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Brown arborvitae can turn green again in many cases, but it depends entirely on why it turned brown in the first place.
If the browning is due to reversible stress like winter burn, drought, or a minor pest issue, your arborvitae has a good chance of recovering its green color.
But if the cause is root rot, a fungal disease, or complete dieback from severe damage, then that brown arborvitae cannot turn green again and will need to be replaced.
In this post, we’ll take a close look at whether brown arborvitae can turn green again, the most common reasons for browning, and the steps you can take to help your tree bounce back.
Let’s walk through everything you need to know about helping your arborvitae turn green again.
Can Brown Arborvitae Turn Green Again? Here’s What Determines Recovery
The short answer is yes, brown arborvitae can turn green again, but only if the browning is caused by a treatable issue rather than complete death of the branch or root system.
1. The Type of Browning Matters for Recovery
When you first notice brown foliage, the exact pattern and location tell you a lot about whether your arborvitae can turn green again.
If only the tips or outer needles are brown but the inner branches remain green, that’s often a sign of environmental stress like windburn or sunscald.
These types of browning are usually superficial, and the tree will push new green growth once the stressor is removed.
But if the entire branch or the whole tree is uniformly brown and brittle, it likely indicates that the tissue is dead, and that part cannot turn green again.
2. Winter Burn Is the Most Reversible Cause
Winter burn happens when cold, dry winds suck moisture out of arborvitae needles faster than roots can replace it through frozen ground.
The needles turn brown, but the buds and branches often survive just fine.
As spring arrives and the ground thaws, your arborvitae can turn green again by producing new growth from those surviving buds.
So if you’re asking “will my brown arborvitae turn green again after winter burn?” the answer is usually yes, provided the roots are healthy.
3. Drought Stress Can Also Be Reversed
If your arborvitae turned brown during a hot, dry summer, deep watering can often help it recover.
Arborvitae need consistent moisture, especially in their first few years, and severe drought causes needles to brown from the inside out.
Once you resume proper watering, the tree will often push new green growth from the tips, and the brown arborvitae can turn green again over time.
Just be patient because recovery from drought may take a full growing season.
How to Help Your Brown Arborvitae Turn Green Again
If you’ve determined that the cause is reversible, there are specific steps you can take to encourage your tree to regain its green color.
1. Identify and Remove the Stressor First
Before you can help your brown arborvitae turn green again, you need to stop what’s causing the browning in the first place.
Check for signs of pests like spider mites or bagworms, which feed on needles and cause browning.
Inspect the soil moisture level — if it’s too wet or too dry, correct that immediately.
Also look for physical damage from snow, ice, or animal urine, and address those issues promptly.
2. Prune Dead Wood to Encourage New Growth
Once you’ve removed the stressor, prune away any truly dead branches that snap rather than bend.
Dead wood cannot turn green again, but cutting it off directs the tree’s energy toward the healthy parts that can recover.
Make clean cuts just above a live bud or back to a branch collar.
Do not prune living green needles — those are your tree’s best chance to photosynthesize and produce new growth.
3. Provide Consistent Care to Support Regrowth
Water your arborvitae deeply once a week during dry spells, and apply a 2–3 inch layer of mulch around the base.
Mulch helps retain soil moisture and regulate root temperature, two things that are critical if you want your brown arborvitae to turn green again.
Avoid fertilizing until you see new green growth, because feeding a stressed tree can actually harm its roots.
Once recovery is underway, a balanced slow-release fertilizer in spring can give it an extra boost.
When Brown Arborvitae Cannot Turn Green Again
Not every brown arborvitae has a happy ending, and it’s important to recognize when recovery simply isn’t possible.
1. Root Rot Kills the Entire Tree
If your arborvitae turned brown because of root rot caused by overly wet soil or a fungal pathogen like Phytophthora, the tree is almost certainly beyond saving.
Root rot destroys the underground system that supplies water to the needles, so even if the top looks salvageable, the tree cannot absorb moisture.
In this case, brown arborvitae cannot turn green again no matter what you do.
2. Complete Dieback from Pests or Disease
Severe infestations of bagworms or spider mites can strip all the green tissue from an arborvitae.
Once every needle is brown and dry, there are no living buds left to produce new growth.
Similarly, fungal diseases like tip blight that spread into the stems may kill large sections that cannot regenerate.
If more than 50% of the tree is dead and brittle, it’s time to consider replacement.
3. Old Age or Physical Breakage
Arborvitae have a natural lifespan, and as they age, inner branches naturally shed needles and turn brown.
This is normal, but those brown inner sections will never turn green again because they are part of the tree’s natural aging process.
Also, if a branch is snapped off by heavy snow or wind, that specific branch is dead and cannot regrow needles.
Only the tree as a whole may recover if other branches are still healthy.
So, Can Brown Arborvitae Turn Green Again?
Yes, brown arborvitae can turn green again in many situations, especially when the browning is caused by reversible factors like winter burn, drought, or minor pest damage.
The key is to correctly diagnose the cause, remove the stressor, and provide proper care to support new growth.
However, if the browning is due to root rot, complete dieback, or old age, the tree cannot recover and will need to be replaced.
We hope this post has helped you understand whether your brown arborvitae can turn green again and what you can do to help it along.