Cedars

Hi Stan,

I have been listening to your Sunday morning programs since I retired 3 years ago and acquired my little house with enough green area to really dig in on all fours. With your advice, I got rid of all the slugs with an early morning salt shaker ---87 THE FIRST DAY. Bare spots on the lawn, caused by a former owner's dog , I remedied with the instructions I got from your program and as well as the dead grass from where the dog house had been sitting on the same spot for years. So much for my successful endeavours. Now for the problem.---I have 4 ornamental cedars on my front lawn and after last winter's abnormal conditions, the 2 facing east just seem to dry up, turned brown and I did trim off the dead limbs, tried to nurture them to a healthy condition BUT they look Ugly although new growth has appeared of late. Should I keep 0n doing my best to preserve them or kill them DEAD ??? The other 2 cedars , closer to the house and sheltered by a 40 ft spruce tree , they survived with only interior drying. During the past week , I manually got rid of all the dead branch-ends to give these 2 , a 3-hour watering . I have been doing this for the past month + inserting sticks of ground fertilizer ( 3 per tree ) on the outer rim of the tree's drip line. What did I do right ? What did I do wrong ? How can I protect my Cedars for the coming winter ? Will listen this Sunday and next for your comments...

Lou, Beverly Region of Edmonton.

Lou - Thanks for your kind comments and surprised that all the advice actually worked. Re: the cedars. These tree/ shrubs are natures shadow dwellers. Like having lupus, the sun injures the metabolism as the plants internal structure, and is not capable of prolonged full spectrum sun.

Shade is the necessity. Re. the tree fertilizer spikes. These slowly release the applicable nutrients into the soil at the supposed root zone. The more you water, the more they release. Hold off on the watering until end of October, then a final dump. Mulch over the soil after the watering with leaves and dry grass clippings. Hold them in place with a spray of water to form an ice cover. The mulch will be worked in under the low branches and to a depth of 8 to 10 inches and a diameter equal to the drip line of the cedars. Any of our shrubs can be put to bed in this manner, especially new plantings or within the last 3 years.