Hi. I'm new to gardening and I need some advice on some cedar trees. 1) The trees are full of leaf debris which are weighing down the lower branches. Silly question: should I be removing the debris? 2) Several of the trees are damaged on the sides facing the wooden fence. Should I be pruning the dead branches back or is there something else I can do to encourage new growth? Thank-you for any suggestions! Nemo
Removing the debris will improve air circulation and help to prevent disease problems; and dead wood should also be removed as it can harbor disease organisms as well as other pests.
An easy way of doing that is with the garden hose. Depending on what grows below the cedars you can easily rake the debris up, once it is no longer completely soggy. Apropos "grows below", not much does below mature conifers, but vinca minor (periwinkel) will thrive there and spread quickly. It will also cover any undesirable moss, which plagues such areas on the coast.
