Diagnosing Sudden Decline in 12-Year-Old Deodar Cedar in North Florida

30-ft Deodar cedar (12 years old) near Gainesville, FL: upper 2/3 rapidly browning, losing needles in past month. No cankers, bugs, webs.

Expert "Coach Dave" Investigation

Spider mites (not killed by insecticides): shake branch over white paper; watch for crawling dots. Treat with miticide if found.
Root damage: animals, chemicals, extreme wet/dry. Check soil conditions.
- Sandy soil → dry out → water more/mulch.
- Wet → rot → remove mulch, prune lower branches for air.

Photos and updates requested. Mites or roots = top suspects.

Shrubs: Deodar Cedar Dropping Resin: Normal or Disease?; Deodar Cedar Tip Blight: Fertilize and Fungicide; Saving a Deodar Cedar with Browning Branch Tips in the Pacific Northwest; Drought Stress in Deodar Cedar: Brown Tips and Wilting; Common Cedar Tree Diseases: Rust, Phytophthora, and Root Rot; Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara): Graceful Himalayan Evergreen; Feelin' Blue Deodar Cedar – Dwarf Spreading Blue-Green; Reviving a Lagging Deodar Cedar; Sawfly Larvae on Deodar Cedar: Not Caterpillars, Need Different Spray; Deodar Cedar Decline: Wet Feet Fatal

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