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Are the interior needles what's browning? Keep in mind, in the winter as the emerald greens become dormant, the interior needles will brown and drop. This is completely normal. When they flush out in the spring and summer, you won't even notice.

@@bradmeetsworld My Arborvitaes are about 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall and some are browning on the outside as well as in side? Should I wait til Spring? Can they come back green?

@@MichaelBrown-np1kc is it going from green to lime green to brown or directly to brown? Is it just the tips of the emerald greens that are browning? When you planted them, did you keep the root ball a few inches ABOVE the clay soil?

I planted them mid Sept. and I dug a hole deep enuff to put soil in the hole then the bushes with top exposed because the ground in the mobile home park is about 6 to 7 inches deep of solid Clay the rest of the way down. I dug deep enuff to put a couple of inches on the bottom of the hole and soil all around the sides. leaving the top on the pot they came in exposed. I'm hoping they can be saved? I live in Mass. Any help would be grateful. Michael in Mass.

@@MichaelBrown-np1kc It sounds like your trees are just going into dormancy. You've done everything right. The only other thing to be careful of is that you aren't watering too much since we are in the dormancy season. By that I mean - -your emerald greens are drinking as much water as they do in the spring and summer time. I would only give supplemental watering once a month (if you have no rain). In the spring, you'll get some nice growth coming into, guaranteed

That's interesting that your findings are different from mine :) I've compared growth of emerald greens grown with plant-tone amended soil versus emerald greens without... and the ones with plant-tone absolutely do perform better. Not only is the growth healthier but it's also more vigorous.

I'm not sure what aerial roots you're referring too, but generally you'll get aerial roots naturally if your plant / cutting is in a high humidity environment. This is because the excessive moisture in the air is enough to activate the roots themselves. Alternatively, if you have a vining plant, the aerial roots will develop as the plant begins to climb up something such as a moss pole. It's even easier if you keep the moss pole moist since, this too, will activate those aerial roots.

@bradmeetsworld I mean the secondary branches/roots that flow from the main branches of the banyon/strangler fig tree. I've got plenty of vining plants that climb via aerial roots. I was more interested in the strangling habits of the fig tree, like how to get them to send out those roots that reach down and become like a leg for the tree.

@@wisconsinaquatics Oh, those! You get them by having movement in the trunk of your plant. Those roots are sent out in order to help with the stability of ficus. The roots eventually go out and make their way into the soil. In time, they become thicker and thicker, adding additional stability to your plant. I should also note though, that the roots (I see them in my ficus yellow gem) can be pretty far up on the main stem of the plant. I have some that are 3ft above soil level they are trying to make their way into the soil below.

I hope they continue to thrive for you! I'm also glad that you enjoyed watching the video.

It depends on how wet / dry it has been. If you're in a drought, I'd water once every 7 days, and keep the water hose at each tree for a minimum of 20 seconds. After you water for 20 seconds, stick a rod down in the soil to make sure the water fully penetrated / soaked in. If it didn't, do another 20 seconds.

LOL! I need to get my ficus yellow gem and Audrey to look as good as my tineke. Going to see how well they do during the dormant season.

Haha! I'm glad you liked it! I'm always looking for ways to make my videos more concise.

Thank you for kind words :). Ficus like fiddle leaf figs and rubber trees like fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 3-1-2. I personally use a Miracle Grow - Liquid Fertilizer.

Thank you for the kind words!

@@AnnetteWaits it all depends on the look you’re going for. If you’re going for a bushy look (where you have leaves along the entire stem of your FLF) it’s best to keep them in the same pot. I think this is a beautiful look however I prefer to keep my FLF in tree form. If you’re keeping it in tree form, then yes, it’s best to go ahead and separate them out now as opposed to wait until after the tree matures.

@@audijo6562 that’s awesome! It’s best the maintain a single lead. I would go ahead and remove the extra leads now. This is what I do throughout the season and it helps maintains the beautiful conical shape. There will be no negative side effects if you decide to prune the extra leads back.

@@Daethaqt3000 doing my best to pump out better and better content for folks like you! Thank you for your continued support!

Oh, this is a great idea that I'll be sure to add to my list of topics! IF you maintain the optimal temperature an light conditions for your plant, it doesn't need to go dormant and will continue to grow. The dormancy period is really a way for the plant to cope with colder weather more than anything else. If the plant is still trying to grow when the temperatures are cold, it could lead to negative consequences throughout the plant as water within the plant (trunk / stem / leaves) potentially freezes.

