3 years ago we planted 144 Green giants along the borders of our property, full sun, Loam soil. The first year, in the autumn, we had one tree turn a reddish-orange color from bottom to top and it died. We replaced it and have had no problem with the new tree in its spot. the second year, we had 2 other trees start to get the same coloring and a nursery said it was a fungus and we should trip off fungus areas and spray with Daconil. We did, but replaced them with new ones, and moved them to the back of our property to let them recover, where they are now doing well. Later in the year we had 2 more get the fungus and we decided to trim them, spray them and leave them there. We also noticed that several other trees randomly also had the red-orange color starting on them, mostly at the bottom of the trees. I trimmed off those affected areas as well. All trees get sprayed when we spray even one. This year, every single tree has some amount of red-orange coloring and I have just finished trimming the affected areas off of them. I also have trimmed some of the undergrowth which was touching the ground, with the thought of getting more airflow to the bottom of the tree. It has been raining, so I have not been able to spray the trees with the fungicide. The first dry day I will spray them. How can I prevent this fungus from killing off my trees one at a time? To replace them one by one will become a burden and very costly, since the tree size required is about $100.00 each now. Can I adjust the soil? Add more Lime? Is there a fertilizer to use? How much mulch should I put back on them if any? any specific kind?
