Troubleshooting a Dead Arborvitae in Our Living Fence and Fixing The Problem

[@MarkSimon-xe8ks]

I'm a pro Landscape Designer and was researching for a friend why her seemingly perfectly healthy arbs are dying one by one. Excellent video!!! Well done!

[@johnclamshellsp1969]

Always great and very informative videos. YOU were the reason I got into gardening to provide delicious and extremely healthy food for my family.

[@gabrielbayley4247]

i've been watching for a couple years now and always enjoy your content, but this might be your BEST video ever... it is exactly the format that I have been wanting to see. we all can learn from mistakes and wow, I've learned a lot from this video.

[@paolaarletty6525]

Thank you for sharing! For real my 4 arborvitaes in a hedge are going through the same thing. Even though I water them constantly and check up on them continuously, I have seen they are brown towards the inside. When I water them I notice the water slopes off. What I did is create a ring of soil around each one so that all the water gets trapped within the ring. This did help the water go down into the roots and not slope off. However, the best solution is to regrade the ground and/or simply add more soil throughout the flower bed in order to level it up. In our case, I think our flower bed just needs more soil towards the front because it does look low and the back side is slightly higher, which causes the downward slope.

[@celinageorgia4622]

Mine are turning brown on the inside as well. Why does this happen?

[@150JMB]

@@celinageorgia4622 It's normal shedding as long as it's only happening on the inside. I remove the dead stuff to keep the air flowing through. My living fence is over 20 years old so I can no longer reach the the tops, but wind storms will eventually clear it out.

[@Celestes_Nest]

My neighbors trees died too. We both planted the same trees around the same time. Mine look great. I brought in good top soil and created a berm for them. He didn't and planted directly into the clay soil. That berm helped retain that much needed water these trees need. The trees on my lot are now over 10 feet tall and have beautiful foliage. My neighbors replacements are barely 5 feet tall and still look like they're struggling. Poor trees. Thanks for sharing.

[@francessiejkowski2613]

Perfect video for my problem. We lost 2 arborvitae in a row of 5. The remaining 3 are healthy. Apparently the two end arborvitae were not getting enough water as explained in this video. Thank you for explaining the causes and providing tips to avoid future problems,

[@NewWorldOrderx0x1]

I'm Watering them now

[@PhilThach]

A perfect walk-around kit for you, David. My favorite was the James, Tivoli Parking garage layers shot. Very creative.

[@roberttoro8824]

Awesome video. Needed to hear this for my five new Emerald Green Arborvitae’s that were not getting enough water. Thank you.

[@DJDOUBLE077]

I have a habit of mulching most plants and creating a valley in the middle where stem is to funnel water to plants. I've seen it done in our parks and boulevard plantings. Works great for me.

[@whisperingwings852]

Great timing for me as we just planted a row of arborvitae. I did leave a nice depression around the base tho but they are planted on the top of a hill. So now I know to keep them watered well! Thanks again!!

[@honest1966]

Thank you for this video! I have 3 of them 2 in pots and 1 in the ground and their having the same problem, so now I know thanks to your video! Thanks a million!

[@hummingbirdhillhomespun5421]

Thanks for always offering solutions! It's fun to see your space develop!

[@erwinbrubacker7488]

Yes , he is developing 👍

[@nancyinnevada2785]

HI, YOU POSTED THIS VIDEO ON MY BIRTHDAY A FEW YEARS AGO, THANKS FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE 🦅💗🤍💙🦅

[@ineslaos6444]

Thank you to share ! I'm very upset because my trees have started dying. I didn't understand why, but I just found out today that my husband put plastic around the trees and stuck it with gravel. This has been going on for three years. I trimmed the dying parts of the trees, watered them a lot, and hope they will recover. :(

[@bjf5027]

Had the same issue and replaced one of my arborvitaes and increased the water to that specific tree by 2 fold. The new one has been doing well since it was planted in April.

