Will Arborvitae Branches Grow Back

Will Arborvitae Branches Grow Back? The Honest Gardener’s Answer

If you’ve ever stepped back from your hedge, looked at a brown patch or a hacked-off branch and thought, “Will that ever grow back?” — you’re not alone. I’ve had that same sinking feeling staring at an arborvitae I pruned a little too confidently one spring. The short answer: it depends where the damage is. Arborvitae can be forgiving, but they’re not magic. Some branches will bounce back beautifully, while others are gone for good. Understanding the difference can save you a lot of disappointment and help you care for your trees the right way. In this article, I’ll walk you through exactly when arborvitae branches grow back, when they don’t, and what you can do to help your plants recover and stay full and green.

Understanding How Arborvitae Grow

Before we talk about regrowth, it helps to know how arborvitae actually work. Arborvitae (Thuja species) are evergreen conifers, and they don’t grow like a maple or a lilac. Their growth pattern is the key to whether a branch will return.

Green Tips vs. Brown Interior

Take a look inside a mature arborvitae:

• The outer inch or two is covered in soft, green foliage. This is the living, growing part.
• Behind that green layer you’ll often find brown, leafless wood — that’s the interior “dead zone.”

Here’s the important piece:

Arborvitae only push out new foliage from parts of the branch that still have some green, living tissue.

If you cut back into bare, brown wood with no green, the tree usually can’t sprout new growth from that area. That’s why a badly sheared arborvitae can stay “flat” or bare in spots for years.

Why This Matters for Regrowth

Whether a branch grows back depends on:

• Where the cut or damage occurred — into green tissue vs. into bare brown wood
• How severe the damage is — a small tip vs. a main branch or leader
• The overall health of the tree — stressed trees are much slower to respond

Once you see your arborvitae as a green shell around brown wood, it becomes much easier to predict what will happen after damage.

Will Arborvitae Branches Grow Back After Pruning?

Let’s start with the most common situation: pruning. Maybe you trimmed your hedge a bit too hard, or a landscaper went wild with the hedge trimmer. Can those branches and gaps recover?

Light Pruning Into Green Growth

If you only removed the tips and stayed within the green outer layer, you’re in luck. The tree can usually grow back and even get denser. In this case, you can expect:

• New growth from the sides of the cut tips in spring and early summer
• Gradual filling-in of the hedge over a year or two
• A fuller, thicker look with regular light trimming

In my own garden, I give my arborvitae a light haircut once a year, just snipping off an inch or so of the new growth. They respond beautifully — more like a thick, tidy wall of green than a patchy screen.

Heavy Pruning Into Brown Wood

This is where most of the heartbreak happens. If you or someone else cut back past the green foliage into the bare brown interior, those branches typically do not regrow. You may see:

• Flat, bare patches that stay empty
• Green growth above or beside the cut, but not where it was cut back to brown
• A permanently “scalloped” or uneven hedge shape

Sometimes, nearby green branches can stretch and partially cover small bare spots over time, but that can take years and doesn’t always fully fix the damage.

My Rule of Thumb for Pruning Arborvitae

From experience, I follow one simple rule:

Never remove all the green growth from any section. Always leave some green on every branch you cut.

If you can still see green foliage at the tip or along the sides of a branch, there’s a chance for regrowth and thickening. If you cut all the green off and expose only brown, that section is usually done.

Will Arborvitae Grow Back After Storm or Winter Damage?

Storms, heavy snow, and ice can bend, crack, or even split arborvitae. This is when I get the most panicked messages from friends and neighbors: “Is my hedge ruined?” The answer again is: it depends.

Bent But Not Broken Branches

If branches are just bent or splayed out from snow or ice, but not snapped, they often recover quite well. The key is to act fairly quickly. Here’s what you can do:

• Gently untie or free branches if they’re weighed down by string, netting, or ice (never yank on frozen branches).
• Use soft ties (old pantyhose, soft plant ties) to pull bent branches back toward the main plant.
• Support them for a full season so they can strengthen in their corrected position.

Over the next year or two, the branches usually set themselves and the tree thickens up around them. I’ve rescued many “flopped” arborvitae this way after heavy, wet snow.

Snapped or Broken Branches

If a branch is cracked deeply or snapped off entirely:

• Completely broken branches will not grow back from the broken stub.
• Badly split branches generally don’t heal well and often die back over time.

In those cases:

• Cut off jagged, broken wood back to a clean, slightly angled cut.
• Remove only as much as you need to get to sound, solid wood.
• Accept that the plant will have a thinner side or a gap for a while.

Sometimes surrounding branches can be lightly shaped to soften the look of the damage. Over several seasons, the tree may adapt and gently fill in from neighboring growth, but you won’t get that specific broken branch back.

