Thanks everyone for the feedback. Bboy - interesting point about the growth. Based on what I've read, these tend to grow much faster than they have, and I'd wondered why they hadn't made much progress. *#^%(#(% They looked very healthy, I didn't notice any dead needles on the inner part of the tree this past summer, and we've watered and fertilized as necessary. I did notice that they filled in a lot width-wise, however. Other than the height, I THOUGHT they were doing great. I don't think fence height had as much to do with it as does the amount of snow we've had in comparison to recent years. It's never been an issue until now. We were in the habit of twining only the loose upper brances, but my gosh, I would have had to twine the entire tree top to bottom this year to prevent this with the amount of snow we've had in Wisconsin ---- didn't know to do that....expensive lessen learned...and of course the nursery doesn't explain that when you hand over the credit card. Deer not an issue in the inner city. Single stemmed and multi-leadered - things you never know to ask, and they don't tell. I thought I did all the necessary research before we purchased, but next time I'll spend a little more time - perhaps on this forum! I'm still kicking myself for not getting the Techny.

Boy that looks terrible! Put a fork in the tree, it is DONE. You need to figure out the source of your problem though otherwise if you just plants replacement shrubs you'll probably end up with the same thing happening all over again. I am so sorry that this happened to you. These trees and are our investments and they cost a lot of money. Btw, why is that tag still there? It doesn't belong there and it doesn't look very classy. If you plant new shrubs make sure to take the tags off.

The plant looks like its dying from the inside out ===>>> nope.. all conifers shed their needles.. mostly between one and three years ... i will yell.. ALL INTERIOR NEEDLE LOSS IS NORMAL... those are the old needles.. and they are shed as the outer green shell starts shading them out ... and i will yell again.. YOU ARE CORRECT TO CLEAN THEM OUT EVERY YEAR OR TWO ... as far as i am concerned.. the bugs are irrelevant ... unless you can come up with some actual damage caused by a bug.. rather than normal in interior browning ... beyond that.. and having no clue where you are.. i too am mystified how they can have bugs this time of year ... unless you are south of the equator .. or on the gulf of Mex ... they need full sun.. and thinning can be indicative of not enough sun ... more facts in that regard, plz .. pix and location please.. ken

i am stumped.. based both on your volume.. budget constraints.. size needs and the need for instant gratification.. due to the pool ... at worst.. i was thinking of throwing in a yellow every third or 4th plant ... but all i can come up with is more thuja.. like yellow ribbons .. or the yellow one with the dutch name..which i am blanking on ... [i want to say horstman.. but i know that is wrong] the key was reiterated: Sticking your finger into the soil is the only way to tell when they need water. you can also tell a wet pot from a dry pot.. by weight ... they should all be rather heavy .. as compared to the lack of water weight ... but it doesnt matter.. because they just dont need that much water this time of year.. its just not hot enough for the pots to be getting so dry.. that you need to water every single day .. the fact that the water runs out the bottom.. MEANS NOTHING ... if the middle of the root mass is bone dry .. insert finger.. and use a screwdriver if you have to.. to find out how wet they are .. did you read the planting guide yet ...??? consider buying a couple extra.. as nobody expects you to have a 100% success rate ... i wouldnt even expect such of myself over 50 odd plants ... ENGINEERED drip irrigation.. would be brilliant ... see my suggestion at the link ... i have used the techline on my GGiants ... drip irrigation has NOTHING to do with those carp weep hoses at bigboxstore ... we want to know how much is coming out of each dripper.. for how many gallons in how many hours... not hoping some cheap=-a$$ system will even push water down the length of the hose ... it can all be connected to a hose ... no need for anything fancy ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link