We have a seven year old cedar hedge which appears to be rapidly dying back and shedding. I originally thought this was due to the lack of light in dark North Vancouver, but since I trimmed them back the problem seems to be getting worse, and spreading. Our neighbour's house was built on a spring so he's regularily pumping water out from underneath the house, but the soil on the surface does'nt appear to be waterlogged. While weeding underneath the hedge I did notice some white powdery residue, but not an abundace of. We have not been feeding the hedge nor have given it any disease fighting chemicals. Any suggestions or solutions would be much appreciated, thanks.
Re: Please help us save our redcedars. They're actually Thuja plicata (Western Redcedar), not cedars (Cedrus) at all. The middle pic looks like it could be due to Didymascella thujina, a minor fungal disease of Thuja that causes small dead spots like this. It isn't a serious disease except in seedbeds. The right-hand pic looks like excessive shade, and too much hard pruning, is the main cause. Remember that if you once cut back into brown wood, it won't re-grow, only ever trim back in green foliage.
