Topic: Brown Conifer?

[KevB]

I have a 10 foot conifer which has begun to turn brown, is there any hope of saving him?
Kev


click to enlarge pic

here he is in July this year, now he has swathes of brown SOB SOB!
its the far one near the GH

[Tulipa]

Aaw what a shame, I'm not sure you can do anything to save him.  I hope someone else might have more encouraging words....

Good luck!

T.

Ps your garden looks good. :)

[Rosa_Mundi]

It's going to be the summer drought. Trouble is, although water now might keep it alive, it's not going to re-green. Sorry - it's a real shame.

[cambourne7]

HI

I had the same thing happen, and even though i watered them there still brown.

Will have to think of something to replace them with next year. I have a lovley honey bush ('Melianthus major') It says propagated by division but the plants only a year ( bought in 2 ltr pot ) so i dont know when or how to do it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/539.shtml

That would be a great plant to replace it with.

Cambourne7

[KevB]

Thanks Cambourne7, but its too tender for my area!

Camboure7?? sounds like a campaign to get someone released?
Cheers Kev

[Garden Manager]

Browning conifer means a dying conifer. So best to put it out of its misery and replace it with something much nicer.

[Robert_Brenchley]

You're not the only one who's had a tree suffer this year; my Victoria plum withered up and I'm now pretty sure it's dead. I don't think it was anything more than the drought.

[cambourne7]

Thanks Cambourne7, but its too tender for my area!

Camboure7?? sounds like a campaign to get someone released?
Cheers Kev

 not a campaign more of a play of words :-)

[tim]

Our big one - 54' - gets masses of brown bits each year, which fall off & mess up my beds. But it still keeps growing. Meant to put a photo here earlier but it's difficult to show the problem clearly.

[Garden Manager]

Browning conifer means a dying conifer. So best to put it out of its misery and replace it with something much nicer.

I should point out here that i am no fan of conifers! I think they are dull and smelly.

[angle shades]

cats sometimes spray conifers to 'mark' their territory in my experience, /shades x

[tim]

Shades - they're not choosy!

GC - each to their own  - were it not for our conifers, we would have 6 neighbourly bathrooms to view. I'd rather have a 'few dull' conifers.

[Garden Manager]

Shades - they're not choosy!

GC - each to their own  - were it not for our conifers, we would have 6 neighbourly bathrooms to view. I'd rather have a 'few dull' conifers.

Sorry Tim, I have a deep psycological aversion to the plants following a bad childhood expereince. We had a leylandii hedge where I lived as a child. I had to help maintain it, and later actualy maintain it myself when I was old enough. I grew to hate the smell and the sap brings me out in a rash. Now in my current garden i have 9 mature pines, which cast shade, riddle the soil with their roots and suck moisture from it, and generaly make a mess with needles and cones.

I know not all conifers are like leylandii and pines, some are quite nice and i confess to growing a couple in pots (one a very dwarf type), but I still think they are a bit dull compared to some of the other shrubs you can grow.