[@carolinafine8050]

You know it’s a video with good info when many comments are pissing and moaning about the host’s presentation but the video still has a vast majority of thumbs up

[@GregJGreen]

I have five 6 footers that are heavily browned this year, likely due to the high heat we had this summer in the Seattle area. I wasn't around to care for them when they needed it most. They're second attempt replacements due to a trailer fire in the late 90s and are planted next to 30 year old Arborvitaes that are approximately 16' tall. The outer limbs are brown around an inch or two in, but the inner branches still look fairly healthy throughout. I'm giving them a deep watering every 4 days or so and keeping my fingers crossed. Hope I can avoid having to replace them a third time, it's been very frustrating.

[@werewasyo]

growing privet or laurel seem like a better option in seattle

[@GregJGreen]

@@werewasyo I lost all but two of the replacements, and one of those is questionable. I either have to go with something completely different or plant small arborvitae to ensure a good root foundation.

[@TheBoss-gc1uk]

Im gonna save you 14:48 precious minutes and tell you it was lack of water 🙄😐

[@turboturd7954]

I dont believe it was a water problem.

[@crystalwelch2471]

Great information but bad news you have others that are looking the same way

[@michaelgraham768]

I noticed that too, but I'm sure he knows and is working to prevent it.

[@Kyym888]

Helpful thank you. I didn't think it was long, I thought it was important to do the critical thinking first. It's good that you included that because its the most commonly skipped part. I guess since people have dying trees, they just want the answer right away.

[@gabrielruvalcaba2310]

Excellent information but you should remove or break the roots down before you plant into the ground. When you pulled out the dead shrub it should look like same problem

[@MyQuaintCottage]

Such a great video and timely. I've got two of those with the same problem. 👍😊

[@jtglandscapes]

Very cool to learn! I enjoyed this and I’ll be learning a lot more when it comes to cedars arbs and other hedges etc. I have a new channel and a small landscaping business in vermont and I love being able to learn and teach as I go, so thanks I appreciate ur vids and u as person!

[@HLT646]

I had two Arborvotae that died on me and I found out that my Arborvitae had a spider mites that bore into the trunk of the Arborvitae and sucked off it liquid and so basically my two Arborvitae died. I was told to keep my other Arborvitae from dying of the same thing, to spray the other ones with a lite mixture of water with a little bit of Dawn dish soap in the water. It did work as none of of other Arborvitae has show any signs of dying. Plus it was not that they were not getting enough water as they are in a area that gets plenty of water.

[@joescott3393]

I would also have added a lot of peat moss or shredded leave to hold moisture. A lot of fertilization of that tree over the next couple of years and will be almost the same size as the others. God Bless Joe

[@Nostromo_1]

Joe Scott based on my gardeners recommendation, I started using a product called Sweet Peat Mulch. Not easy to get around here but looks great and my trees look much better now.

[@fingersoup]

Not to confuse people but If you see your conifers browning on the inside and losing leaves during fall and winter, this is normal. Evergreens do lose their leaves, just not all at once. ^^

[@macgirl1231]

wonderful video! so helpful. great presentation. thank you

[@kennethkirschbaum1906]

What kind of fertilizer do you use? Like 13-13-13. Also, do you fertilizer your arboravites in the spring. I planted 30 arboravites last spring. Should I fertilizer in the spring and with what fertilizer? Great job and thanks for sharing your experience.

[@hj8607]

Just round off the corner of the hedge (plant closer in to between two live trees, putting the new one in old hole and it will likely drop dead also) . Not only was it not getting water the tree was out of the safety and wind break (evaporation ).

[@lueveniapettiford2626]

Excellent explanation, very understandable. Thank you

[@optimaldefiance4605]

Great video taught me something new and thanks

[@hosta127]

Yes I am on the way with my backyard nursery, but I do not have any plant plugs to pot up. My crepe myrtle rooting attempts failed. I have 20 green giant arborvitae on order but I will probably pot them up for 2024 sales. I would like to order some hosta & hydrangea for 2023 spring sales but I am stymied with finding a source for plants that will be a salable size by spring. I do have hosta in the ground that I will dig up, divide and repot, but I think that won’t be big enough to sell until 2024. So I guess the best thing to do is get my shade house built with ground cover underneath.

[@TheTombOfHorrors]

Part of the problem is the plant was likely root bound and you did not rough up the roots to encourage them to go and find water because the plant still thought it was circled in a pot. If you did the roots could have traveled out and possibly got enough water to keep its needles alive. I see you did not rough up the roots in the one you replaced which I fear might have the same problem down the road.

