Hello All, Sorry for the drive-by style post, I just can't find elsewhere on the net to ask a question like this. Long story short I just moved into a new place. The back yard is surrounded by huge cedar hedges (Not even sure what kind they are, perhaps someone could tell me from the pictures)... But the hedges have been terribly neglected over the last few years. What it has caused is basically the bottom 5 feet all the way around have gone bare and the branches appear to be very brittle and dead. The top ends of them are fine. On the opposite sides of the trees they appear to be decent (Land not belonging to me). I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be the result of a trimming job gone horribly wrong as the height of the bareness is perfectly uniform, and pretty much reaching height of someone with a trimmer and no ladder. If it is a trimming job gone bad, I have a feeling there's nothing I can do. My other suspicion is the roots are fairly covered in old leaves from past years and junk etc. Would it be a good recommendation that I clear this stuff away from the bases of the trees or would I cause more harm than good to already fragile trees? Some areas are impossible to reach without cutting some of the branches at the bottom. If it was good to keep them clear, would I be ok cutting maybe a foot's worth of those branches (Dead already) from the bottom just so I can sneak a rake in there to clear away stuff? I'll attach some pictures I took this morning and you can all see the horrible spectacle. Thank you very much in advance for any advice. My location is Southern Quebec Canada if that is of any help identifying these.
They're Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) not cedars (Cedrus). The bare lower portion is over-enthusiastic trimming, either by a person with a trimmer, or by hungry deer (they give a remarkably uniform browse line!). Unfortunately, Arborvitae don't re-grow from bare wood like this, so there's nothing can be done to rescue this as a screen. You could clean them up and retain them as a line of trees with a gap below, or alternatively remove them outright and start over with a new hedge. If deer are the cause, you'll need to stop them from getting any access, or they'll just eat the new hedge too.
Something on the order of Thuja occidentalis 'Wareana'. Deer browse T. occidentalis heavily during winter.
Thank you muchly! I have a feeling it's the deer, because they have done it all the way around on my side of the land, but the opposite side is a busy parking lot for a store, so they probably wouldn't hang around that spot as much if they knew they could hide on my side. I do notice some small re-growth on the bottoms that looks like it's doing well, so perhaps I might get lucky and it will fill in time. My guess is that re-growth is actually a new tree sprouting from seeds. Will have to check it out this morning. Thanks also for the proper ID of the trees! I'm glad to know what they are now :) Lots of help and most appreciated! :)