Thank you for your feedback! I'll be sure to incorporate it in my videos going forward :)

Sure thing! Here's the fertilizer that I use: amzn.to/3KtRs13

Thank you for taking the time to share some of your knowledge!

Very true!

You can absolutely begin training it up a moss pole. I would recommend that you wrap your philodendron up a moss pole, use ties to ensure that the nodes are in close / touching the moss pole, and then be patient. The nodes of the philodendron should begin to produce aerial roots and grow into the moss pole. In time, you'll be able to remove the tiles and your philodendron will begin to show the benefits of growing vertically.

What an excellent question! I take a water bottle and flip it upside down. Take a look at this video I made. Go to timestamp 26:51 and you'll see my watering a moss pole: th-cam.com/video/yoKHpZL8xvM/w-d-xo.html

What kind of plant do you have? As long as you have some sort of support with a substrate like sphagnum moss, your plant will climb. These plants (like pothos, monstera, philodendron) WANT to climb... sometimes they just need a little help :)

@@bradmeetsworld I have several plants. I just find it more work to grow them up. I just got a Cebu Blue to climb and when I tell you I three that moss poll together, I mean it. It looks like pure junk.

@@hennesseyme9112 Cebu Blue are absolutely gorgeous. I'm sure your Cebu Blue will cover the moss pole in no time... then, you'll just have a beautiful Cebu Blue totem :)

The literally try to grow upwards lol. Putting a pole in a pot and a plant in the pot with it is hard?

@@Gxngstad The plants don't seem to grow as well on a pole. I asked about my Thai Constellation and whether I should let it crawl or climb. I was advised to let it crawl as it grows slower on a pole. and yes it is hard and a pain in the butt. No need to be so rude.

Thank you for your kind words! :)

Thank you for your kind words!

That's a great question! The root flare should be kept above soil grade. Similar to trees that are planted in the ground outdoors, if the root flare is below the soil level this will ultimately lead to rot and a weakened tree. I would recommend that you lift your ficus' to a height where the root flare can be exposed to encourage the strongest tree possible.

@@bradmeetsworld thank you so much for you reply! I will definitely do that, I have been struggling to get the trunks thick enough to actually support the growth. I’ve grown them 2.5 years with it under the soil.

@@ammonmorales944 Oh, if you want a thick trunk I'd recommend that you watch this video that I made! In this video, I walk through what it takes to get a thick trunk on your ficus' :) th-cam.com/video/IAhbCHjBUTI/w-d-xo.html

@@bradmeetsworld After watching that video I tried to take the support away from my two problem plants, yellow gem about 5'5 no branches and Burgundy about 5' no branches, they pretty much bent over so much the top was touching the ground. This is their second season out, although all last season I had them firmly secured. Any suggestions on what I should do? My end goal is to grow them to 6' and then notch to branch from there.

@@ammonmorales944 That's a great question and I'm glad that you decided to place your trees outside these past 2 seasons! When you're first trying to strengthen your stem (if it's already tall and thin), you'll need to LOOSELY support it. You want to barely tie the stem / trunk to a support (the support will be a few inches away from the stem). The support should be loosely tied to the top of the stem. The only thing you're trying to do is get your trunk / stem upright. It needs to be lose enough to where it can still move with gentle movement. Does that make sense?

I love the colors that it's showcasing!

It all depends on how and when your arborvitae was shaped. Generally speaking, the upward growth grows more quickly than the outward growth. This helps it preserve it's conical shape and appearance :)

You should only do a single notch at each internode. You can spot a node by where leaves are growing from your stem / trunk (that's the easiest way; alternatively, you can look for the ring swellings along the length of your trunk / stem).

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

Hope you found this one informative!

Thank you! No, the robusta doesn't turn into a burgundy -- they are a part of the same family but different species. If it started off green, then you have a robusta :). As the leaves harden off they naturally become darker.

Maybe! I have some plans for those cuttings but maybe after I'm finished with them :)

@@bradmeetsworld I'm looking forward to what you do with them! I also should have used the correct word "buy" sorry. I wonder if I can inquire on FB locally, I've never done that!

