While pine trees are dependable additions to your landscape, you may be concerned when you see these traditionally green needles look discolored.
Pine trees are great evergreen choices for your home’s landscape. They add greenery and special texture all year long and even bring a favorable aroma around your yard. While pine trees are dependable additions to your landscape, you may be concerned when you see these traditionally green needles look discolored. In fact, you might wonder if the tree is dead. Let’s talk about the reasons you may notice your pine tree is dying and what you may be able to do to get the pine tree back to good health. Read on to learn more!
Signs the Pine Tree Might Be Sick
Assessing pine tree damage and determining why pine trees are dying can be difficult. This is because a number of problems can be a cause for concern. You want to be able to recognize these symptoms very quickly, so you are able to figure out whether the pine tree is dying or you can also save it. Look for these symptoms that could indicate an issue:
- Discolored needles: this is typically caused by too much or too little water, or it could be from disease.
- Needles dropping early: shedding needles in the summer or early fall is totally normal, but dropping at other times of the year could be the result of improper irrigation, needle blight, insect infestation, or nitrogen deficiency.
- Spots on your pine cones: black spots on pine cones can signal a fungal disease.
- Bark problems: These include pitch tubes caused by any pine bark beetles and bark crevices caused by ambrosia beetles, which are insects that cause bark holes.
- Leaky sap: Sap is a natural wound protection for pine trees, and if it is leaking out too much, it could be a negative sign.
Even with these symptoms, determining how serious a problem is takes a much deeper look at the damage’s extent. For example, if most of the foliage of a pine tree is turning brown or red, the tree might be less likely to fully recover. However, pines with a few yellow or red needles scattered throughout the tree could have a severe chance of surviving. Also, pine trees will shed a portion of their older needles annually, adding new needles during the spring, and this is completely normal.
Why is One Half of My Pine Tree Dead?
If you take a look at your pine tree and notice that half of it is dead, there are a few culprits that could be causing this issue. Pine trees like the sun, which means lower branches that do not receive as much sunlight might not survive. You can provide your tree with more light or move it to a sunnier location to help with this.
Tree Care and Maintenance from Harford Tree
Ready to have the beautiful yard you have always dreamed of? Harford Tree Experts & Landscaping, Inc has been in the business for decades, providing customers with quality work and quick responses all at the right price. We service the areas of Harford County, Baltimore County, and Baltimore City areas including Bel Air, Fallston, Perry Hall, Towson, Essex, Parkville, White Marsh and Middle River.
For service during business hours, reach out to us or give us a call at 410-592-7321. We offer 24/7 emergency service as well, just give us a call at 443-250-6649. For updates about our business and more informative tips, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.