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  Billybop May 11, 2020 at 11:53am

  hi, i would say that one tree affected has died sadly. often with conifers a delayed reaction to a previous drought
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  Graham Taylor May 11, 2020 at 4:52pm

  ... Once they go like this, It's had it and  nothing will save it I'm afraid
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    dan > Graham Taylor May 11, 2020 at 5:54pm

    theres lots of fungal/bacterial and aphid issues attacking conifers at the moment.

    A lot seems to be from constant tight cutting (lack of air flow) and then environmental stress plus cutting at wrong times. Drought can be an issue -- too much wet can be an issue. 

    If you are an RHS member it wold be worth sending off a sample -- below is an RHS repsonse to one of my clients that had similar -- she is organic - so we have started cutting less tight to help air flow -- raking out all dead foliage - sthil blower with hover attachment good for this -- keeping well watered in dry hot periods and liquid seaweed root drench in the growing season. Also letting some healthy growth grow longer to tie into dead areas. 

    Dear Mrs
    
    Thank you for your enquiry to RHS Gardening Advice.

    The foliage of your trees was infected with the fungus Pestalotiopsis. This is usually a sign of a weakened tree and is very unlikely to have caused significant harm or to have killed a tree. I have enclosed a link to the RHS web profile on Pestalotiopsis which provides further information which you may find interesting: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=733

    To control Pestalotiopsis we recommend watering plants during periods of extended drought to improve overall plant vigour, avoiding unnecessary physical damage, and pruning at the correct time of year and during dry weather.

    Many conifers are sensitive to hard pruning and will not grow back from brown wood. I have enclosed the link to the RHS web profile on pruning which may be of use to you: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=596

    Browning of foliage is common in conifers and can have many causes. Some of these are summarised in the RHS web profile on Conifers: brown patches. Since it is often difficult to pinpoint the cause of the problem, maintaining tree health through pruning at the correct time of year and mulching regularly are advisable. More information is available in the web profile.

    I was unable to find any evidence of Cypress aphid this time but this does not rule it out as a cause for the browning you are seeing. If you spot any more foliage turning brown and you wish to send to us then please do send this to us quickly, as then it will be easier to spot whether Cypress aphid is the cause. Here is a link to our advice profile on Cypress aphid: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=492

    Please do not reply to this email. If you have any further gardening questions or comments for our advisors, go to our website at www.rhs.org.uk/myadvice and use your My RHS account to get started. Just fill in the simple form, add photos where you need to, and submit to the team. You get the added bonus of seeing all your new questions and answers in one place for future reference.

    I hope this information is helpful.

     

    Yours sincerely,

    Conifers: Pestalotiopsis disease / RHS Gardening

    This fungal dieback disease seems to have increased in significance on garden conifers in recent years. Weakened plants, or those suffering from phys…
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      dan > dan May 11, 2020 at 5:56pm

      Relooking at your picture the above advice my not be relevant -- it does look like only one tree effected -- not sure if that would be the case with most conifer brown patch issues which seem to be more spread over multiple trees in simialr areas 
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  Sharon Cooksey May 11, 2020 at 7:58pm

  Thnaks for the responses so far folks
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  Graham Taylor May 11, 2020 at 9:48pm

  It is strange the way just one tree dies in the middle.............  as  "billybop" said.... could be a result of previous dry conditions. It possible the soil is particulalry bad under this particular tree....... perhaps an old path/concrete was under that section/ lots of rubble..... which is why just this one tree has been affected.  If you're lucky, you might be able to remove the tree and then pull branches from the 2 adjacent trees across the gap and secure with wire,,,,  not ideal but they should fillout with time. 
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    Billybop > Graham Taylor May 11, 2020 at 10:10pm

    it sure looks like a gonner - ifer unfortunately. Probably the trees either side ganged up and killed it. by starving it of water. or something un toward has happened round the other side of the hedge. difficult to cut the dead one out without leaving an un sightly gap, and dark green spray paint won't provide a lasting repair sadly. but as ''graham'' says it will fill in eventually to some extent