Dying tree in the backyard?

[FreshPrince]

I have a row of what look like xmas trees in my backyard serving as a privacy filter if you will for the neighbors.

One of the trees has progressively begun to brown out at the top in the last month. Now, about half the tree is brown. Is this a dying tree or can I still save it? Do I just cut out the brown top and see if green will grow or should I abandone this and just plant new one?

 

[ElFenix]

call a tree guy?

 

[FreshPrince]

that means wasting money

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: FreshPrince
that means wasting money

hmm i would think what you want to know could only be answered by a tree guy.

but sure sounds like its dead to me.

 

[lizardth]

Contact a local arborist.

 

[BigJ]

More then likely it's a result of winter burning or any of a large number of names they all give to the same thing. Your evergreen suffered some damage during the winter and now that spring is here, the needles are browning. It does not mean that the tree is dead, but you should prune off dead/dying branches. You'll be able to distinguish them because they won't have any new needles show up.

 

[FreshPrince]

it's not just the needles being brown, the whole top half of the tree is basically dried up brown. I think I should just cut off the top and see what happens...

it the browning still continues to spread to the bottom, then there's no doubt that the tree has some sort of disease or is in fact dying.

 

[BigJ]

Originally posted by: FreshPrince
it's not just the needles being brown, the whole top half of the tree is basically dried up brown. I think I should just cut off the top and see what happens...

it the browning still continues to spread to the bottom, then there's no doubt that the tree has some sort of disease or is in fact dying.

It can absolutely happen to the entire tree top. I wouldn't be so quick to judge about the state of the entire tree. Like you said, if you see it prevailing on the rest of the tree, it's probably time to take her out.

 

[FreshPrince]

ok, did some quick research and this is what I've found could be the cause of this dying tree....

it has to be planted with good drainage. It is right now on the border between my house and the neighbor's. There's a slope from his yard to mine. I am on the lower tier. So the weather hasn't really been nice in ATL, we've had rain and snow during the winter seasons. this allowed water to be trapped there and that may have rot out the roots. Causing this slow death.

I think this makes perfect sense and I guess if I do decide to plant another one there, I could very well expect the same results.

This kind of sucks as I quiet enjoy that row of trees out back, especially during breakfast when I could just sit there and watch them. Now there's a gap

 

[NuclearNed]

What type of tree is it? If it is a hemlock, you may have wooly adelgids. If so, the other trees are in jeopardy as well.

 

[Spacehead]

Originally posted by: FreshPrince
ok, did some quick research and this is what I've found could be the cause of this dying tree....

it has to be planted with good drainage. It is right now on the border between my house and the neighbor's. There's a slope from his yard to mine. I am on the lower tier. So the weather hasn't really been nice in ATL, we've had rain and snow during the winter seasons. this allowed water to be trapped there and that may have rot out the roots. Causing this slow death.

I think this makes perfect sense and I guess if I do decide to plant another one there, I could very well expect the same results.

This kind of sucks as I quiet enjoy that row of trees out back, especially during breakfast when I could just sit there and watch them. Now there's a gap

Same thing happened to the row of trees(Hemlocks) between my parents house & their neighbors. Some died out, some were fine.

Maybe if there's enough room you could put in underground drainage? Again, might want to consult with a tree guy.

 

[Cuda1447]

Tree death is the only option.