What’s Going on with Pine Trees?

 

If you’re noticing brown needles on your pine trees this spring, you’re not alone. Pines in our area are showing signs of widespread attack.

Austrian Pines are very commonly used landscape trees, and many are being disfigured by a fungus disease called Red Band Needle Blight. This fungus causes dead tips on affected pines, with faint reddish or brownish (depending on the time of year) bands within the dead tips. Often the base of the needles remain green.

Austrian pines also are commonly affected by another fungus disease, Diplodia Tip Blight. This disease kills tips as the buds are beginning to grow, leaving behind short bunches of dead needles at the branch tips.

In the case of both diseases, prevention is the best strategy of all. Here are a few tips to help keep your trees healthy:

• Avoid stress- make sure trees are planted at the proper depth (not too deep!), receive adequate water, and are not planted too close together. Overcrowded trees are much more susceptible to disease.
• If trees have grown too crowded, consider having them professionally pruned to help air flow around them.
• Remove any weed growth under the trees and apply a 2-3” layer of mulch.

If you think your trees are infected, have them checked by an arborist, who may recommend fungicide treatment and/or corrective pruning.

Many Scotch Pines in our area are suffering from Pine Wilt. This complex disease can cause sudden decline and death of susceptible trees. Infection involves the interaction of microscopic worms (nematodes) and beetles. Trees can yellow and die within one season. If the disease is caught very early, professional treatment to help control the spread of nematodes and beetles may be possible. Pruning dead branches out of the tree may help make it less attractive to beetle attack. As with other diseases, prevention is always best.

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