Thirty years ago I tried growing a weeping Atlas Cedar and got the same thing. I asked about as to what was wrong with it and everybody said spidermites. That didn't seem right as spidermites will be all over the plant and not patchy like what was happening. Besides I looked very close at the foliage with a magnifying glass and couldn't find any mites. After several years I got rid of the tree. Thank you GardenGal for the info! Finally mystery solved. In the meantime I was growing several varieties of Cedrus deodaras that were barely, if ever, showing signs of the tip blight. Fast forward to the present and a few problems have cropped up. A large Cedrus deodara with some gold in it has shown signs of the tip blight more this year than ever before. Read cool, wet, Spring. It is also being severely weakened by Sapsuckers and will have to be taken down. Those birds are beginning to be more than a nuisance. A couple of years ago a friend gave me a Cedrus atlantica, 'Aurea'. Last year it had tip blight, but I thought, I will give it one more year. This year year it looks like this. Needless to say it's going to be taken out. Even though it's planted in almost full sun and very good drainage, it's just too wet here in the foothills for a tree that naturally grows in a drier climate. I guess that's why the Deodaras are more resistant to tip blight. Anyone in a drier area want a Cedrus atlantica, 'Aurea'? It's got a good rootball,... for an Atlantica.

Hi! How many hours of morning sun does the location receive? I don't think there are many conifers that will like or look good growing in shade all day but there are some that do okay. Tsuga canadensis 'Pendula' if your looking for weeping, Taxus cuspidata, and Picea orientalis may do well in bright shade. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would even come close to a weeping blue atlas cedar for shade. Oh, perhaps Larix kaempferi 'Pendula'. It has the closest resemblance that can take light shade. It is deciduous and green rather than blue but quite cool looking and turns orange/yellow in the fall just before it drops it's needles. I mainly have experience with sunny locations so perhaps someone else here will have better suggestions for shade tolerant conifers.

its a conifer ... see what i just wrote at the link .. perfect watering .. you will probably end up cutting the top off.. and having to train a new leader up ... and you could learn about that in the conifer forum ... i would not make this decision until spring.. to see if the top buds out ... you havent given us any info about anything ... if you want us to speculate on why it happened ... i suspect you planted it like a perennial/annual.. and that might be part of the problem ... you could also convert to the latin name.. in google.. then flip to the images side .. and find out.. it might be 5 to 10 feet too close to the house and railing ... massive potential ... though you will get a few extra years.. in it dying back ... ken http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/3268363/thuja-emerald-green-occidentalis-arborvitae-dying?n=2

Have you actually checked how deep into the soil the water is seeping? Often a couple of hours less often and at a slow trickle will be more effective than a few minutes every day. You won’t know whether the moisture is getting down into the tree’s root zone unless you actually dig a small hole to see if the soil is moist farther down where the roots are. Check both the native top soil and the rootball since sometimes the original potting soil is enough different in texture from the native soil to create water movement issues and you have a wet rootball in dry soil or visa versa. Cther issues might be the way the roots grew and care at the nursery or even unsuitability to your climate.