How to Repair an Uprooted Arborvitae

Disinfect your pruning tools using a 25 percent bleach solution, which you can mix in a bucket by adding 1 part bleach for every 3 parts water. Soak each pruning tool for a minimum of 5 minutes. This will reduce the potential spread of disease from one plant to another as you prune.

Assess the damage to your tree, beginning at the root system and working your way up the tree. Prune off any broken roots with the loppers, making your cut at the place where the broken root meets a healthy root. Prune off any broken branches at the place where each branch meets a larger branch. Use the loppers for branches smaller in diameter and the pruning saw for larger ones.

Use the shovel to gently dig up the soil underneath the raised roots. You need to create a hole that is deep enough and wide enough for you to place the roots back in their original position. Your goal is to fully bury the roots just under the soil's surface.

Set your arborvitae upright in the hole, holding it steady with one hand. With the other hand, gently move the soil back into the hole until it is filled halfway, then water the soil to settle it around the roots. Fill in the rest of the hole with soil until the roots are covered and the tree feels stable.

Step back and observe whether the arborvitae looks straight. Make any needed adjustments, and water the base of the arborvitae to settle to soil around the roots. If a depression occurs in the soil, add more and water again. Repeat until the ground is level around the plant's base.

Use the shovel or your gloved hands to create a slightly raised ridge of soil around the top of the hole to act as a small reservoir to hold water in, and water once more.

Hammer three wooden stakes into the ground in a circle around the arborvitae, approximately 2 feet out from the outer branches. Place the stakes at a 45-degree angle pointing away from the arborvitae, and hammer them 2 feet into the ground.

Secure three tree-staking straps two thirds of the way up the trunk of the main leader, wrapping each one around one of the stakes until taut. They will act as an anchor while your arborvitae reestablishes its roots. Use wide straps to minimize the risk of bark damage, and remove the straps after one year.