help this by keeping the bases weed free, watering when needed and fertilising.

Rudi · Hazel Tree Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

Thank you for that, Verge. I appreciate it and am comforted to know that these bushes will continue to grow. I will try to work out how to post some photos of the bushes in question as it would be very helpful to know exactly what they are. Thank you.

Rudi · Hazel Tree Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

I have taken photos of the bushes, but cannot post them here for technical reasons as they have to be stored on some publicly available web server according to the FAQ part of the Forum. Not sure how to go about that so will have toleave the images unfortunately.