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Arborvitae Trees

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From: Sharon Myers City: Harrisburg, PA
I have had these trees for years at the end of my yard. All of a sudden they are brown at the bottom. We have had a bad winter last year, but these trees started out as shrubs 19 years ago when I moved in. I just had them trimmed, but they were starting to get brown before that. Can I spray them with anything or water them around the bottom? Should I cut off the brown parts as it looks awful.
	Extension Message From: James Schmidt Extension Specialist, Home Horticulture/4-H Department of Crop Sciences schmidt1@illinois.edu
Browning can be due to many reasons including weather, insect, and disease. If the browning has been there, the damage occurred some time ago, and even possibly last year. Spraying would be useless without knowing what the exact problem is. Watering should not be an issue since it's only June and I don't think your area is in a drought. If the parts are completely dead without any signs of growth, you can cut them off at any time. If the plants continue to discolor or brown this season, you should look into what is causing it.
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