Question
Hi Stephen
I have a row of conifers at the back of the house and a few have brown patches on them. Also have two conifers out the front of the house which are almost all brown.Would this be down to the very bad winter? Is there anything i can do for them ? Maybe feeding them ?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Andrew

Answer
Andrew:
Many things can cause brown areas to develop with the canopy of conifers.  It could be insect/disease or something else.  Best to have someone qualified to see the trees in person and evaluate them closely. Consider contacting your local nursery/garden center about your options.  In the meantime, if it is a disease and is practical/feasible to do so, you can prune out the brown portions from those in the back of your home.  The one up front may be too far along to just remove the brown stuff.  Look this tree over for any physical damages to the main stem and base of the tree.

When you prune, try to locate the area where the brown starts and the green stops on the branch, then go back 4-5 inches into the green portion to make your cut.  Dispose of those prunings.  Do your pruning on a dry day when no rain is expected for a few days.

Regards

Steve