[@Bamboo4U2]

The new one he planted was, in no way, root bound. If it were, we'd see actual roots on the exterior of the dirt surrounding the roots, completely encircling it and wrapping around and around. Go back and watch that again. That was not a root bound plant.

[@Nostromo_1]

I had ten planted last year. All were kept in the Burlap ball. All I saw them do was open the top part. I asked and was told this was correct. I even called the nursery where I purchased them, and they also told me this was correct. Was this wrong? Trees have been in the ground for just over a year and they’re doing really well.

[@cindearbuckle6074]

great info.. we plant six .. one died .. i thought maybe too shady but also not enough water ... i am watching one that has a few brown patches . i will be adding more water to all of them. i thought it was a great video and learned a lot .. thank you ! from indiana 😊

[@SYLTHECRU]

You need to break up the dirt around the root before planting the tree

[@baburejaz]

Excellent advice and guidance for the dead fence trees. I wonder what happened with the newly planted sapling in the next few years. It may be a good idea to add a Video about how well the new tree did in the next few years. Thanks for your time, advice and efforts behind the video. Sincerely Babur Ejaz

[@joshualawson7604]

I love the channel but this should be a 5 minute video.

[@xshaq]

agreed

[@feleciawallace8420]

Some of us subscribers appreciate video's (like this one) that explains the problems or solution thoroughly.

[@luanefaucher321]

@@feleciawallace8420 still too long

[@turboturd7954]

Play at 1.5 speed, problem solved!

[@mikebenson4845]

If you're gonna set up the video and plan what you need to say then fair enough. But it did seem like a who done it movie😊 Hey many thanks anyways. I have 2 out of 16 trees that are struggling so gonna try this

[@MichaelJosephJr934]

Actually very good diagnosis. I thought it was just a bad tree. Question: So I have 7 of these. Well actually mine are Thuja Green Giant's. They are right on my property line and my neighbor doesn't want them to grow over to his side. Can I trim them flat like a wall? I've seen regular arborvitaes done that way but not sure if Thuja's are ok too. Thank You!

[@RamyVinesandHomesteadTimes]

Any clues on what might be happening if the rust color is near the center?

[@rhuleneartis2770]

Very well explained . very clear for a novice.

[@CustomGardenSolutions]

Hope that was a great episode. You did a really good job on that one.

[@KeithOutWest]

Wow, I just learned a lot from you. Thank you!

[@dimzog]

Great video. I planted 4 thujas during winter, which kept growing until summer came. Now, all of them started turning brown from one side, the other side is still green. Any thoughts on this?

[@NeutronParadigm]

Possibly wind damage and transplant shock, I have the same issue.

[@dimzog]

@@NeutronParadigm A friend of mine checked it out, he's an expert, it's a relative common disease that can be easily treated with proper sprays if you notice it early on. Unfortunately, mine all went brown. Ended up replacing them with photinias, because they are a better fit for the area. Best luck to you!

[@asp1201]

Video is bit long but informative.. I have a row of arborvitae and only one turned brown, I was told it’s spider mites causing it well I think lack of mulch that caused dryness in the winter..😐

[@julienielsen3746]

I have an arborvitae that is in bad shape, not dead. It's been in a large pot for several years. I'm wondering if I can still save it if I take it out and trim the roots and plant it in the pot with new tree soil. Or if I should just throw it out and plant a new one. I just wanted to know if it could still be saved and come back looking good, or would it always look sparse the way it looks now?

[@laurenpattiz1187]

I see the tree to our right, your left, has a few orange leaves. If watered properly now, will it make it? We’re having this problem and we finally assumed it was a watering issue but I’m hoping ours aren’t too far gone

[@PnoyAngler]

Is the browning inside an arborviate during fall like right now normal? I have 50 arbor vitae all 3-4 yrs old now and they are close to each other.

[@johne7123]

I'd imagine it's normal, did they survive the winter?

[@stevenpope940]

Use the dirt off of the old root ball to fill the low spot in the yard.

[@karenross3457]

Cut to the chase sooner! You will get better!

[@50hellkat2]

I agree....i am not sure if he is filling in time on his video. He might be better to add answers to questions from viewers at the end of a video if he has extra time. Cuz nothing worse than not getting to the point when you start a video.

