Please forgive my recent absence. Due to recent personal issues I've been been unable to participate and am now slowly trying to catch up on things. I still reject all ideas about chemicals, herbicides, salt water intrusion, etc. The distribution pattern does not correlate. To recap slightly, what I'm seeing (though I've not been out much lately) is vast normal areas of seemingly healthy trees in which one comes across single dead trees widely spaced--mostly oaks, but other species, too--and most alarmingly, groups (4-7) of dead trees. As anyone who lives around here knows, Oaks are the vast majority of existing trees in central Florida so it's no surprise that even if multiple species are uniformly affected, it would be Oaks that bear the brunt of the effect and suffer in greater numbers. (As soon as I get a chance I will try to make and post a video and will put a notice about it here.) Sometimes, the group will have other nearby individual dead trees very close around it... such as 4 adjacent dead trees, and within 500' of them, 4 or 5 more. Recently, of a group of a dozen or so palms, I noticed 3 adjacent ones, fresh dead. Another symptom that may or may not be related... I'm seeing many trees that from a distance look healthy, but have tip sections (approx. 3'-6') of branches that are flat dead. Some of these trees may have 3 such dead branches (as viewed from one side). Some may have a dozen. I'm in eastern Hillsborough County. Yesterday, I went to Brandon (a more urban/suburban area) and over there I did not see as many dead trees and dead branch tips. But there were some. Also, recently, I happened upon a land owner who was affected by dead trees so inquired as to what he knew. He was adamant that the death was caused by beetles. He claimed to obtain this information from someone who would know about such things, but our conversation was hectic as he was in the middle of work activity requiring his focus. And I had little time then, too, so was not able to get more information. However, I can believe that such a theory is far more likely than any chemical-based theory. I could imagine how beetles could move into an area and quickly distribute themselves on an adjacent group of trees. And on some other nearby trees. And then fly off to trees one-quarter mile away and do it all again. I can imagine, too, that they could do this in concert with some weather/climate phenomenon and seemingly "burst" upon the scene as a sudden catastrophe... such as the periodic "herds of locusts." They could do damage directly or be the carrier of disease a la the well known Dutch Elm Disease. However, I'm not in a position to research this information first-hand and there seems to be a lack of it coming through official channels. When I fist reported it here it was extremely new (to this area) so stood a good chance of not yet being noticed or having anyone ascertain its degree of impact. The overall distribution of this condition... what may or may not exist beyond my area, is unknown to me. Maybe we are the "epicenter." Or maybe this is just old stuff finally working its way through this area from other parts of Florida. I'm surprised that it is does not yet seem to be a major local news story or that definitive information is not coming forth via official channels. Then again, I've been out of commission for more than two weeks.

Yes, good link. Wonk alert: I read the whole article, and one factor is that the roses were grown in pots only 6" deep and watered frequently to keep the soil holding the maximum amount of water. This put the fine soil at a disadvantage, in that about 1/3 of the soil volume (roughly the bottom 2") remained saturated at all times and unfit for roots. If the pots had been 12" deep, only around 1/6 of the volume would be saturated. And if they had gone a day or two without water, the saturated layer would have been aereated as the undrainable water was drawn upward by capillary action and used by the plant. In these conditions the fine soil would likely have performed much better, possibly better than the coarse. But the context of the article was a movement in the greenhouse industry toward very frequent watering of roses. There is always an undrainable saturated layer at the bottom of a pot that has just been watered and drained. To understand why, see the famous post by Tapla at the Container Growing forum. The saturated layer is called a "perched water table." It is a certain thickness according to the soil type, almost without regard to pot depth. Finer soil = deeper saturated layer. But if you let the upper soil dry a bit, the saturated layer is removed. One point in the article is that roses do not require unusually strong soil drainage, but a level of aereation similar to other common greenhouse plants, less than some others.

Hi Ken, I think you are bored and just want to take about conifers. Can't blame you. If I had to deal with the long Michigan winters I would be ready for the loony bin by now. As knowledgeable as you are I surmise all the above mentioned, wind, temps, snow and cold come into play and you know it. The only problem is pin pointing the cause. Your micro climate could result in any one of these factors being responsible for plant damage. I would think a heavy snow covering the smaller specimens would be beneficial for the ultimate protection factor. Of course that is not possible for your larger specimens. So we have to deal with losses for unknown reasons. The larger the garden the more notable losses and damage incurred as in your case. I lost a Picea glauca 'Yukon Blue', a Picea glauca 'Elf' plus a Juniperus communis 'Brynhyfryd Gold'. All established plants and doing great headed into winter. The 'Brynhyfryd Gold' was green 2 weeks ago but when I went out for spring clean up yesterday it had turned brown. I call this sudden death syndrome. My own interpretation of course. My wife excepts this as a legitimate cause for death and lets me off the hook for something I can't explain. Considering the amount of conifers in my garden percentage wise my losses are low. Micro climate issues, I tend to think so, What causes sudden demise of conifers with no disease or root problems is an unknown. It would be nice to pin point the problem but where do you start when no apparent damage is visible. Let me know when you find out. Mean while hang on. Winter has moved out of KC except for an occasional dip into the 20's and you are soon to follow. All you grafts you sent me are doing fine. Dave

Looking back over the years I have found out that Pinus strobus are usually the first conifers to succumb to adverse weather conditions in the Midwest. Most are vulnerable to excessive heat and drought. They need just the right amount of water to survive under these conditions. To much water or not enough will do them in. I also have foud if they are root bound even the slightest amount that could spell trouble especially if you do surgery before planting. I am currently down to one, 'Angel Falls'. I might have another cultivar lurking some where. It came as a conifer grown in a wooden box. A big conifer that when unpacked had a very fine root system and was not the least root bound. It has performed beautifully over the years. The key for survival with these cultivars centers in the roots. I think they need to be spot on for any chance of survival. Bump them out of the pot at the nursery before you purchase them. Most will be rejects. "I might have another lurking somewhere". I need to go find it. Pretty bad when you don't remember what you are growing. Dave