Will Arborvitae Branches Grow Back After Turning Brown?

Brown patches on arborvitae cause a lot of worry — and rightly so. Whether those branches recover depends on the cause of the browning and whether any green tissue is left.

Seasonal Browning vs. True Dieback

Arborvitae naturally shed some old foliage in fall. This is usually:

• Brown or yellowing on the inner parts of the plant
• Mostly hidden under the outer green layer
• Short-lived, with dead foliage dropping off on its own

That kind of browning is normal and not a problem. The branches themselves are still alive; only the older foliage is shedding. The tree will continue to grow just fine. True dieback looks different:

• Whole branch tips or entire sections turn brown from the outside in.
• Brown areas stay there and feel dry and brittle when you touch them.
• Scratching the bark reveals tan or brown tissue underneath instead of green.

Once entire sections are truly dead, they usually do not grow back. You’ll need to prune them out.

Common Causes of Brown, Dead Branches

A few common issues I see in yards:

• Winter burn from cold winds drying out the foliage
• Dog urine damage on the lower sections (very common with hedges along fences)
• Salt injury from road or sidewalk de-icing
• Root problems from poor drainage or drought
• Spider mites and other pests sucking sap from the foliage

If the entire branch is brown and brittle, it’s usually gone. But if you can find some green still on part of the branch, you may get partial recovery from that green area.

What About Topping or Cutting Arborvitae in Half?

One of the most damaging things I see is people cutting an arborvitae straight across the top or hacking it back by half its height to “control” it. This usually ends in disappointment.

Topping the Main Leader

If you cut the main central leader of an arborvitae well below the green tips:

• It usually will not produce a nice new top from that cut.
• It may send up some awkward side shoots near the top over time.
• The tree often ends up with a “flat-topped” or misshapen look.

I’ve seen topped arborvitae hedges that never really regained that natural, pointed shape. Instead, they developed a boxy, uneven crown.

Cutting the Sides Back Too Far

Similarly, taking a hedge trimmer and slicing deep into the sides to narrow them can expose huge areas of brown interior wood. Those spots rarely green up again. I’ve been called in more than once to look at hedges that were “fixed” this way and had to gently break the news: those bare brown walls aren’t going to magically turn green.

How to Encourage Regrowth Where Possible

While you can’t resurrect dead wood, you can do a lot to help living branches bounce back and reduce the appearance of damage.

Prune Correctly and Conservatively

When shaping or cleaning up arborvitae:

• Prune in late spring to early summer when the plant is actively growing.
• Use sharp, clean tools to make neat cuts.
• Remove only the tips of green growth, not whole sections down to brown.
• Thin out dead wood carefully to allow more light and air inside the plant.

Over time, correct pruning encourages a thicker outer shell of foliage, which can help hide minor past scars.

Support Stressed Plants

If your arborvitae has been damaged by weather, pests, or pruning, give it the best care you can:

• Water deeply during dry spells, especially in summer and late fall.
• Mulch around the base (but not against the trunk) to keep roots cool and moist.
• Avoid heavy fertilizing of stressed plants; a light, balanced fertilizer in spring is usually enough.
• Check for pests like spider mites if you see speckled or dull foliage.

A healthy, well-watered arborvitae is much better able to push new growth where it still has living tissue.

When an Arborvitae Is Too Damaged to Recover

Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for your yard (and your sanity) is to replace a badly damaged arborvitae rather than keep hoping it will fill in. You might consider removal and replacement if:

• More than half of the plant is brown or bare.
• The damage is concentrated on one visible side and looks terrible from your main view.
• Heavy pruning in the past left large, permanent flat or hollow areas.
• The plant has serious root issues or rot.

I’ve removed and replanted a few arborvitae over the years when the damage was just too severe. While it’s disappointing, new plants establish surprisingly quickly, and in a few seasons you can have a fresh, full hedge again — as long as you treat the new ones more gently.

Quick Summary: Will My Arborvitae Branches Grow Back?

To wrap it up, here’s the core truth based on real-world gardening experience:

• If the branch still has some green foliage, it can usually grow more and thicken up from that point.
• If you’ve cut or damaged the branch back to bare, brown wood with no green at all, that specific area will not regrow.
• Light pruning into the green shell is safe; heavy pruning into the brown interior is usually permanent.
• Bent branches can often be tied back and saved; broken ones will not come back.
• Dead, brown branches from disease, winter burn, or severe stress rarely recover once completely brown and brittle.

My personal approach is to be conservative, patient, and observant. Arborvitae can surprise you with how well they respond if you respect their growth habits and don’t ask them to do what they biologically can’t: sprout from dead wood. If you treat them gently, prune thoughtfully, and give them good care, your arborvitae will reward you with years of dense, green privacy — and far fewer moments of panic over whether those branches will ever grow back.