Unfortunately, yes -- the plastic is lying to you, which isn't uncommon. While these can be kept inside, they can also be kept outside (especially if you want the vigorous growth). Before putting it outside though you need to make sure you properly acclimate it to prevent the leaves from burning. Just remember when it comes to these plants -- grown natively, they grow OUTDOORS. The tags on plastic pots are overly cautious :)

There are a couple of things you can do here. First, to address the legginess, you need to thicken up the trunk. The only way to thicken up the trunk is to give your trunk stimulations. This is done by movement. I would recommend that you either begin shaking your tree vigorously for a few minutes a day for a few months, placing a fan by the trunk and turn it on a speed that causes it to move, OR placing it outside (after properly acclimating it) to let for Mother Nature... aka WIND... to do it's thing. To address no leaves on the bottom, you have two options. You can either chop the top of your tree off (easiest) OR you can notch between the nodes of your branch. Cut ~1/3rd of the way through, give your plant some fertilizer, and you should start seeing branches forming in the bare spots.

Glad it was helpful!

@@bradmeetsworld of course! One question, my tree is about 4 feet tall and there are some very old leaves still looking ok at the bottom, should I prune them to help the tree to grow?

Pruning the leaves will actually have the opposite effect. Leaves help to capture the sun's rays and produce energy. The more leaves the better. While it won't harm the overall health of your leaves by pruning them, if you want to maximize energy production you should keep them. In time, the leaves will naturally yellow and fall off when they reach the end of their lifecycle. Does that make sense?

@@bradmeetsworld makes sense, thanks again!

Thank you! I need to film an update on this one.

You know... that's a brilliant idea. I should trademark that, LOL!

You got this! I can guarantee that with a bit of patience of following those steps, your trunk will thicken up.

Thank you so much for the kind words! I appreciate it and glad you found the information helpful :)

Thank you for bringing it to my attention that I didn't link the fertilizer! I've now added it to the description of the video :)

Thank you for the feedback, Monty! Great call on the drainage and something I failed to mention in the video. I've seen neighbors that have had failing emerald green arborvitae due to poor drainage.

@@bradmeetsworldcan you elaborate on poor drainage? I'm new to planting and planted 10 of these early spring and want to get as much info on how to keep them alive and well. Thank you!

@@Voltis-5 What kind of soil do you have? If you have clay soil, you'll want to amend it with something that can break the soil up -- try a little bit of pine bark. I have clay soil but don't amend, however if you're new to planting and want to increase success, it'll be beneficial to amend the soil. If you don't want to amend the soil, plant the crown of the plant about 2 inches above the soil. That's what I do and it works perfectly! So I'll go back to the original question, what kind of soil do you have :)

@@bradmeetsworld I do have clay once I hit about 3-4ft down and I planned about an inch above the soil as well. Only thing I didn't do is fertilizer but I do water then about 2-3x a week which I probably should do more.

@@Voltis-5 If you're experiencing heat like we are in zone 8B, then 2-3x a week is plenty. What you want to make sure you do is that you water thoroughly and completely when you DO water. After about a month you want to back off to about 1x a week. Then after another month you want to back off further and only water during periods of extremely drought. Since it's clay soil 3-4ft down, you shouldn't bother to amend your soil. Simply ensure that the crown of the emerald green is about an inch or 2 above soil level and you'll be all set! I would also highly recommend that you use fertilizer :)

Thank you for watching!

Nodal length (the space between leaves) is strictly determined by two things: 1) the amount of light your Fiddle Leaf Fig gets, and 2) the NPK value of the fertilizer that you use on your plant. To decrease the nodal length, you'll need to make sure that you give your Fiddle Leaf Fig a lot of sun. The more hours the better. Bright direct sunlight is best however most people have to settle for bright indirect sunlight. For fertilizer, you want to make sure you're using a fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 3:1:2. If not, you can force the top growth to elongate, which can result in lengthy nodes (aka, larger spaces between leaves)

@@bradmeetsworld thank you for your quick reply. I live in South Fl and have me Fiddle outside but never direct sunlight… Florida sun burns all my leaves! I will try the Npk thank u

Yes, I leave it outside literally all day and night. I'll bring it back inside in the late fall/winter prior before the first frost OR before the outside temperatures dip below ~40 degrees for an extended period of time.

Thank you!

Thank you for the kind words :). I'm not sure where you're located, but if you're in the continental U.S., I would use Spectracide's Triazicide. I would get the kind that can hook up to a watering hose for easy spray, that way I could cover more easily. When I say "every season", I meant every "growing season". I apologize if it was a bit ambiguous. I use plant tone at the beginning of every growing season (early early Spring).