Louis Leciejewski wrote:

I live in the Chicago area and have a couple of questions regarding Cedars.

I have quite a few Cedar Evergreen Trees on my property and for the past two
weeks I have noticed quite a few branch tips have turned brown. I never saw
this before and I see it in my older Cedars and the young ones alike. What
causes this?

While on the subject of Cedars, what is the best way to propagate them? I like
them allot and would like to start more from possible some branch "tip" cuttings
and rooting hormone powder. Is this the best way to do this?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I love these Cedar Trees and have had them for
a bit over 20 years since my Dad brought them as "babies" to me where he used to
fish. These are the Cedars that are seen so commonly along the roadsides/highways.
Should these be fertilized or sprayed every year?

Unfortunately, "cedar" tends to be a very generic term used to describe a bunch of
needled evergreens, few of which are actual true cedars. Junipers, arborvitae and
other members of the Thuja genus and a number of the false cypresses are commonly
referred to as "cedars". Pest and disease problems will vary depending on what the
actual species is, so if you can provide more accurate information, we are better able
to help. In general, well established trees need very little fertilizer and spraying
only when the problem warrants it.

Propagation of most conifers is done by tip cuttings, but success is very variable,
again depending on the species.

pam - gardengal