Here are the instructions. It's not difficult, just time-consuming, with too many steps. This is assuming your photos are already on your computer. Open a Photobucket account. Click on the green upload button. Click on the green Select photos and videos button. A new window will open on your computer, with your files. Go to your Pictures, and find the photo you want to use. Click on it. Click on Open. The photo will begin loading onto Photobucket. When it's done, click the blue Save and continue to my album button. Hover your cursor over the image. Four codes will appear. Go down to the third one, which says HTML code, and click. That will copy it. DO NOT USE THE IMG CODE it doesn't work on Gardenweb. Only the HTML code will work. Go to Gardenweb and to this forum. Start a follow-up post. Write your message, then hit control c for copy. A bunch of computer code will appear, and that is good. Click Preview. Your photo should appear, and you can hit submit. Renee If they are podocarpus gracilior I suspect they are not getting enough water. I would dig down with a trowel to see how moist the soil is, and if it is dry, try giving them a good soaking. They are planted too close together, so you can cut down every other one if you like, or just the ones that are not doing well. Otherwise, I would just keep them all sheared until they fill in. How tall do you want them? Mine are about eight feet tall, and it's a real challenge to keep them trimmed, because the hedge is four or five feet deep, and it's hard to get to the center of the top with the hedge trimmer. If you want a hedge, you should start topping them. That will allow more light to get to the bottom so it fills in. Renee Here is a link that might be useful: Hedgezilla thread

Wow! Thank you all so much for your advide. I don't know where to begin. First, let me say to surfcityhb -- as a bird lover, I tip my hat to you for protecting the winged ones (I like cats, too -- but don't appreciate the unfair advantage). With regard to the spacing between plants -- I have to take credit for that. I added more Podocarpus to the fill in the gaps because the growth was so anemic. (I had a landscape designer but so many of his choices turned out to be bad that I've been patching it up myself.) So...I took your advice and watered/soaked (!) the trees today and I don't know if it did them any good, but it sure made me feel better. One of the mis-steps the landscaper made was to plant the Podocarpus too shallowly, if that's a word. The result is that the rootball bumps up out of the ground making it impossible to build a moat around them which is what my gardner suggested. I'm hopeful that the soak plan will work. I have to admit, I enjoy the hose -- a remark I hope doesn't come back to haunt me later... Hosenemisis, your hedge is glorious, too. My yard is tiny (1930's spanish style courtyard, actually -- not really a yard at all) so god help me, my hedge may rule me one day). Again, thank you all for your advice. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I have posted to the Garden Web once or twice in the past and didn't get the kind of love I'm feeling here! Maybe I wasn't in the California forum... Anyway, thank you so much for your help. Tina

my 'Green Giants', which is slightly bronzed. ===>>> that is normal winter coloration in z5 MI ... most winter harm ... for me.. in ground freeze-land.. doesnt show until the ground thaws.. and the roots start pumping.. and the heat hits ... that is when damaged needle tissue shows .... short of that though ... its when the buds dont burst in spring.. that one is usually 'sure' ... boy i wonder if i am getting as sick as the kids.. my use of the english language is suffering ... lol ... i call the situation... the 'suspended animation' of winter .... evergreens staying basically evergreen or showing just minor issues ... until it starts growing again in spring.... when the suspension ends.. then the real trouble shows ... and then i am left trying to figure out ... was it near dead in fall... from summer drought ... did winter actually cause the harm .. or did it 'show' then ... and then adding on hard frosts or freezes in spring ultimately killing buds that struggled to get going ... usually leaves me in early summer with very brown.. very dead evergreens.. wondering exactly when the death came... and what season caused it ... one thing for sure.. it must have been very fine.. to walk around your garden and make your observations ... i know i could force myself to do it... but it would not have been fun ... but your list.. is motivating me to go look around my yard ... ken

Plants don't wilt because they need nutrients. Have you been watering properly? New plants require a fair amount of babying, especially now that the temperatures are beginning to climb. However, over watering can cause serious problems, too. Look for signs of bark splitting on the trunk or along the affected stems. Your plants could have been damaged in that spring freeze that was so widespread.