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Thuja Emerald Green occidentalis arborvitae dying?

8 years ago

How can I save this emerald green? It looks like the middle leader has turned brown and is dying. I've been watering with a soaker hose couple times a week. The other 2 emerald greens on either side seem to be fine. These were just planted in April this year. The browning was very sudden -- it seemed to happen very quickly only a couple weeks ago. Do I trim the dead brown portions off? If so, won't there be a big hole in the middle? Thanks for any help and advice

Comments (4)

allen456
8 years ago
Ken will be along shortly to let you know that a soaker hose isn't enough water!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
lol /...

the heat of summer has hit ... this is common ... i mean.. thats when the problems show ...

dig a 3 to 6 inch hole.. near the root mass planted.. AND FIND OUT if its wet or dry not only in the soil around.. but in the root mass planted... i suspect you are guessing at a watering protocol ...

once you find out ... then adjust accordingly ...

soaker hose is carp ... but it is usually a problem at the far end of the run ... in this case ... a middle one ... i suspect the digging of the large transplant cut off too many roots ..

not that it will die.. its just struggling more than the others ... but it might die ...

perfect watering.. and the rest should live.. then when we are sure the brown part is dead.. cut it out down low ... it will fill in.. but it might take a few years ...

if you have a warranty... just replace it in fall when the temps drop ... nobody plants conifers in august ... in most areas of the country ...

ken
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searched the whole web.. eh??? after ten years.. my GG is 20 feet tall ... from a 4 incher planted ... after ten years.. my smargard.. emerald green ... is 6 feet tall from a 4 footer planted ... try googling green giant for it latin name ... and then add: annual growth rate... and then google for emerald green latin.. and add the same.. and you should find.. one grows 2 to 5 feet per year.. and the other 6 inches or so ..... depending on your climate.. you better have a pretty big yard for GG's ... and on either.. INSURE you buy single leader plants ... welcome to GW.. glad to help .. come back often .... ken ps: the latin names are VERY IMPORTANT.. its where you start all searching .... trust me.. i fought them for years.. lol ...
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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.
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Jim Hyland, a tree expert at "allexpert.com" wrote the following re Emerald Green in Scottsdale... "You should not have a problem with this tree in Scottsdale as long as it does not dry out. Make sure the hole that they are planted in is about twice the size of the root ball and fill with good top soil, water and mulch with not more than 3 inches of mulch for moisture retention." It's obviously not a low maintenance tree as it will need to be watered on a regular basis but sounds like it will do okay in Scottsdale.
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When I established them I used a soaker hose for a month or two. If I remember correctly they did not appear to be root bound at all. As for fertilizer - they have probably gotten some "over spray" from when I fertilize the lawn but I have not deliberately fertilized them otherwise. I do a late fall fertilizer for the lawn and I'm sure some of that gets to them as well. Should I avoid them when I fertilize?? I have a bunch of others that are outside the reach of my broadcast spreader that have grown similarly - and are growing well. The back sides seem to be the same in terms of browning. The foliage on the back sides get very thick in the late spring/summer so the back sides of all of them have thinner growth. I've never had the lawn sprayed. Is it possible that the sprinklers wetting the leaves are damaging them? -JIm
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
btw .. the problem with the hose you have.. is when you stretch 3 lengths over a hundred feet.. its not really a problem with three trees...

its a pressure issue way down the line ...

ken
E C
Original Author
8 years ago
Now (not before) I only have it wrapped around the 3 trees and when I run it there is more than ample flow since it is also not the full length hose. Each tree has 3-3.5 concentric circles of the hose. It's also connected to a pulsating sprinkler for the lawn that also hits the trees when I water the lawn. I'm checking for dampness a few inches down and water when it is dry. I could do more frequently, though. Each time I water I try to do for 20-30 min. I am also adding a gallon or so of water to the middle one these days, every other day or so. Hope that is enough to rejuvenate!!

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