First year arborvitae browning

by Erik
(Providence, RI, USA)

In late spring I planted many arborvitae along the property line. The shrubs were healthy all summer with limited browning on some exterior branches. . Now that fall is here, the majority of the shrubs are showing brown from within the plant. Is this normal for the arborvitae?


Doug says that as long as the browning is confined to the interior of the plant - then this is normal.

Evergreens drop the third year needles every year. So as the plant ages, the exterior of the plant stays green because of the first and second year needles (or in this case "leaves" of the arborvitae). But the interior third year needles drop off.

Your plant becomes hollow on the inside because of a lack of light and aging. (Try looking straight up the trunk of a big mature pine or cedar - you can almost see the top of the plant)

So - entirely normal. As long as the outer edges are good and green, growing well - then you're good.