There is a hedge of Arborvitae between our neighbor and us (is theres). At one point years ago they cut their side back to bare branches and it never came back. Our side is alive but looks terrible. There is a 10 foot stretch that is very brown, close to dead. The rest of it is green with alot of brown tips. We've tried watering, fertilizing, sprayed it with various sprays. Do they require something special?
The nursery where I buy trees sells 6 ft arbs for around a $100 bucks ea.(wholesale)
people prune arbs aggresively and they die back. very unsightly. Treat them like an eggshell. They are pretty much hollow on the inside if you trim too much green(shell) then you see the yolk(yellow)
Most common mistake is to plant for current size not mature size. If you plant with the mature size in mind then there is no need to hack away at them cuz they rub your arm when you mow the lawn.