Question
QUESTION: read your article about the arborvitae, about watering.  my sprinkler system is on the dame side as they are also my lawn is there.  i water twice a week.  is that a problem?
ANSWER: Arborvitae, known in some sections of the country as White Cedar, is a (usually) fast growing evergreen used for privacy hedges and on one side of my parents' split level new construction house as the cornerstone foundation planting.  It tolerates a wide range of growing conditions, with a little less tolerance for salt.

I think you will find -- or perhaps not -- that your sprinkler system is more of a problem for your lawn than it is for the Arborvitae.

Automatic sprinklers have this way of going off automatically.  Whether or not the grass needs to be watered.  Fungi love these things.  As do the Fungicide manufacturers, who make a ton of money on products to kill lawn diseases with names like Red Thread and Brown Spot.

But you asked about your Arborvitae.

Arborvitae come in different flavors -- some are fast growers, others (the 'Emerald Green' cultivar for example) are relatively slow.  Their growth is supported, underground, with a root system that grows rather fast on the specimens with lots of vigor, less for those that are slower.  In new transplants, the root system is not developed, no matter how much of a rootball that was retained during installation.  Minute root hairs are all but completely destroyed during transplant (which is where the 'shock' comes from in 'transplant shock').

Although roots can handle the basic work, the plant misses the help of the root hairs and generates them as quickly as possible.  It takes a lot out of a plant.  EXTRA WATER IS NEEDED to get them through this difficult recovery period.

The first year at least, a sprinkler system on the same side as a stand of Arborvitae would be a very lucky thing to have.

After the first year, with an established root system, those roots would be very busy spreading out underground to find nutrients and water.  It would be unlikely that your automatic sprinklers would do much damage to the Arborvitae.

But as I said, the lawn, it's a different story.  Don't be surprised.  Unless you are growing organic grass, your lawn will be coming down with a few hiccups every now and then.  But that's a nother story for another day.

Hope that answers your question.  Thanks for writing -- please keep me posted on new developments with your Arborvitae, and your Grass.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: recieved your answer to my questions, know have another question, some of my arborvitaes that i have are going brown in the back of them.  i have a neighbor growing ivy on the fence line.  how can i get my arborviataes back to getting thjem back to growing back?

Answer
One problem with hedges is that neighbors don't always take care of the hedge on the other side.

If your neighbor on the other side of this hedge wants to put down heavy duty herbicides on his Grass, it is going to impact your Arborvitae, and not in a positive way.

If these are relatively new, however, you could be simply looking at a case of root damage.  Make sure you water them thoroughly.

Pruning off the dead tissue will generate more tissue growth and hopefully improve the appearance of your Hedge.  If it is established, you can fertilize ONCE.  Use a product like Fishline.

Thanks for writing.  Good luck.