Hi, (newbie at gardening) I have a couple of cedar shrubs that have died. One in the corner (i planted it late in the spring to replace the previous one that died) and one that is about 6 shrubs away. The shrubs in between are alive but have some parts turning orangey/brown. Any advice? thx!
They're arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), not cedars (Cedrus). Worth checking whether there might be any soil contamination (e.g. dumped diesel or other motor oil) in the area where the first died and its replacement also died.
Thanks for the reply and for the clarification on what they are :) To my untrained eye, I don't think there's been any soil contamination. I know that I haven't handled or disposed of any chemicals in the area and I can't imagine anyone else dumping something into the area. Any other ideas? thx!
Root rot or some other biological or culturally caused problem. Not the first 'Smaragd' hedge I have seen doing this. Or read about on the internet. If you look around you can probably find discussion of some specific pathogen or syndrome that is being identified. Cultivars and species differ in susceptibility to Phytophthora root rot. Western red cedar Thuja plicata is most resistant, T. occidentalis 'Pyramidalis' is intermediate, and T. occidentalis 'Smaragd' is most susceptible http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/disease.cfm?RecordID=68
