Q.Evergreen Browning
I’ve an evergreen shaped into several balls. One of the lower balls is turning brown as well as the one below it. I can see some old gardening tape around the stem just where the limb starts. I tried to cut it back as much as possible, but the stem has grown around it. See the 20190911_Evergreen2 picture. The green gardening tape is blurry, but just visible on the stem.
I have another evergreen which started to lose a limb and found similar gardening tape. It lost half the foliage on the limb before I found and removed the tape. Unfortunately, I didn’t see this one after planting. Probably because it was already overgrown by the plant.
Would you suggest I cut into the stem to remove the remainder of the tape?

Certified GKH Gardening Expert
The dead branches need to be removed up to the branch collar on the main trunk. Will that remove the tape, too? If not, you can try to "repair" the area with the tape after removing it by following the instructions below.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/repairing-tree-bark-damage.htm