Question
We have a large hedge of castlewellin gold conifers. One of them has lots of brown in it and I think it may be weevils ? what do I do and how do I amke sure the hedge is kept in great condition.

Answer
There are a couple of pests of this tree--Bagworms and cypress canker. Bagworms are insects that form a bag from the foliage and move about the tree eating the needles. The tree will look brown. Check and see if you see any of these bag (the insect is inside the bag). IF bagworms are present you can either pick them off or spray the foliage with an insecicide (malathion or sevin). The canker is a disease which will kill the tree. here is a link to a site that discribes the disease so you can use this discription to determine if it is a canker. http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1089101.htm

Weevils are insects that will chew the bark off the branches and the main stem. Check and see if you can see where the the weevils may have taken a bite out of the bark on the twigs, branches or main trunk. IF the tree has turned brown and there are no bagworms on the tree it more than likely is dead.(bagworm rarely kill the tree).