[@navyjohnes]

Thank you. Educational detailed and very informative.

[@DanielKing2014]

And that is why every time you put a plant or a tree in the ground you make a pool with the same dirt around the tree to keep water and it doesn’t run off.

[@DaddyBLUE90S]

Would aerating around the trees prevent this?

[@alecberrodin1279]

would the tree have kept growing if you just cut off the dead part and fixed the problem and watered more since the base was still alive? I realize not practical for aesthetic reasons but just curious.

[@al4377]

Ok great video but didnt address my issue. Before put mine in the ground I had them all scrunched together & lack of sunlight caused the center to brown. What do I do will it come back

[@worldtraveler6087]

This was very helpful thanks

[@n3ffult3n96]

Awesome man! Keep it growing🫡

[@MegaDraws]

I am about to plant 40 American pillar arborvitae. The entire row will be on a gradual continuous slight slope. Should i level out the whole 120 feet area ???

[@bScout.mtb.dt.4555]

Very good info, applying to my arborvite now.

[@homesweetdiy5751]

Super helpful video! Thanks so much for posting.

[@artmanjamin]

I hired landscapers to plant 11 arborvitaes smargd last 2017 and so far most them have thin leaves and very slow growth. I think since planted they only grew a foot and one now is dying. Now I suspect landscapers maybe didn't remove the tarp that covered the root? It gets full sun but I admit I was not faithful to watering when first planted.

[@KarenHenderson-p5f]

Is their a way to bring it back to life? I have 3 that still have some life in the base. We had drought last year.

[@tracybrooks5971]

Help!!! Can I send you photos of my arborvitae? I thought they were dying because of heat/lack of water, after watching your video I now have my doubts. I was in the hospital during the hottest part of the summer and they did not get watered by my house sitter. Can't decide if I should cut them out or is there hope for them.

[@minouladanseuse]

Wondering if you have a video on cedars and bugs. Since I’ve moved close to a lake there are a lot more bugs and I get these little seemingly white flying bugs around my cedars. Any idea what they are?

[@MrHammerstix]

Thank you for making the video! You saved my juniper! And me from having to replace it!

[@cryptodefiworld8858]

Thanks great video

[@DarthBludgeon]

I noticed the corner one wasn't very well mulched... This was long but helpful, I have a 15-footer that's half-dead, hopefully can turn it around now that I know what's wrong. Should I prune some of the dead stuff from the top?

[@lilywondertwin]

Try feeding worm castings to help it they heal trees .Give them a large bag .

[@CallMeJuancho]

Great video! Should they be planted at the same level of the soil around them or a bit higher level?

[@jakefriesenjake]

I would think higher. Tree trunks can't turn into roots, but roots can become tree trunks. In other words, tree trunks don't like to be wet and covered in dirt, but roots don't mind being exposed to the air. That was the research I came up with

[@ll-qq9qr]

Hi, what would you suggest that will provide privacy but is full sun and drought tolerant (Zone 5B). Thank you

[@roseannespiner6981]

Thanks for the great tips.Now i know how to treat my tree next time.

[@TheNotoriousNemo]

I planted my trees high up, i water them with a drip hose. Im thinking i need to put edges to contain some of the water. I pull up grass that tries to take over.

[@jorohloff2454]

I have a full grown hedge of emerald arborvitae with a single dying tree. Is it possible to replace it without disturbing the rest of the hedge?

[@brianfitzpatrick9189]

I’m at 8:20 and I think that tree is dying from when it was dugout from the grower or one of your guys taking it off the truck dropped it. Iv had guys unloading trucks drop trees and bushes. Its like getting dropped on your head. You survive but not for long. It could be lack of water but I doubt it. That’s only my opinion. Let me know what you think. Great video Thanks

[@0verfiend]

you go on your gut feelings a lot huh...

[@mcuse5478]

Can you trim it? I have one that I covered over the MN winter and not the top is brown but the rest looks great.

[@cory5478]

We want to bring in a huge amount of native top soil and build a hill then plant a row of emerald arbs. How do you experienced people think this will be for the much needed moisture required by these plants esp for first 3 years.

