Despite treatment with a spider mite spray bought at the local hardware store, two of my many ball arborvitae are showing damage (see picture).
My question is, if I prune away the damage, will the bush recover or should I just remove the bush?
Despite treatment with a spider mite spray bought at the local hardware store, two of my many ball arborvitae are showing damage (see picture).
My question is, if I prune away the damage, will the bush recover or should I just remove the bush?
Yes, Thuja occidentalis recovers very well. You can even prune it to control shape and size e.g. for a hedge.
Personally, I would only remove completely dead branches now to allow more light deeper into the bush. If a branch seems to be fresh but with miscolouration I would give it some time. Red and dry branches can be removed now.