Well, I think I see viable buds throughout, so it may not be dead…yet. How about a little history and how it has been cared for as well as weather in the last several months.

tj

its only been watered, i fertilized in the spring only. its just now starting to cool off here in north dallas tx zone 8a. very hot summer 101-103 its been in the 90s. i did notice grass hoppers were bad here and id always see one in the tree

I havent done anything to the tree other than water it. this summer was hot 100-104 and in 90s up till this week in 70-80s. some of the bottom branches have been bare since last year not sure what happened there. can grasshoppers mess the tree up? this year was bad with them and id find one in this tree constantly?

is the wall south facing??

i hope you know its 5 to 10 feet to close to the wall for future growth ..

can we have a closer pic of the buds ...

im pretty sure they are not deciduous ... so losing needles is not approved .. aside from annual old leaf drop.. which this isnt...

grasshoppers had nothing to do with this ...

how did you plant it .. when .. etc .. how did you water it ...

ken

Cedars (Cedrus) are not deciduous, no way, no how. Ken, these Blue Atlas Cedars always seem to be planted way too close to homes, even the non dwarfs. I have no idea why. This variety IS a semi-dwarf to 10 feet, but I still think it looks too close (based on the picture). They are very heat/drought tolerant once established (being North African in origin). They also don't seem to mind high humidity and deluges. I don't think damage had anything to do with grasshoppers or a rainstorm, but reflected heat off the house in Dallas might have inhibited its ability to get established.

even if there are viable buds for next spring ... it might be a long death march ... in my ground freeze MI .. i wouldnt be surprised if it wouldnt make it ....

we dont know when the needles quit functioning.. so we might question whether it stored a lot of energy in the roots for next spring.. even if it has enough stored to bud out ... it might not be able to recover over the long run ...

if you are curious.. leave it.. and see what happens in spring... keep us posted ...

if its going to piss you off every time you go in the front door.. it might be time to cut bait ... lifes to short to stand that kind of stress every time you see it ... in other words.. if it were out back on my 5 acres.. i would leave it there and see what happens ... but if i had to look at it all winter long.. i would just be done with it ...

its an expensive lesson.. but we have all been thru it.. you dont know what ive lost over the years ... and dont ask.. because i live near the river DeNile.. and never kept track.. lol ... and keep in mind.. one definition of a gardener.. is that you are one.. after you have killed every plant at least 3 times ... been there.. lol

ken

Could have been overwatered.