On the south facing (sunny) side of the house, I have two arborvitae bushes experiencing dieback and also some appearance of white mold. Closer inspection shows that the gutter downspout empties between these two bushes. So, I'm guessing this causes the soil to oversaturate when it rains, resulting in the dieback/mold issues. Please correct me if this is not the case. So, I plan on installing a gutter extension to alleviate the water issue. But, my main question is what should be done with the "dead" branches? Will they ever resprout foliage if the plant improves health, or should they be trimmed all the way back to the trunk? Thank you. [Pictures attached]
It is probably a good idea to redirect your rainwater. Rather than extending the downspout, you could consider collecting your rainwater in a barrel. Here is a great link that describes the benefits of collecting water. It looks like you have an arborvitae and a yew on either side of your downspout. The excessive water is likely causing a couple problems. It is likely compacting the soil in that area which is reducing the oxygen available to the roots. The water-logged soil also reduces the oxygen available of course. It appears that that is the cause of the die back. Arborvitaes tend not to have bud bread on old wood. Yews, on the other hand will, that is if the wood is still alive. With this in mind prune out the dead branches on the arborvitae back to any existing green growth. On the yew look for and signs of life, green growth emerging from old wood. You can check if the yew still has live wood by pruning back lightly. Look for fresh "green" wood. Leave live branches and there may be bud break. I have a feeling that a great deal of the branches are in fact dead, in which case you can prune back to the main stem. Raakel
