ah141nj 0 Posted June 5, 2011 Hey Guys, Any landscapers in here? Do you think this tree can be saved? Dont know what happened to it, its twin on the other side is fine. It has plenty of leaves on it, just brown. Any suggestions or help? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mipafox 438 Posted June 5, 2011 I can't help because I have no experience in botany. But it looks like somebody painted it? I've never seen that color on an Arb or any other tree. Maybe I need to check my monitor settings for color... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Springfield1911 22 Posted June 5, 2011 I have seen arborvitaes (spelling) in this color but only after the winter when it was exposed to salt for melting snow. If this is the case then the tree is pretty much dead. To me it looks diseased. If you want , try keeping it until next year and see if it greens up next season. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mipafox 438 Posted June 5, 2011 How does that tree get water? It's in a pretty tiny plot in the middle of a whole lot of pavement and concrete. Like I said, I don't know anything about trees. It caught my eye because I look for this type of stuff. My work often involves hydrology and also overburden hydrogeology. And I always note pavement and cover. It looks like the live tree might get water from the unpaved slope next to it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CPRPE 4 Posted June 5, 2011 That thing is deader than a doornail. Sorry but it needs to come out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bry@n 195 Posted June 5, 2011 Arborvitae are usually pretty hard to kill. I agree with the ice melt theory. I would remove the tree though. They are in a bad place. Anywhere near black top is hard to keep them from drying out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hd2000fxdl 422 Posted June 5, 2011 AS the others have said, it's dead, pull it and if you want to put another one there I'd say if you have a sprinkler system put a drip head there. Also if it caught something or the soil was contaminated I'd say dig out a good amount of soil and put some new good stuff there. Harry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mipafox 438 Posted June 5, 2011 How would ice melt get to it? Is somebody putting ice melt into the planter? The thing is sitting inside a spill containment berm LOL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
71ragtopgoat 23 Posted June 5, 2011 That thing is mulch!!! I'd say salt got it from a snowblower.Another thing that attacks these are mites. You should spray it every spring and fall with Ortho® MAX® Malathion Insect Spray Concentrate.But to tell you the truth I would just pave over that spot as it requires special care to grow a plant there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
halbautomatisch 60 Posted June 6, 2011 I think that might be a variety of False Cypress (Hinoki?), would need a close up pic to be sure. Either way it's dead, needled evergreens will not recover from that level of browning. I'm a little surprised it lasted that long confined in such a small planter. Large plants don't usually fair well in such tight space, not enough water and too much soil compaction around it. Also get rid of the white stone under your evergreens, this is a type of limestone that will sweeten the soil, evergreens need acidic soil. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackDaWack 2,895 Posted June 6, 2011 I agree, Dead. We had a couple trees die over here from the winter which normally never had issues. They seemed to be the trees that didn't have deep roots. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildbob 14 Posted June 6, 2011 It is surrounded by hot rocks. Doomed from the start. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
siderman 1,138 Posted June 6, 2011 Lets see- *poor location to receive any rain water *poor location to receive any nourishment from the natural soil for healthy root growth *gets roasted in the summer from the heat reflection off blacktop and house *exposure to winter salts/chemicals and any toxic minerals from the stone I think its time to quit, get a nice planter with some ivy/flora that can be easily watered from the hose or a can. Not sure how it even grew there, must hae been planted as a mature speciman? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
71ragtopgoat 23 Posted June 6, 2011 An annual spike type plant might do ok there .Ornamental grasses would never survive the winter salt and hostas would cook. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ah141nj 0 Posted June 7, 2011 Those 2 trees have been there for 7+ years that I am aware of. They came with the house. Watering them never seemed to be a problem since we have been here. I did get a lot of snow this winter, did a lot of snow blowing. Perhaps it is possible that calcium chloride got in on the base. I never use salt. Could calcium chloride be the problem? Anything possible to reverse the browning? Before I cut it down, I would like to try what I can. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tony357 386 Posted June 7, 2011 make a ghillie suit out of it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djg0770 481 Posted June 7, 2011 Anything possible to reverse the browning? Before I cut it down, I would like to try what I can. Short of calling up Jesus to do a "raise Lazarus from the dead" thing - no, you will not be able to "reverse the browning". It's a zombie man - just shoot it in the head and move on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
halbautomatisch 60 Posted June 7, 2011 Those 2 trees have been there for 7+ years that I am aware of. They came with the house. Watering them never seemed to be a problem since we have been here. I did get a lot of snow this winter, did a lot of snow blowing. Perhaps it is possible that calcium chloride got in on the base. I never use salt. Could calcium chloride be the problem? Anything possible to reverse the browning? Before I cut it down, I would like to try what I can. It's dead, there's no saving it now. Calcium Chloride is no better for your plants then Sodium Chloride (salt) since it's the Chloride part that adversely affects plants. Plants die for a variety of reasons, this plant would have been under a lot of stress due to it's location and it would not have taken too much else to kill it off. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. We also had a brutal winter, always a lot of fatalities in the plant world after a bad winter. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greydaddy 2 Posted June 8, 2011 I guess you guys haven't noticed, but there are a lot of Arborvitae and Spruce trees around that have recently died! I just lost 3 Arborvitae that were about 40 yrs old and a 60' Spruce that was 38 yrs. old. My neighbor just lost 2 Spruce trees. I think it had something to do with the drought we had last Summer (?). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
71ragtopgoat 23 Posted June 8, 2011 I guess you guys haven't noticed, but there are a lot of Arborvitae and Spruce trees around that have recently died! I just lost 3 Arborvitae that were about 40 yrs old and a 60' Spruce that was 38 yrs. old. My neighbor just lost 2 Spruce trees. I think it had something to do with the drought we had last Summer (?). Not really there are a few lawsuits going against dow at the moment for a chemical called Imprelis that is thought to have killed many spruce trees by accident.Want to learn more read here. http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=353005 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SJ Shooter 10 Posted June 9, 2011 It's a zombie man - just shoot it in the head and move on. Double tap Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon 264 Posted June 9, 2011 It's a zombie man - just shoot it in the head and move on. Rule #2 Double tap Fixed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hd2000fxdl 422 Posted June 30, 2011 Anything possible to reverse the browning? Before I cut it down, I would like to try what I can. Other than Green Paint, don't think so. Harry Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites