Hemlock trimming and topping

[Larry Davis]

What is the best time of year (if any) to perform light topping and light shaping/trimming of hemlocks? Would I being doing them any harm by doing these tasks in September? All of the trees range in age from 5 to 12 years. Also ...... we planted 2 new hemlocks about a year ago to continue a line of older hemlocks. They seemed to take very well and grew quite a bit in the first 8 to 9 months. Then, about 3 months ago, started dying from the top down. They lost all of their needles and appeared dead in their top half. As of now, the bottom halves are still alive. There is no sign of problems with any of the older, established trees. Any ideas what this may be??? I see no sign of any type of insect.

 

[Jay Banks]

Never, ever top the live portion of a tree, period end of discussion. Removing dead wood is another issue. If the tops died out you need to have someone look for the cause. Possibly improper planting/drainage.

Lightly prune your hemlock this holiday season to provide greens for decorating your home. This way you have accomplished two tasks.

 

[bridges]

Well I'm having some what the same problem. I Live in RI. I picked ten 5-6' hemlocks. Last fall. Planted them in partly shaded area. By the end of winter I lost five. and now i'm down to four. Of the four they didn't grow to much if any. Two are full and two you can see thru them a little. And i think two of them the top is dead. I aslo had fert inject them in the spring.

I called a few place in CT and they said there hemlock farm got wipe out. And You can not ship any hemlocks in to maine or NH Cause of the hemlock problem. My hemlocks did and does not have any white stuff on it. Which I guess is what is killing them.

And the only place i can get is in maine for $120.00 each.

So i don't know what is going on with them trying to find out but no luck. I'm afraid to get any more. Hemlock is the only thing i can plant there cause of the shade.

Sorry for the long post. If anyone knows something We did HELP!!!

Tony

 

[Treeman14]

I know I'm going to ruffle some feathers here, but what the heck. I always enjoy a good, healthy debate. Larry, hemlocks will tolerate light shearing, or "topping". You should wait a few months before doing this to be sure the trees are "dormant". If you cut them now, you may get a new flush of growth which will be susceptible to frost or freeze damage. Remember, once you start topping or shearing, you have transformed your tree into a hedge which will require constant maintenance throughout its life.

Larry,
Hemlocks are difficult to transplant and are prone to devastating attacks by wolly adelgid and scale insects. Hemlocks prefer moist, well-drained soils and partial shade. They will be sparse and thin if grown in full shade.

I'm originally from New Jersey and I really miss those beautiful hemlock forests.