Knowledgebase
Red cedar turning brown #775723
Asked October 18, 2021, 3:03 PM EDT
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
Hello, it looks like this is classic "fall foliage drop" but in the unique way western red cedar does it. Western red cedar drops twiglets of foliage rather than individual leaves. In fall it can look pretty bad. Most the red foliage clumps inside the crown looks like that. However in these photos it does look like some of the new growth was damaged at the tips of branches, and it may have been due to the late June scorch/heat dome effect. We've seen that effect all over western Oregon. In this case, we advise waiting until next spring to see how the crown looks then. My general advice is to wait and see how this tree looks next May and make any decisions then.