What can I do about a burnt conifer?
Cheshire,
United Kingdom 
Early Summer during a very rare warm and dry spell a spark from a nearby buidlers fire set off all the dead & dry leaf from our conifer. This set alight immediately and suffered severe damage.
What was left of the green is still green, it is not getting any worse nt it looks a disgrace.
Can anything be done to help? Is the brown foliage a sign that the branch is dead and no new growth will emerge. Can it be trimmed to promote new branches?
I'm even tempted to get some of that green lawn spray paint as a temporary fix but I can't find that in the UK.
Sorry the picture isin the dark but it's easy enough to see the damage.
Many thanks.
P.S Cheshire, UK
3 Oct, 2009
Answers
Yeah I supposed I'd be kidding myself to think otherwise.
Shame as it's a fair old size and offers a lot of privacy (front door to the right of pic).
Ta anyway Bamboo
3 Oct, 2009
Sorry, but I gotta tell it how it is ;-(
Do it soon, give whatever you put in the winter to get some good roots going before next year, and you won't notice the lack of privacy quite so much during the winter.
3 Oct, 2009
if the trunk is ok and it seames to be you could cut out the damaged branches and you would get new groth, but I have to agree with Bamboo, it will never be a lovly natural shape agine, you could prune it in to shape as it grows , but with old and new groth togather it will allways look odd.
4 Oct, 2009
Mine got badly burnt three years ago.Some one set a car on fire next to it and it was well ablaze. Iasked the council .gardener to have a look at it for me and he thought it was worth trying to save.It was about 5 to 6 feet and well esablished. So it was trimmed back and left to mother nature.Three years later although not back to its former glory and the patchy bit facing the road , it is doing well the birds still nest there and I have a bit of greenery between me and the main road.
4 Oct, 2009
It also depends what species of conifer it is, Some respond well to pruning, others just sit looking manky!
4 Oct, 2009
Thanks al,
Look like I'll cunningly disguise it with Christmas lights and tackle it next year.
4 Oct, 2009
I'd remove it and replace it with either the same thing or something else - it'll never look good again, although it is alive and will continue to grow - those brown patches will always be there.
3 Oct, 2009