Bob, I can't help with your problem but share the exact same situation. =
Not only did they start to brown significantly in the centers but didn't =
stop there. Out of 16 planted, one died outright from root borer, 6 =
others lost rear half (probably planted too close to house), 6 others =
have half the stems dead. Only 3 are doing well!
This is after 4 years, bought from a nursery with large root burlapped =
balls, all planted in same type soil, fertilized each spring and watered =
regularly via drip irrigation. And all in a forest setting loaded with =
very healthy hemlocks and native cedars (Quebec zone 4b) .
I agree with you: I find them extremely finicky. My term for mine now is =
"ugly queens".=20
I just hope they will adapt longterm, fill out and become just plain =
"Queens"!

Anyone with suggestions on acheiving this long term hope?
Will they fill out eventually if I cut out dead stems? Any special care =
tips?


"Bob" wrote in message =
t...
Last fall, we had 20 or so 5' arborvitae planted by our gardening guy. =
They
browned up some during the winter, but pretty much came back over the
summer. Now they are all browning out from the center. It looks pretty
widespread and there is a lot of browning going on. Are we going to =
lose
them? I hope not - it was a lot of $$$ to plant them in the first =
place. The
gardening guy says we need to water them - which we are doing, but it =
looks
pretty bad. Any advice or anything? We live on Long Island, NY.
=20
We planted arborvitaes because we thought they were fairly hardy and =
easy to
care for. It seems to me they are awfully finicky. We should have gone =
with
hemlocks.
=20