Browning of fir trees

[trgibbons]

I have some very small growing conifers, approx. 2-3 feet high, which have been planted for some 7 years and are just startng to form a bush, however, 3 or 4 of them have started to go brown very badly, they are more brown than green.
I have noticed that this is starting to spread the the others, mainly at the bottom and outer edges of the shrubs.
Have you any ideas what might be causing this and possible remedies?

Thanks

[Thunderbird+]

Hi trgibbons, It's possibly the result of drought. The prolonged dry weather we had this summer has taken its toll on a lot of tree and conifers being no exeption.

Watering in the early stages, if wilting is noticed can stop it but once its gone brown its usually iriversible and can be fatal.
You could try pruning out the dead foliage but if its realy bad, as you say, I'm sorry to say it dont look good.
Providing plenty of water now may stop it spreading to others, a good deep mulch at least 3-4 inches of organic matter like leaf mould will help retain moisture in the soil. Good Luck Tbird+