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I have a few of these pants - about a year and half old. But they (all of them - 6) are drying one side but looks better on the other side. Please helpdry on one side better on the other side

Update 9/1: after adding some fish emulsion and removing some of the mulch near the trunk, they look much better now. Thank you all for your help/advice. My guess is that previously the issue was the soil lacked nutrition very badly.

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Anand Rockzz
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  • I would get rid of all that plastic and bark, number one. All of it. Plastic and this chunky bark do not stop weeds. It stops any water from getting into the soil. No chemistry for your plants so they can make their own food? I am serious. No plant will every be happy with plastic and chunky non decomposed bark. What are you doing for fertilizer? Water? – stormy May 27 '18 at 22:56
  • I water them once in a week.. Fertilized once in mid spring last year and once late winter this year.. – Anand Rockzz May 27 '18 at 23:02
  • Thuya occidentalis 'aurea nana' was the original name. Only gets 4' high, needs moisture that first year until established. It is indeed supposed to be this color. – stormy May 27 '18 at 23:04
  • Not much bark around the plant - no bark for about 6 inches around the trunk, picture is not clear. I will clear the plastic also.. but the plant is been like this even before I put barks and plastic is around it.. – Anand Rockzz May 27 '18 at 23:07
  • That should work IF you stick the hose into the roots and soil of that plant. The rest of the soil might be hydrophobic or hydrophilic beneath that plastic barrier. Meaning the water given that arborvitae is either sequestered in the root ball or wicked away from the root ball. Fertilizer is just fine. Water is not. Soil needs an air/soil interface. That plastic will do nothing for weeds, certainly to make great housing for some insects and block the air/soil connection. Hire some young men to do this and dump in a green belt thinly. Plastic to the dump of course. – stormy May 27 '18 at 23:09
  • The roots are unable to seek water any farther than the original root ball and hole. The roots aren't going to waste energy looking for water that isn't regular and consistently replenished and drained. Weeds are so far down on my garden worries I am amazed that others worry about them. So easy to control. I don't even remember pulling or messing with weeds. I don't have weeds. I would worry if there were no weeds... – stormy May 27 '18 at 23:12
  • where are the plants growing? – kevinskio May 28 '18 at 10:11
  • 9b northern California – Anand Rockzz May 28 '18 at 10:13
  • What was surrounding the shrubs before you put down the plastic and bark? I'd make a bet that the brown side is south-facing - am I correct? – Jurp May 28 '18 at 12:39
  • Had lawn Previously .,, Brown side is facting East – Anand Rockzz May 28 '18 at 18:02
  • Looks like I lose my bet :) Could weed killer have drifted onto the shrubs last year? What you have looks like what we in the cold-weather states would call "winter burn". Obviously, in zone 9, you can't have that. Winter burn is caused by two things: lack of moisture in the ground going into winter (the plants burn in March, when they wake up and dry out) or by salt spray drifting off of busy roads. Your case of burn looks more like drifted herbicide. I disagree with stormy - had this been a water issue, then the plants would've dried either entirely (most likely) or to the south only. – Jurp May 28 '18 at 19:58
  • Bet, no big deal.. – Anand Rockzz May 28 '18 at 20:00
  • Never put herbicide past 3 year.. I water them once in a week.. – Anand Rockzz May 28 '18 at 20:05

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