Q. The top of my pine tree died. Bottom branches look as healthy as ever,
green, supple new growth on all of them.
It is about 20 years old. Its
watering has been successful for my 14 years in this house, infrequent and deep
– it has options to gather additional water from adjacent areas (lawn and
garden) if it wants. Why did it die?
Can I remove the dead top? And
what will happen?
green, supple new growth on all of them.
It is about 20 years old. Its
watering has been successful for my 14 years in this house, infrequent and deep
– it has options to gather additional water from adjacent areas (lawn and
garden) if it wants. Why did it die?
Can I remove the dead top? And
what will happen?
A. I looked at the picture and I tried to identify the
tree. The needles are not very long so it did not look like one of our common
pines such as Afghan or Mondel pines. It actually looked like a spruce from the
branches and the needle length. The kind of tree is very important in
determining what caused the problem.
tree. The needles are not very long so it did not look like one of our common
pines such as Afghan or Mondel pines. It actually looked like a spruce from the
branches and the needle length. The kind of tree is very important in
determining what caused the problem.
Whenever
we have a portion of the tree die and the rest of the tree appearing healthy,
it usually pinpoints the problem at the trunk or limbs where the green foliage
is closest to the brown or dead foliage.
we have a portion of the tree die and the rest of the tree appearing healthy,
it usually pinpoints the problem at the trunk or limbs where the green foliage
is closest to the brown or dead foliage.
If I
were on site I would get a look at the trunk or limbs at the juncture between
healthy and dead areas. I would look for mechanical damage in that area. I
can’t tell you why there would be mechanical damage but that’s what I would
look for. This is not something we would normally see with pine trees.
were on site I would get a look at the trunk or limbs at the juncture between
healthy and dead areas. I would look for mechanical damage in that area. I
can’t tell you why there would be mechanical damage but that’s what I would
look for. This is not something we would normally see with pine trees.
If this
is a spruce and not a pine then it might be heat stress. Spruce trees cannot
tolerate our climate and soils very well and have difficulty lifting water from
the roots to the upper limbs. If this is a tree that is not tolerant of our hot
dry climate or desert soils than this could be drought at the top of this tree
causing it to die back.
is a spruce and not a pine then it might be heat stress. Spruce trees cannot
tolerate our climate and soils very well and have difficulty lifting water from
the roots to the upper limbs. If this is a tree that is not tolerant of our hot
dry climate or desert soils than this could be drought at the top of this tree
causing it to die back.