Emerald Cedars Browning after 1 month: How to Fix?
I just planted 14 emerald cedars along our back fence. Our soil is clay, and I didn't dig the holes as large as I probably should have, maybe 50% wider and deeper than the pot they came in. I didn't use any new soil either. After planting I covered the ground in about 4-5 inches of mulch, and watered them every 3 days or so. Not so often now though. Anyway, some of them are getting brown branches on them, and I notice the line of shrubs my neighbour has behind our fence have all turned brown/copper in the past year, so maybe he made the same mistakes, or maybe it's a disease, or just poor clay soil. I was wondering if I should dig them out and make the holes bigger and
add triple mix, or just try fertilizing them with something, or water
them more or less, or what. I hate the idea of digging them up since
its so blasted hot out there and I hate sweating, but I know an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure! So if anyone has advice I
appreciate it, and I'll follow it.
Comments (16)
CF Carter
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Browning cedars
Comments (7)They are dead. Newly planted trees must be watered daily and never allowed to go dry. On the opposite - too much water will kill it too. I had that experience this summer. the trees were planted close to a fence and near a waterspout. The soil is heavy clay. We've had several heavy rainshowers this summer and I didn't realize until too late that the water didn't drain away for HOURS... so the tree closest to the fence with no drainage died. The tree further away from the fence and planted is soil that drains well, survived. Always water your plants before transplanting. Any large potted plants do not have as much access to water as those that have been planted in the ground. Water well several hours before making the transplant. Make sure the ground is broken up with compost to allow for drainage. Also, a tip -- make the hole large enough. Second create a small hill at the bottom of the pit and plant the tree on that hill, spreading some of the roots about. Back fill with more soil/compost mix. I like to add composted manure as well to help, plus bone meal. Secure your tree with 2 stakes at either side and heavy wires or twine - but give it enough slack so it can move slightly about. This strengthens the roots of the tree....See MoreWould Emerald Cedars work in this space?
Comments (15)'Smaragd' has been measured 17 ft. tall in Seattle and I may have seen older examples planted before it became popular here that are more than double that height - the only question being if these are in fact 'Smaragd' and not one of the many other cultivars of T. occidentalis that have been named and grown. (If I become interested enough to take the trouble I could find out if any of these are 'Smaragd' by comparing foliage samples). Since there are 'Fastigiata' known over 40 ft. tall and the other two cultivars ('De Groot's Spire', 'Smaragd') discussed here aren't dwarf forms either I fully expect them to grow as tall as well, given enough time. 'Smaragd' is exceptionally prone to root rot, with internet queries about established hedges browning out and dying in sections having been rather numerous in the past. If this is a low, damp place another cultivar (or different species entirely) would probably be less of a gamble. If you plant an assortment of different plants there is more visual interest and less risk (if one or two kinds fail there is still the others, unlike when the one that falters and dies out makes up the entire planting) than with a row of one kind. And in this case the row of one kind being columnar conifers would produce a tense effect (like soldiers at attention) that seems at odds with relaxing in and around a pool. Also when you have an evergreen hedge right next to a wood fence the hedge may rub on the wood or keep it damp. There is also the problem of access to the fence or hedge for maintenance and repair being blocked by the close proximity and crowding. And when planting around swimming pools you want to choose plants with large parts that will not be easily and continuously sucked into pool filters or be hard to fish out of the water. The fine-textured debris of arborvitaes seems like it could be a nightmare in this situation. You are probably going to have to come up with an architectural solution such as arbors or trellises in order to get some screening on that side. If codes prohibit this then I guess you are stuck with being the neighborhood spectacle, out in the open like at a motel pool. Erecting a structural screen would also give much quicker relief than a hedge planting, which will take years to size up - how many summers do you want to wait for your increased privacy? This post was edited by bboy on Wed, Dec 10, 14 at 14:55...See MoreRoots Turning Brown after Nutrient Change
