How to Make a Garden Arch With Cedar Trees
Several species of evergreen trees, including cedars, can easily be fashioned to form a garden arch. Garden arches are an elegant way to frame a belief or add dimension to the landscape. The can serve as a functional entry point and aid in providing shade to sunny areas within the backyard. Cedar trees, typically fast-growing, withstand heavy duty and take manipulation nicely. Of the numerous cedar tree types to choose from, eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara) and atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), all of hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 9, create excellent specimens to choose from.
Dig 2 holes with a scoop, about 9 feet apart. Make each hole twice as wide, but no deeper than the root ball of the tree. Plant the cedar trees and back fill with indigenous soil.
Insert a 2-inch-wide wooden stake no less than 18 inches in the central leader on the windward side of this tree. Safe each 2 feet with tie tape. Use bets 2 inches taller than the trees and replace them with smaller bets as the trees grow.
Water the cedar trees to a thickness of 12 inches with a watering hose that’s put on a slow trickle. Continue supplemental watering after transplant for up to 3 years when rainwater isn’t adequate.
Fertilize the cedar trees annually after transplant in the early spring by applying organic compost around the base of this tree. Keep the compost at least 3 inches away from the back.
Prune back the branches between the trees to a distance of 7 feet, using pruning shears. Make the cut at a 45 degree angle just above a set of needles or posterior division.
Bend the tops of the two trees together to an arch form with tie tape once the trees have reached about 12 feet tall; the space from the bottom to the top of the arch must be around 8 feet. Tie any extra branches together if needed.
Shape the trees from continually pruning new growth in the center as it forms. Let the outer sides and tops of their trees develop naturally.