Help with my dying Thuja Plicata/ western red cedar

[user 110938]

I am a recent homeowner of a house previously owned by my parents about 30 miles north of Seattle, Wa. There are some mature Western Red Cedars on the acre lot that are dying. I desperately want to save them.

I hired an arborist (he charged $150, is that about normal?) to come look at the trees and tell me why they are dying/ how i can save them. He said the combination of nitrogen loaded soil and that the underbrush is killing the trees. The brush is a mix of himalayan blackberry, Reed canarygrass (I think), and a couple small red alder. The reason he claims nitrogen loaded is because there is an area adjacent to the trees that collects water from the region and doesn't really drain (forms a puddle pretty much all year except july-sept), and also from the alders in the area. He said removing the understory weeds and planting some non-invasive shrubs will save the trees.

The trees are fully exposed to sun, and sit on a berm a few feet above the area where water collects on the property. The area has always been wet, but should be less wet due to a 3 foot deep drain ditch with river gravel that was added about 15 years ago (about 15 yards from the trees) through this puddle. This is the only modification to the area in the last 15 years that I know of.

The trees are significantly chlorotic and have dead tops. The worse condition tree has about 1/5 of the tree length dead at top. Also, recently a large big leaf maple that was adjacent to these cedars died and fell. Two more large big leaf maples very near by are also dying.

Was the advise from the arborist most likely correct? Is there anything else I can do to improve my chances of saving these trees?

Thanks,
Blake

 

[Castenea]

Your described symptoms equate well with water issues. Has the drainage in the area been significantly changed recently? Also, dead tops are a frequent symptom here in the east after both severe droughts, or extraordinarily wet years.

 

[user 110938]

The drainage has not changed recently other than the trench that was added 15 years ago that I described in the opening post. 2012 was a very wet winter for us. We haven't really had an exceptionally dry year since 2000. The areas directly adjacent to the trees has been wet and muddy from oct through may every year since at least the late 70's when my parents moved in.

 

[leeson]

That guy sounds like a hack. $150 bucks to tell you the underbrush is killing your trees... that's doesn't sound right.

It's so hard to know why a tree is struggling, especially when we can't be on site. I would suggest getting 2nd and 3rd opinions from real arborists. Maybe look for a consulting arborist or a board certified master arborist, or contact your local university extension for help.

In my area no one charges for a tree evaluation other than consulting arborists, because their opinions are (usually) worth it. This industry runs amok with so-called experts, unfortunately.

 

[treeseer]

$150 not unusual for ASCA folk to opine. imo you should have heard more strategies related to the trees themselves. To diagnose a nitrogen overdose based on looking at a puddle and alders, well...there is this process called a soil test--suggest you contact your county extension agent re such a test, very cheap or free.

Pictures would really help here. :msp_sleep: