what's wrong with my tree ?

H

hesam_559

Location
canada
20150417_083828.webp Hi guys,

I have a set of three evergreens in the backyard and one of them is pretty brown, and I am guessing close to dying... the other two seem to be pretty lively and in good shape (see photo).

I live in toronto, Canada and obviously winters can be pretty long and harsh and I understand that will stress the trees... but is there a way for me to revive this poor tree and make it look like the other two ? :)

As far as the soil goes... the first 8-12 inches is nice topsoil but then it's crappy and tough...

I appreciate your help.
 
It would help if we knew the species. Also, may we have some more photos?:
  • Close up of some live green foliage
  • Close up of some brown foliage
  • Close up of the trunk on the declining tree, including but not limited to, areas where bark might be sloughing off or even just awkward looking
  • Close up of the point where the trunk meets the ground on the declining tree
 
Hi TreeLogic,

As requested, I have attached a few more photos for your reference. I hope it helps figure out the issue.

As you can see, the green foliage on the adjacent tree is quite green and looks good. The brown foliage on the damaged tree is mixed with green... but quite a bit of brown.

also, in terms of growth, the two healthy trees are a few feet taller, as evident in the first photo posted.
 

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hesam_559, thanks for getting those pics. Very helpful so far. Can we get a pic of the other 2 trees where the trunk meets the ground? As Levi was suggesting above, planting depth could be an issue, as I can see a limb coming out of the soil. I noticed in the original picture you posted the middle tree seemed to have more of a mound around the trunk than the other two, but the foliage is blocking the view so the closeups are helpful. My guess is that those are Leyland Cypress but hard to tell for sure. I don't see any evidence of canker.

KT Smith? Guy?
 
looks like Northern white cedar. yes depth is an issue, but i noticed that the middle tree is smaller than the others. perhaps its growth was stunted or was it planted after the first two?
just out of curiosity, is the fence side of the tree brown also?
either way, its probably toast. luckily they are not very expensive to replace.
give it a month or two with lots of care and see if it comes back, you might get lucky....
 
TreeLogic said:
hesam_559, thanks for getting those pics. Very helpful so far. Can we get a pic of the other 2 trees where the trunk meets the ground? As Levi was suggesting above, planting depth could be an issue, as I can see a limb coming out of the soil. I noticed in the original picture you posted the middle tree seemed to have more of a mound around the trunk than the other two, but the foliage is blocking the view so the closeups are helpful. My guess is that those are Leyland Cypress but hard to tell for sure. I don't see any evidence of canker.

KT Smith? Guy?
Click to expand...

Yes, the middle tree does have a little mound compare to the other two. I have attached a photo of the trunk of the other tree.
 

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1adkarborist said:
looks like Northern white cedar. yes depth is an issue, but i noticed that the middle tree is smaller than the others. perhaps its growth was stunted or was it planted after the first two?
just out of curiosity, is the fence side of the tree brown also?
either way, its probably toast. luckily they are not very expensive to replace.
give it a month or two with lots of care and see if it comes back, you might get lucky....
Click to expand...

When we moved into this house the trees were already in. Not sure when they were planted, but the two healthy trees are growing faster.

Interestingly, i checked today and the fence side is green ! well at least much greener than the front.
 
That one looks like it's planted pretty deep as well. If those were my trees I would excavate a bit (looks like it would be easy by hand) and see if you can find the root flare.
 
hesam_559 said:
Hi, the soil is soft at the base and easy to spread out... should i excavate up to the roof flare ?
Click to expand...
Yes definitely. Buried root flares are one of the most common issues with trees. A properly planted tree will be much happier, and grow much faster than an identical tree that is buried, as a rule. Also curious to know what that dark colored mulch is. Make sure the mulch and soil are off of the root flares. Thanks.
 
Hi,

Aside from exposing the root flares, can you give some pointers on tree care routine that i can implement for this situation and see if the tree goes back to normal ? should i fertilize ? deep root irrigate ?
 
hesam_559 said:
View attachment 31547 Hi guys,

I have a set of three evergreens in the backyard and one of them is pretty brown, and I am guessing close to dying... the other two seem to be pretty lively and in good shape (see photo).

I live in toronto, Canada and obviously winters can be pretty long and harsh and I understand that will stress the trees... but is there a way for me to revive this poor tree and make it look like the other two ? :)

As far as the soil goes... the first 8-12 inches is nice topsoil but then it's crappy and tough...

I appreciate your help.
Click to expand...
Antennae is far too close. Powerful yet subtle waves are disturbing nutrient uptake:loco:
 
hesam_559 said:
When we moved into this house the trees were already in. Not sure when they were planted, but the two healthy trees are growing faster.

Interestingly, i checked today and the fence side is green ! well at least much greener than the front.
Click to expand...

okay, so if they were all planted at the same time and this one is struggling, it has issues the other trees don't, so when you excavate to the root flare, check for twine or wire that may have been left around the trunk or major roots at the time of planting, this could be girdling or strangling the tree. gently remove as much as you can. the fence side being green tells me that at least some of the browning is from wind dessication. Give this tree plenty of water, little or no fertilizer and see how it responds. next winter, you may want to consider applying an anti dessicant spray to the foliage, or erect some sort of wind screen/ fence to see if that helps.
 
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