On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:48:58 -0500, Jangchub
wrote:

Scratch the dead looking branches and if they are dead they'll be
brittle and brown. If there is still life in the plant on that side
the scratch will reveal green. If they are dead branches, that's it.

But if I chop off the branches at the trunk, is it likely to sprout
again, or is there something I can do to encourage it?


What has happened near the root zone of that plant in recent years.
Any construction, or heavy equipment driven over the area, or any
herbicide drift from spraying on other plants nearby?

Some adjoining shrubs were removed on one side, and some rosemary
groundcover grew up on the other. Besides that, it's possible it was
getting insufficient water from the irrigation system - if it's
possible to harm a smoke tree that way, we did have a very dry year in
2007. I can't say quite when the branches died, likely a season or
two ago.

J.