How many trees are showing this phenomenon? Are they all in one area, or all around your property? Is there any pattern to the damage? Can you think of anything that may have changed recently? Have you inspected the plants for any signs of damage/predation/etc? Are the entire plants affected or just certain branches or areas? Did the damage seem to occur all at once or gradually? I think we are going to have to come up with more clues to really know what's going on.

Thanks Brandon!..Yes, it is all around out 3/4 acre property. There are the Japanese maples, a pine tree that looks like it is scorched from one side, some other trees that I don't know their names, but are mature ant the cumps are scattered and very high up. Hydrangeas are getting yellow and Spice herbs are starting to look sick. The only thins I can think of, it is in Georgia has been very hot and then it had rained a lot all in a sudden.Trees are falling in the neighborhood...Been seeing leaves falling for a month now and have been noticing the scorched clumps for maybe a month as well. The grounds are Organic and I don't have neighbors on one side and the back (Where the trees are) Hope this bit of info helps us to see what we can come up with. (I travel a lot, but my husband, which is the grounds keeper, doesn't seem to look up much). Thanks!

you keep mentioning organic.. its irrelevant ... so lets just set that aside ... all the power to ya, thou ...

please call your county extension office... and ask them if they know whats going on ...

you mention you see such around the area ... if so .. they might be able to get you on the right track as figuring it all out ... let us know what they say ... e.g. was there some very significant hard freeze, this spring .... or was winter very extreme ... etc.. they should know ...

last pic.. that side of the tree is thin ... and it appears to be a conifer ... was some larger bush removed.. perhaps before the sale.. if so ... the sunlight changed on the old needles ... and they have burned out.. due to the change .... i cant focus on the pic.. nor can i tell because its only part of the plant ... we should ID the plant ....

the first pic... i cant make anything out of either ... i see some incredibly lush.. green growth .. and i see the brown parts.. but i cant make head nor tails out of what i am seeing ... is it all one plant. ... lets ID the plant.. and see a pic of its trunk.. and find out if there was some significant damage to the trunk ... because all the rest of the plants sure look peachy [see what i did there for GA.. lol]

was the house/garden left to its fates... while the house was for sale for a long time?:?? .. again.. wondering if someone did some clearing.. and did some damage ...

regardless... it nearly sept.. its been a weird year.. some things might be going down early for winter ...

for sure.. its not a fert thing ... your plants are not hungry ... and never will be....

and being so large.. and not transplants.. i highly doubt its a water thing ...

your first lesson.. in gardening should be.. things die ... for most of us.. it takes a while.. for us to understand.. that means an opportunity for change .... be interested.. learn all you can.. but do understand... its not the end of your garden ...

BTW ... first pic... kinda looks like a Japanese maple ... i wonder if its zone appropriate for your garden ... if the prior owner was zone pushing... somehow ... he/she would have expected decline.. if weather was unfavorable.. but you are left with a high maintenance type of girlfriend... in other words.. the failure should have been expected.. and that is why we need to ID the plants ....

make that call... let us know what the locals have to say ... to see if that adds anything to the equation ....

ken

You provide a property history of 11 months, yet you know you are always moist. Always? For like, ten + years?

Not sure where you are, but last year, we had a long, hot dry summer. This spring, we were cool and wet, and while the cooler temps have largely remained, the wetness is long since history. I have lawn that is two feet above the water table that is browning out because of low rainfall and soil moisture.

The point is, not only can year to year weather be widely variable, but within the same growing season you can experience an incredibly wide range.

The specific pictures you show: 1. Jap maple. know why the leaves died before you attribute the cause to moisture. There are many things that can afflict maples, and there is a very strong lead cause for something that would cause a branch to die, the leaves to brown, yet stay on the branch. Look at the stem in question and see if you can see any sunken areas on the bark.

2. Any picture of the interior of an evergreen is sure to dismay someone. What I see is less about problems than regular interior browning. Why it is so visible is another question.

there is a primary cause for things to look scorched. If you are in Georgia, and have not had much rain for a six week period ending in the month of August...really?

i MEANT.. that the organic issue was moot.. because the plants.. to my eye.. are not showing a chemical damage ...

its either winter ... or cultural.. as that word is used within the gardening world ... and strob is talking about ...

i suspect you think something like roundup came thru the soil to attack your plants... RU doesn't work that way .. it becomes inert on soil contact ...

the biggest reason i rule it out.. is because it would affect all plants .. not just one.. here and there ... though maybe not all to the same level ... but there would be some impact ... and the odds are astronomical ... unless you live next to a chemical plant ...

finally .. i thought GA had some significant freeze this last winter... some vague recollection of predicted damage to the peach industry ... a call to your county extension or Ag office.. might get you info in that regard .....

said damage.. can .. affect only some plants ... and the actual damage.. may not 'show' ... until the heat of summer .. including droughts.. [further injuries...] ... show you what really happened...

in other words.. though you are seeing the result now.. the injury could have been months ago .. or even a severe drought last year ... we never really know... and we rarely come to definitive answers ... and that is why its called 'gardening' .. as compared to 'garden engineering'

i apologize. ... if my less that artful use of the english language was misunderstood ....

ken

Thanks all for your help!..It seems like here in Georgia, with the drought, then crazy winter, then rain and heat, the tees have taken its toll...All the trees in the area are looking the same.