Comments (26)hardclay7a I will check out that article, I have been meaning to read more of Danielfp's blog. But you know how it goes, so much to do and never enough time. It was about April last spring when I had the problem with my peas. I started them in late September or early October and they grew, but slowly. I knew they were not hot weather plants, I planed to build a frame and cover it with plastic to make a greenhouse over them, but never did. So they grew and looked good, just slowly in the cold weather. But come late January early February they exploded with new growth, and wound up over 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide for 4 snow pea plants. The regular peas wound up about half that, I forget what species those were. But to answer your question, no I never Inoculated with anything. I was using General Hydroponics Flora series nutrients and that's it, I may have used some H2O2 but don't remember. It wasn't until the plants got real big (2-3 weeks before I harvested them) that I started to notice the brown cloudy water. I e-mailed pictures and details to General hydroponics tech support, who explained that peas are legumes and that they have roots that do that. So I did some reading up on them at the time. But ya legume have roots that can change their own environments by secreting certain types chemicals and enzymes. I know I said they can secret bacteria, but I believe it was enzymes along with chemicals instead. These secreted enzymes and chemicals have evolved to perform functions like to promote beneficial bacteria growth to help break down the soil into the nutrients they need, to repel soil born pests, and even damage or repel roots of other plant species that get in their root zone. That was all new to me before I had the problem. I wasn't familiar with growing peas either at the time, and found out that even though they had recently had a good 2 month growth spurt, they were still 7 month old plants near the end of their life. So considering that both type of peas had intertwined root systems, that were nearing the end of their life, they were just doing all they could to stay alive longer. P.S. So I just harvested all the peas on both type of pea plants, and was able to just about fill 3, 2 gallon Ziploc bags. Most were snow peas. Witch was fine with me because I didn't want to shuck the other peas. I let my mom do that, they were here idea anyway....See MoreHow to fix scratches on mahogany veneered table?
Comments (7)Thanks for responding. I did try several easier things before stripping. And, before stripping I cleaned with mineral spirits, degreaser, denatured alcohol, and TSP in hot water with microfiber. After TSP escpecially, the surface was extremely clean. I don't think I'll have any problems with silicone, but my game plan includes washcoat with shellac in any case. I considered hiring a pro, but the fine light-colored scratches in the middle picture mostly couldn't be seen across the top surface of the finish, so they were defects below the finish. So I am pretty sure a pro had already sprayed some toning lacquer over these scratches, reducing their appearance but not eliminating them. Just wondering if anyone has experience getting stain color out of scratches? Or if the color in these scratches will even matter if I use dye stain? I do have a game plan, and I have experience stripping and refinishing, but never on mahogany veneers like this....See More
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
6 years ago
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
6 years agowaynedanielson
6 years agosam_md
6 years agoCF Carter, consider how many times those plants were loaded, unloaded, spaced an shoved around before they reached you. I think that accounts for the brown on the one plant that you showed us.
'Emerald' arborvitae must be considered a resounding success story and I cannot fault them. This pic shows a row planted at a Maryland library. I promise you the contractor rolled them off the truck and plopped them in the ground, no aftercare whatsoever. What aftercare does the OP need? Let's start by what continent are you on? Maybe you can narrow it down just a little bit?
Whatever snow we have in the midAtlantic has had no effect whatsoever on this selection. AFAIK the greatest threat to them is bagworms. (OP observe the amount of space they require)
CF Carter thanked sam_mdCF Carter
6 years agoHi everyone, sorry for the slow reply, I assumed I'd get email notifications of new posts on this thread, so I was surprised when I logged back in to give an update and found these. It's nice to know (sam_md) how little these plants need in terms of planting etc to thrive... but at the same time mine are definitely getting worse by the week. But one posted here said it was probably handling since it's restricted to some of the branches near the bottom versus an overall browning. There are some branches that are completely brown now. I checked the moisture both with a finger and a moisture meter. The moisture meter the first time I checked after the original replies last week, it was sort of in the middle near the dryish side. Now the moisture is off the charts since its been raining... It just jumps over to 'wet' on the tester and the needle looks like it'd spin right around if it could.
So I guess my only question at this point is, should I cut off the dead branches? And should I wrap these up before it starts snowing? It's pretty cold here already. PS: i'm in Southwestern Ontario (Hamilton area), and the tag on the shrubs say Emerald Green Cedar, Thuja Occidentalis 'Smaragd'.
CF Carter
6 years agoEmbothrium
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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