[@StyleWithCathy]

This was very helpful. I recently planted some Emerald Cedars and some of them are turning brown. Thanks for sharing this information.

[@lechatbotte.]

You have two others with dead foliage.

[@punisher6]

Is the tree doing well now 3 years later?

[@SuperSmileyd]

Did you water the trees everyday

[@wandatotten7738]

Mine are moist but the the leaves are dry falling off, is it dead. I used a moisturize meter

[@LynnM86]

Do you have a video of the planting/installation of your living fence?

[@bettychin5566]

Hey, thank you & very informative as I will be planting new arborvitaes this weekend. What fertilizer did you use & was it specifically for arborvitaes?

[@MrRod632]

Milorganite

[@xerod81x]

Can you post what the tree looks like today???

[@smiller2114]

Isn't there another tree that is turning colour in the line to the right, as well?

[@tophermagellan6017]

no answer huh?

[@johne7123]

A little bit of browning is expected, the leaves or needles die off a year or two after they grow

[@jimschlaugat6475]

It was root bound. Plant smaller trees like seedlings they will establish more easily.

[@Ladythyme]

Good to know....we’ll be planting a few in a bit...good to know what to look for both in planting and in observing as they grow. Thank you!

[@mds7558s2]

I have a tree thats dying, its about ten feet tall, and dying, I was giving it water twice a week, but it began to rain often, so i stop, how czn i corrrt this problem?

[@Iftekhar25]

Can we have a more recent update on this Cedar tree (and the Cedar hedge overall)?

[@bobsmith-ud9xi]

you learn more from failure than success

[@ZombieMan1997]

This has nothing to do with the video BUT I got my seeds from you today!!!!!! I planted nine of my eleven seeds and I am so happy! I will post updates durig the prouting an growing. 😍😍

[@DejaGruvBand]

What kind of fertilizer to use?

[@NewWorldOrderx0x1]

Jans hedges must be drought and trimmed tops. A combo of both

[@JF-bg5th]

I have a row of about 15 of them. The soil is heavily saturated with water from poor drainage. They aren’t completely dead yet but not doing well.

[@skliros9235]

From what I'm reading, too much water is bad and can cause root rot. Look up hydrogen peroxide treatment.

[@rebeccamccreary8530]

A few years ago I planted some arborvitae along a sandy hill. They are still green and alive, but they haven't gotten any taller in about 4 years. Is it probable that they haven't grown because they haven't been getting enough water?

[@fingersoup]

After 4 years you should see some growth. It does sound stunted. Are they in full sun?

[@Bamboo4U2]

Do you fertilize them at all? In the Spring?

[@rebeccamccreary8530]

@@fingersoup They are in full sun.

[@rebeccamccreary8530]

@@Bamboo4U2 So here's the fun part, we've been gone for about 3 years with my husband's work and had renters in the house. I have fertilized them every spring that I've been with them (including this year), an obviously when they were planted. I'm guessing that they were not fertilized while we were gone. I may also be running the risk of underfertilizing them. I haven't actually ever killed anything with too much fertilizer, but I am a bit paranoid about burning them. Though I do tend to "water" my plants with the remains from my french press coffee maker. Maybe that's not the best plan either. If you can't tell, I'm rather new to this.

[@lowtolerancelevel3776]

I never had mulch around mines for several years. Should I have mulch to get mine together? It's half way drying out at the top.

[@jimsingleton3790]

Great information! How often do you water those trees in the winter? I lost 10 out of 13 trees over the winter!

[@Megan9689]

Heard you need to be regularly watering anytime over like 40° for the first 2 years after planting.

[@Megan9689]

We live just outside a small city (in Michigan as well) and do get deer. We want to have a privacy fencing of some evergreen and were looking at arbor vitae but have heard that deer will strip and kill them in harder winters. Do you have some advice on what we could plant for a privacy fence/screen?

[@bryanglass5818]

Great video! It’s September 2021, do you have an update as to how this tree is doing?

[@rogerwilco7799]

So this is where Clark Kent is hiding now. I knew you yanked that tree out by the root too easily. Found you Superman.

[@saluto1397]

The soil doesn't look dry .. and why did you not take care of this tree earlier ? Was there like no remedy

[@iwayned]

Thank you Luke good information.