Question
5 of my 15' tall arbs are damaged due to lack of water.  Well problems...long story.  They are sparser looking and beginning to turn brown.  There is still some green.  I'm watering them daily as they compete for water with trees.  Am I going to lose them?  If cut back in the spring, assuming they show signs of life...will there be new growth?  They used to get watered from both sides but with a new neighbor they now only get water from one side.  Not sure if that's part of the problem...seems like it might be.  Thank you for your assistance.

Answer
Hello Diane

Thank you for your question.

How close to your Arborvitae are the trees planted?  Conifer roots do spread out a lot to balance the high, slender growth and it's possible that the roots were disturbed when the holes for the new plants were dug.  Also your plants will, indeed, be competing not only for water, but also for nutrients.

You might try giving your Arborvitae a good mulch of well rotted organic matter if you can obtain some, or if not, well rotted garden compost.  I have to say though that at 15 feet high it may be difficult to give them enough water - remember those new trees will still be there, competing!

Conifers in general don't regenerate if you cut back into old wood, and any stem which is not showing growth at all will stay bare.  If your plants are still showing signs of growth in spring by all means give them a gentle trim.  After that all you can do is wait and see.

Good luck.

Gill