conifers going brown - help

emg74

Hi - We have a row of conifers along the side of our site - they are conical in shape ( think the variety is Morag ???) and planted about 15 years.

They are approx 10ft tall and close together

Recently they have started to get brown and we aren't sure if it is drought or that they need fertilizer

I can post up photos later if this is needed

Anyone have any ideas... We want to get them back to being nice and green again as they form the boundary to our site.

Thanks in advance

emg74

photos added

Berberis

Their name is Thuja occidentalis Emerald I have a few spotted around my garden and usually only get the brown patches in places where other plants nearby are covering the foliage of the Thuja.
My garden is very exposed and open to a lot of strong winds throughout the year and they have still maintained their lush green.
Is there any possibility they have been caught in spray drift.

lk67

Unfortunately Thuja occidentalis varieties are very prone to a disease that might be Cercospora Blight? This causes damage like this and is often seen on established plants.

I am not aware of any cure but it can be caused by drainage issues I believe. Also the grass growing around the base of the plants won't be helping, as it weakens them by stealing nutrients and moisture during the summer.

emg74

Thanks for the replies -

They definitely didn't get any spray drift.

The grass around them was cut earlier in the summer towards the end of June, my husband is the grass cutter in this house. The grass in between is generally only cut once a year - He reckons that they were fine and that the brown seemed to appear after the grass was cut.

Our soil here is very sandy so it is possible that the soil isn't holding moisture.

Is there any fertiliser that either of you would recommend for over the winter to give them a bit of a feed?

celticbhoy27

Problem with conifers like smaragd is they dont shed so that brown will remain on the tree no matter what you do. Cut out the brown bits is my inly suggestion

Berberis

Would agree with above. Good idea to cut back the brown bits so if it is disease then it may prevent spreading. If pruning these trees remember to not trim too hard, make sure you leave some green cos if you thin back to far to the brown wood no fresh growth will come from the brown wood.
It would also be good idea to remove all the grass around the trees and put down a good mulch to help retain moisture and also stop grass from taking any more nutrients from the soil.
Be carful about feeding as sometimes adding food/fertiliser to distressed plants can be dodgy. Do a bid of googling on internet for advice in this area

smartgardener

Meal bone for growing friend!