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Can I rescue dying evergreen tree?

BloodyNoraBloodyNora Posts: 78
in Problem solving
This evergreen tree has started dying from what I expect is the result of drought 😞. Is it beyond rescue?



Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @BloodyNora Once brown they won't grow out. Do you know exactly what it is? Thujas as far as I am aware and possibly some Junipers might be OK if pruned.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    It might (and l stress "might") be Thuja plicata, which is one conifer that does produce new growth after being cut back.
    How tall is it ? Have you been watering it ? I have an idea that it will require a fair amount. 

     It might be time to consider a replacement perhaps? 

  • BloodyNoraBloodyNora Posts: 78
    Afraid we just moved in and hasn’t been watered. It’s probably 7-8m tall. 

    Is it worth cutting off dead / dying branches?
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited September 2022
    Evergreen doesn't mean that leaves don't die with old age and drought, and eventually drop off.

    Conifer leafy scales are not permanent.  But don't expect new growth from where it has gone brown.   Most of the branches seem to have green growth at the extremities.  It is worth waiting a bit and then cutting off any ugly branches.  Scars on the trunk show that this has been done in the past.

    But look how much it has grown in one year.  It will continue at this rate of increase, plus.  Exponential!
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • BloodyNoraBloodyNora Posts: 78
    I’m not expecting miracles at this stage as you say brown is dead. I wasn’t sure if I could save the tree even if it’s just the top part. 
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    If you want to keep it, it may be worth cutting off the lower branches to raise the canopy. As mentioned above, it's been pruned to grow as a "tree" as opposed to a standard conifer shape.

    If you rub the green leaves and there's a pineapple/citrus scent, my guess it's a Thuja. Be aware that it can reach a height of 30 metres or more.
    https://www.chewvalleytrees.co.uk/products/detail/thuja-plicata
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    I would leave it alone for now, as @Bede says there is some green growth at most of the extremities... After a while remove any genuinely dead, brittle twiggy stuff and if there are branches that end up looking too bare after this, remove them back to the trunk. I've seen quite a few conifers that have gone this way this year.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • BloodyNoraBloodyNora Posts: 78
    Thank you all:)
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    As @bédé has said it will continue to grow until it will become the job of a tree surgeon which can be very expensive!
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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