If your emerald green arborvitae is suddenly turning rusty brown, you aren't alone.
In Idaho Falls, these popular privacy screens take a beating from harsh winter winds and scorching summer sun. When an arborvitae turns brown, it’s usually a desperate cry for water or a sign of a hidden pest infestation.
The most common culprit in Eastern Idaho is "winter burn," which occurs when frozen ground prevents roots from absorbing water while the wind dries out the needles.
However, if the browning is patchy or accompanied by fine webs, you might be facing a spider mite invasion. Understanding the cause is the only way to save the tree before the damage becomes permanent.
Here is how to diagnose why your arborvitae is browning in Idaho Falls, along with professional steps you can take to bring it back to life.
Is it Normal for Arborvitae to Turn Brown?
Actually, it’s pretty common. Here in Idaho Falls, we have really hard winters and a lot of wind. That’s not an arborvitae’s favorite kind of weather.
To make matters worse, people love to plant arborvitae as windbreaks.
When your arborvitae can't draw water up through its root system to its leaves when the ground is frozen, those leaves turn brown and die. It’s called winter burn.
Foliage starts to brown at the tips of branches and progresses inward toward the center of the shrub.
There are other reasons why arborvitae starts to turn brown:
Too Little Water
Most established plants need about 1 inch of water per week. If your area isn’t getting regular rainfall and you’re not providing your arborvitae with supplemental water, it’ll get stressed, often showing signs of browning.
But don’t water every day. Deep, infrequent watering is best, along with occasional deep soakings.
Spider Mites Damage
Sometimes arborvitae turn brown due to spider mites. These very hungry pests eat by piercing the leaves of your plants and sucking up the plant fluids.
If that’s the problem, you’ll need a miticide treatment. Let’s repeat that: "miticide." Not insecticide. These sneaky little pests aren’t controlled by regular insecticides. You need a miticide specifically designed to kill mites.
What to Do if Your Arborvitae is Turning Brown
If your arborvitae was zapped by winter burn, it’s tempting to quickly prune off the brown parts. Hold off, please, until well into spring or early summer, to see if the brown branches bounce back.
Can My Brown Arborvitae Be Saved?
If the majority of your arborvitae has died, it’s likely it won’t recover and will need to be replaced. Sorry. But before you plant…
How to Prevent Your Arborvitae from Turning Brown
Be mindful of where you plant your arborvitae. Don’t expect the poor thing to serve as a windbreak in frigid Idaho winters.
Head off winter burn with these tips:
- Water your arborvitae in late autumn before freezing temperatures set in.
- Mulch with about 3 inches of shredded bark.
- Protect them over winter with a burlap screen that surrounds them on all sides, or with a burlap wrap.
The Beauty of Idaho Falls Tree and Shrub Care
What to do if your arborvitae is turning brown? Your best defense against brown arborvitae is having a healthy plant in the first place, so it can survive tough conditions.
A good plant health care program is your arborvitae’s best friend, offering food and fixes for every pesky problem. Get your plant pride back with the best Idaho Falls plant health care services.
Are Your Shrubs Ready for a New Best Friend?
Poor arborvitae. We sometimes expect too much of them. Help them be their beautiful green best with plant health care services such as fertilization and insect control.
Plant Health Care Services can be added for our Idaho Falls customers who use our full-service lawn care program.
That gives you extra peace of mind — choose an Idaho Falls professional lawn care service that bundles your yard’s most-needed treatments into one convenient, no-fuss plan, plus know your valuable shrubs are getting the nourishing nutrients they need to thrive, and treatment for the pesky insects that love to attack them.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Just fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.
Image Source: Spider Mites, Mulch
