One spot in my shrub or bush keeps dying.
Three years in a row I've trimmed off the dead in this particular spot.
The rest of the bush grows normally, but this spot doesn't grow back, just spreads.
All the other bushes are fine.
Does anyone know why this particular spot is doing this?
Is there a way to stop it from happening?
Thanks

4869

Well, I just figured something out. I have an evergreen tree and when it shows signs of dying, I give it a drink and it's happy.

Is there a chance that you natural gas line, if you have one, runs in the ground below this part of the shrub. The reason I ask this is because natural gas will act like a fertilizer to your plants and grass. At first they will grow and look very healthy, and then it is like over fertilizing your grass things begin to die, and then look like your picture.
Just a thought and I am a plumber and have seen this happen many times.

Actually, I do have natural gas.
Is the pipe straight because I do believe it is a straight shot from that section of the bush in the front yard
To where the furnace is located under the house.
And then there is another bush (the same kind) in the back that is completely dead and brown that lines up as well.
I thought it was the intense heat we had this summer that killed that one.
I don't pay much attention to the back yard, but, now that I think about it, none of the other bushes are dead.

If it is the gas causing it, what does that mean - I have a leak?

Yes it means you have a leak in your gas service. The pipe will have to be repaired or replaced. This can be done much easier now than in the past because it is sometimes possible to pull a new plastic pipe through the metal pipe that is already there.
Have a shut-in leak test done on you line to find out for sure if you have a leak.