Hedges Dieng Around Driveway

(Question)

Greetings,

I have been living at a house with hedges (I believe cedar approximately 2.5m tall) going around the parameter of the property for the last three years. Every year the hedges along the driveway appear to be extra hard hit during the winter month, and don’t recover nearly as well as the others on the property. I am at a bit of a loss as to why only these hedges would be affected while the rest around the hedges seem to be flourishing. I had thought that it might have something to do with salt used on the roadways and that seeping into the roots, however my landlord informed me that salt doesn’t affect plants so I am at a bit loss. Any suggestions on what could be causing it and how I might stop it would be really appreciated.

Thanks,

(Answer)

Thank you for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners.

Sorry to hear about your browning cedars.

Eastern white cedars are moderately salt susceptible. Roots of eastern white cedar are shallow, fibrous and wide-spreading. Unfortunately, your picture shows very little space for roots to develop and feed trees. We receive a great number of questions about good maintenance of cedar hedges and to read the questions and answers in our archive, go to  https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/ and in the Find It Here search box type in “cedar hedge” for a list of pertinent questions which you may find useful.

Here are a few helpful resources