no... you have two solutions for MATURE pines ... one.. get rid of them .. and solve the needle issue ... two ... remove the rock.. AND LEAVE THE NEEDLES UNDER THE TREES.. where they have naturally accumulated for millions of years ... let me ask you ... why are you forcing a preconceived notion of landscape rock under a pine tree ... pines are conifers .... ALL conifers shed their needles.. generally within 1 to 3 years ... increased by a good drought some years .. the thought that the situation .. on a 40 foot tree.. is going to get better.. or lessened in the future is problematic ... landscape fabric is a snakeoil salesman's joke on the gardening world.. a useless waste of money better spent ... as most weed seed is airborne .. so minutes after putting it down.. you have already been defeated ... roll this around.. if you left the pine needles to build naturally ... they would become a mulch.. a highly acidic mulch ... and reduce your weed problem exponentially ... you are actually defeating the trees attempt to suffocate weed production.. by removing the needles ... bob.. WAG here ... you are trapped in suburbia ... on a small lot.. with sidewalks and neighbors way to close.. and you are getting frustrated with a pine tree.. that in all reality.. is now becoming the FOREST MONSTER it is meant to be.. if there is any budget.. think long and hard about removal .. you are not going to change its inherent properties.. of growing and shedding needles ... in ITS lifetime ... otherwise.. its all good exercise ... good luck ken ps: you are stuck in a box .. i am trying make you look outside the box you have created .... Here is a link that might be useful: check out some of these pix.. you are fighting mother nature.. she ALWAYS wins ....

I am suspicious about the cause of death of these pines. Are you referring to Pine Bark Adelgid, I am not familiar with other Woolly looking Adelgid that attack these pines. If so it is highly unlikely that this insect would cause the death of anything but a very young pine. On older pines they are more of a nuisance. When you remove them check the planting depth, two and three needle pines are particularly sensitive to being planted too deeply, and also to soil that is not well drained. My second inclination would be that one of the many pine diseases was the more likely cause of death, but the Adelgid was the most visible. Yes as stated diversity is key to healthy landscapes. Here is a link that might be useful: Bark adelgid.

IMO... there is nothing to do for a 30 foot tree ... vigorous??? this tree covers half of MI without the help of man .. or woman .... once planted.. they are weeds ... the only thing to do ..... is hire a reputable person to ID the problem ... and perhaps get rid of it, before it infects your others.. frankly .. the money spent on the expert help would be better spent on removal ... these trees are telephone poles .. once they start losing the bottom growth .. as the all do in plantations.. there is nothing to do but have them pruned up. and watch them grow another 100 feet tall ... if that isn't what you want in your landscape.. then it has to go ... most conifers do not resprout green near the bottom once the branch dies out .... good luck ken

If you have Doug firs - and that's what your photos show - then you have fir needles, not pine needles :-) Fir needles are tiny compared to pines and are pretty much a fact of life in the PNW, as are western red cedar pollen cones. And as noted previously, they do not need to be located on your property to create debris issues. j4c11, if you have never lived in the PNW or are not familiar with the area, I'd suggest you refrain from making comments about it. You don't need to live in a "cabin in the woods" to have a landscape that looks like the OP's. Sites like these are common to even larger urban areas where enormous native conifers abound virtually everywhere outside of the downtown core. And the landscape philosophy is really quite different than elsewhere in the country because of the proximity to waterways and salmon spawning creeks - which run through parts of very urban Seattle!! I also resent be termed an "environmental nazi" - I have lived in this area my entire life and as a consulting horticulturist (and landscape designer) I am intimately familiar with the area and its flora and fauna. In many areas, there are restrictions about trees that can be removed, even on private property, so it is worth investigating that aspect before a wholesale removal is undertaken. If you live within the city limits of Seattle, the trees and their interference with powerlines are your responsibility IF they are on your property. Outside of Seattle proper or in unincorporated King County, you might get some assistance from your local power company or who they lease out the powerline trimming contract to :-)