Border conifer hedge brown

Hello,

Our garden is bordered with conifer hedges approx 10 feet tall. We have noticed that one of these hedges has significant brown/dead foliage. Would anyone know what might be causing this? Is the plant deceased or can it be resurrected in any way? It appears to only be happening to this part of the hedge. See photo below.

 

Hello ... and welcome.

Browning conifer does not usually regenerate, so I think you have lost that bit. It could be that it got too dry, with the fence creating a rain shadow effect.

 

Thank you, so would you recommend removing this plant (this is one of four main trunks in that area)?

 

You could do, if you can get it out without disturbing the roots of the healthy bits. Filling the gap might be a challenge. You could try another conifer of the same type, but you would need to be diligent keeping it watered. A small specimen would likely settle better than a larger one. That's true of most plants, not just conifers.

 

Thank you, the advice here has been very helpful.

 

As it's right at the end next to (and overlapping) the fence, a gap won't look anywhere near as bad as it would if it were in the middle of the row. Given time and a bit of judicious training, you might be able to encourage some branches of the next one across the gap after you remove the dead one (or cut it back to just the trunk).

 

As an aside, you seem to have a few brown bits further down. I always try and remove any brown-coloured shoots I find to make space for healthier growth.

 

Conifer hedges which go brown can also be suffering from disease, fungus or aphid attack. As @ViewAhead says, hopefully it’s the growing conditions against the fence but as there are other patches beginning to appear elsewhere, I would take a closer look at those.

Here is the best link which I could find for a description of what may be happening.

Conifers: brown patches / RHS Gardening

 

There can be many reasons for conifers of any kind to die back, but lack of moisture is the main one, largely because they're shallow rooted.
Only a handful of varieties can be expected to regenerate from brown wood, so it's not likely to recover. Careful trimming is always the best solution to ensure health of any conifer hedging, but that trunk will probably need removing.
A tidy up around the base of the remainder, with a good watering and a mulch of any organic matter will also help the rest of it to stay healthy. Bark is ideal.