Why are my conifers dying?
Question:down the bottom of my garden i planted 15 leylandi conifers they have been in over 20years and i cut them on top so they are about 15ft tall . just in the last 2 months or so they have started to brown and die off ! i have a silver birch tree dieing as well . it has been a very wet and dull june and the ground they are in is not very good lots of old rubbish in ground when we moved in . i just dont know why they are now dying after doing well for years . only new thing is i have put 2 large compost bins down there and screened then off with young conifers but they are browning now as well. i thought the compost would do the trees good not kill them. any one got any ideas
Answers:
There could be a number of reasons for this. The ground may have become waterlogged, which are conditions that not many plants tend to thrive in.
The conifers could have contracted a disease after pruning, which is possible but would not affect the birch.
To my mind it would have to be a rise in the local water table leading to a waterlogging of the roots which has effected the trees ability to transpirate (basically a plants method of losing excess water) which is causing them to die.
the dog pee'd up them?
Either they aren't getting enough water, or a neighbour has decided to put a lot of weed killer on them.
If you have neighbours who are affected by your conifers (and there are rules about the hieght of them as borders) then perhaps somebody is pouring something on the ground, i here diesel works a treat.
They have become waterlogged and are drowning.
Just a thought.If you live in a windy situation,Leylandii conifers are very prone to browning from the wind.I speak from experience as i had the same problem.
Check the bark on the trunk. Any weeping sap, or frass (mealy looking sawdustlike material) or small emerging holes in the bark. If so, you could have some type of bark beetles or engraver beetles. They attack trees that have been stressed by wounds (pruning) or the roots. If it is beetles, you can sometimes identify them by the position on the tree trunk that is attacked. Pesticides work by soaking the trunk area with product. Follow the instructions carefully!
you have in all probality a fungi,, most likly a bore bee, look for small holes in main trunk,, and hince wood peckers will be aftr the larve,,,,,,,,
It could also be an insect infestation (e.g., spider mites). Hold a piece of white paper underneath one of the branches and give it a good shake (the branch, not the paper). If you see little things moving on the paper, that's probably the problem.
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