Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Are my thujas dead?

MintteaMinttea Posts: 16
in Problem solving
I have five thujas planted at the back of my garden (planted around two years ago). The one in the first photo definitely looks like it's died - I think we planted it too close to the other thuja on the right, and it's consistently brown all over. The other three in the second photo, I'm less sure about. There are brown leaves, but the green looks healthy still. Can anyone tell me whether they're dying or is there a chance of saving them? 

Posts

  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    They look severely overcrowded and probably are outcompeting each other for moisture and nutrients. Two years later it wouldn't be a walk in the park to take them out...but wonder if it's worth sacrificing on to save the other two but you'd have to move them further apart. Did you take any notice of the size advice on the label? You'd usually allow enough space between then to meet when they are near full size. It's tempting to want to have a joined up hedge from day one...but you're always better off being patient with conifers or you run into this type of issue.
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    They need intensive watering, but if you are lucky you might manage to save them. Thuya is supposed to be less fussy than other conifers about regrowing from brown wood, so if you water first and get them starting to look green and healthy again, you could  then cautiously remove the very worst of the brown tips.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Is that three in the 2nd pic? Far too close together. One, two at the most, would have filled that space. They would  have needed careful management and trimming right from the start, as well as plenty of moisture,  to keep them all in there. Might be worth removing the middle one. You could then carefully trim off the dead foliage on the others, and hope that they'll re sprout.
    Thuja plicata [I'm assuming it's that] will sometimes come away again, unlike many other coniferous types. You could always try one section and see if it happens. They don't look completely beyond help.  Nothing to lose really  :)

    There's a mature oak tree nearby in that first pic too. That will have taken all the available moisture away and prevented good establishment. Probably better to take that one out.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • MintteaMinttea Posts: 16
    Thank you very much for your replies everyone. Yes, agreed - we planted them far too close together  :#  We're in SE England, so the recent drought won't have helped either. We've been watering every day, but it's been so dry for weeks. Hopefully lots of rain the next few days will help. 

    Good idea to try taking one or two out. Nothing to lose really!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    How much water are you giving them? It needs to be a bucket for each one - at least, and regularly.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • MintteaMinttea Posts: 16
    Ooh not that much! But I will now!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It'll have been very dry where you are, so they would need a lot  to really hydrate them  and if you only water lightly, roots stay nearer the surface and don't get down further to access moisture in long dry spells. Most conifers are shallower rooting, but even so, you don't want the root systems staying higher than they should.
    Rain won't always penetrate the canopies either, unless it's heavy enough, and prolonged, and happening regularly :)

    Fingers crossed they'll come back. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sign In or Register to comment.