The sides facing the driveway are dying, the sides facing the lawn are green.
What's going on with these trees?
- Thread starter unclemoustache
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windthrown
361 Junkie
Arborvitae semi-mortified.
Dunno... looks like crap, but they usually do that type of thing here to some degree. Is that the sun side? Sprayed with herbicide on that side? Or was there a heat wave and the concrete side got really hot and cooked half, while the lawn side was cooler? Weird.
Dunno... looks like crap, but they usually do that type of thing here to some degree. Is that the sun side? Sprayed with herbicide on that side? Or was there a heat wave and the concrete side got really hot and cooked half, while the lawn side was cooler? Weird.
BuckmasterStumpGrinding
ArboristSite Operative
The concrete looks like it was badly power washed. Maybe the chemical they used to try and clean it.
BuckmasterStumpGrinding
ArboristSite Operative
Never mind my last comment. The dead is too uniform from top to bottom. That looks like intentional poisoning from a disgruntled neighbor that was afraid of going to the other side to spray.
It does look like this.
Also there is some residue on the sidewalk from something.
At any rate it is a chemical or maybe salt damage.
JeffGu
Antagonist/Heckler
My first thought was herbicide overspray... it really does look like that. Arborvitae are sensitive to a lot of chemicals. Hell, my dog is hell bent on trying to kill the lower half of every one that he sees. Amazing how fast dog pee will do that to one. Also, I can see the cleaning agent ending up along the edge of the driveway in concentration, and the roots on that side. Might have poisoned them systemically. I had a neighbor who used gasoline and a power washer to clean motor oil stains off his driveway (which didn't really work) and he ended up doing almost that same thing to some junipers in the process.
Does the homeowner have a very tall dog? Like, 9 feet tall?
Does the homeowner have a very tall dog? Like, 9 feet tall?
Woos31
Addicted to ArboristSite
Do you use any kind of ice-melt deicer type stuff on your drive? Reason I ask is I work for a county road entity in central oregon and we use Mag-Chloride deicer on our paved roads for ice and snow purposes and also for dust ebatment on gravel roads, and we're experiencing the trees in our are dying along the road side where we use this on both applications. Not just our county roads either, our local state highway crews are having this too along their some snow zone areas where a lot of mag is utilized. It even kills western juniper which is like trying to kill black berry vines and arborvities!
I'm more along the lines of scorch from sun off the driveway or herbicide on the foliage. My reasoning is if it was chemicals in the soil or roots, you wouldn't get such a clean delineation of dead foliage for ALL the trees. In the soil, the tree would more likely be entirely killed.
It looks like the damage was about a year ago as there is new growth on the top.
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
Was there a car fire in the driveway ? Or was paint stripper sprayed on car there?
windthrown
361 Junkie
Good replies here. I had not noticed the new growth at the top. So it is obviously an exposure or contact issue on the driveway side. Heat, fire, chemicals, whatever. Nothing in the soil, as that would kill the entire plants.
JeffGu
Antagonist/Heckler
Did you park a Ford in the driveway?
I'm thinking something was intentionally sprayed. very nice clean lines so similar on each tree wasn't an accident. Maybe malicious? Maybe they wanted to spray bagworms on their side of the tree and used an herbicide instead of insecticide???
This is in Billings MT, so it could be salt, but it seems awfully high up for an accident. No Fords- it might have been the Prius that did it.
I did see a hugh dog in the neighborhood, but he was more like a short, wide saddle horse than a giraffe.
I did see a hugh dog in the neighborhood, but he was more like a short, wide saddle horse than a giraffe.
JeffGu
Antagonist/Heckler
I would go along with everyone else. Some form of chemical damage.
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
wtf
AGoodSteward
Power Head
I'm here in Billings with you. It is winter kill. The elms in town along with the arborvitae and junipers got it bad.
It's not winter kill.
AGoodSteward
Power Head
Seeing this stuff every day all over town. Unless you conspiracy theorists think there is someone running around poisoning the sunny side of trees.
