6 Clear Ways to Tell If Your Arborvitae Is Dying

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The arborvitae is a coniferous tree and is quite popular in many countries. It is an evergreen tree that can grow all the way up to 200 feet. It has a stringy texture, with a bark that is usually a shade of red or brown.

The shoots of the tree are relatively flat, and it makes for a pretty great addition to any garden. If you have been thinking of adding some trees to your garden, the arborvitae is an excellent addition.

But, like all other trees, the arborvitae is also going to require a considerable amount of care and attention on your part. You will need to make sure that you properly care for the tree, and make sure that you observe any signs that might indicate that the tree is suffering.

You need to understand that trees are incredibly valuable to the environment, but they also require care.

Most trees are quite resilient and will do quite well as long as their basic needs are met, but if you are able to notice the signs of a dying tree, you can do something about it.

There are some pretty obvious signs that indicate problems with the arborvitae. In some cases, these problems might prove to be severe, and the tree could eventually succumb to its death.

Here are a few ways to tell if your arborvitae is dying.

1 – The Bark Turns Brittle and Brown and Starts Cracking

The tree might begin to die from the bottom up, and the most obvious sign is a change in the texture of the bark.

As the tree begins to die, the bark will become quite loose, and will start to fall off of the tree. You will notice vertical cracks appearing on the bark, or certain sections might be missing altogether.

This is arguably the clearest sign that your arborvitae is in danger and requires you to take action. Steps need to be taken to identify the problem and then resolve it.

You need to look for deep, internal splits that might appear in the bark, and may extend all the way to the cavities. More importantly, you should know that the appearance of cracks is also going to make the plant weaker, and ultimately, it may fall during a harsh weather event or a storm.

2 – Lack of Healthy Leaves

Another clear sign that your tree is dying is when it starts losing all of its healthy leaves.

Being a coniferous tree, you should know that the arborvitae has lush green leaves that grow all around it. If you notice empty branches and cracked twigs with clear patches appearing in the middle, then this is a sign that your tree is dying.

You will also notice dead leaves still clinging to the plant, despite the fact that winter might have ended. Another clear indication that the plant is dying is when you begin to see yellow, brown, or red needles appearing on the branches.

This is a clear sign that the plant is stressed or about to die.

3 – Excessive Amounts of Deadwood

A couple of dead branches or bits and pieces of dead wood isn’t a problem. But, if you notice excessive amounts of dead wood appearing on the tree, you might want to consider taking a closer look.

If the amount of deadwood increases on the tree, you might want to consider hiring an arborist and figuring out exactly what’s wrong with the plant.

The worrying part about this is that a dead tree can fall at any point in time, so you might want to have it removed from your property.

4 – Fungus and Pests

Another sign that your tree is dying is when it becomes heavily infested by pests and fungus. Common kinds of pests such as bark beetles and the carpenter ants prefer to live in trees.

However, healthy trees are able to ward them off, but if your plant gets heavily infested with carpenter ants or other kinds of pests or fungus, it’s a clear sign that your plant has been infested.

Another common infection is the Cankers disease. If the plant gets infested with the Cankers disease, it’s a clear sign that your plant is rotting.

The decay is only going to extend further with the passage of time, so you need to make sure that you take action as quickly as possible.

5 – Foot Damage

You need to understand that the roots of coniferous trees tend to run underground.

If there was any recent construction work done on your property, you might want to consider taking a close look at the tree. There is a pretty high chance that the health of the tree might be affected as a result.

Even subtle changes usually indicate signs of soil stress, and may affect the quality of the roots. Foot damage is easy to spot, because the roots will begin to appear above the ground, indicating that the plant is tilting toward one side or maybe the roots are not being properly embedded in the plant.

6 – Scratch Test

Checking the cambium layer of the plant is a great way to figure out whether it is in a healthy condition or not. The cambium layer is right underneath the dry layer on top of the bark.

All you need to do is take a pocket knife and then strip out the outer layer of the bark. If the cambium layer is green, the tree still has life inside. On the other hand, if the bark is dry on the inside, it’s a clear sign that the tree is dying.

If you find out that the plant is dying, you might want to take action right away. There’s still hope for dying trees as long as you hire an arborist and take the right steps. The arborist is going to inspect the tree and then determine whether the tree is in dire condition.

These are just a few signs that will tell you whether the tree is dying or not.

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