I just remembered something i done last year, i wanted to grow them thicker and to keep them quite short so i cut the very tip off of every tree could this maybe have something to do with why they are brown?
trimming the top wouldn't kill them, too much or too little water will kill them and the brown ones are most definitely dead, the half brown ones are half dead. Remove and replace is the only answer.
if the soil is heavy clay and you didn't break the hole up with some organic matter you basically made a bucket for them to live in, if it rains it fills up and they drown, when its dry the roots can't access any water in the soil and they die of dehydration.
and remember plant food (pelleted or powdered) only lasts 6 months or so and doesn't improve the quality of your soil, you need organic matter (compost, manure etc.) for that
when planting in heavy clay (as my garden is) you need to make the hole at least twice the size of the root ball, bigger if possible, my dad in the past banged a crow bar 8-10 inches into the bottom of the hole and filled it with sharp sand to aid drainage more, and stuff still drowned over winter!
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I just remembered something i done last year, i wanted to grow them thicker and to keep them quite short so i cut the very tip off of every tree could this maybe have something to do with why they are brown?
trimming the top wouldn't kill them, too much or too little water will kill them and the brown ones are most definitely dead, the half brown ones are half dead. Remove and replace is the only answer.
if the soil is heavy clay and you didn't break the hole up with some organic matter you basically made a bucket for them to live in, if it rains it fills up and they drown, when its dry the roots can't access any water in the soil and they die of dehydration.
and remember plant food (pelleted or powdered) only lasts 6 months or so and doesn't improve the quality of your soil, you need organic matter (compost, manure etc.) for that
when planting in heavy clay (as my garden is) you need to make the hole at least twice the size of the root ball, bigger if possible, my dad in the past banged a crow bar 8-10 inches into the bottom of the hole and filled it with sharp sand to aid drainage more, and stuff still drowned over winter!