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Pinus Nigra hardiness

treebarb Z5 Denver

9 years ago

We had a brutal temp swing in November after a very mild fall. It was 65-70 degrees one day, then dropped to 15 below the next day. Nearly everything has damage, deciduous trees have held on to their dead leaves, very unusual for here. The conifers, even the natives look terrible! I'm hoping for recovery, although I've verified a Pinus bungeana (planted 4 years ago) and Picea orientalis 'Atrovirens' (planted 3 years ago) are toast, I bent branches slightly and they snapped right off.

I think I understand what happened, the plants weren't dormant yet and got zapped. We flooded September of 2013 and growth last year was amazing! The only thing to be done is exercise patience and prune off what's dead once I confirm it's dead. I'll have a few planting opportunities!

The exception has been Pinus nigra, Austrian black pine. I have 4, straight species and only one has any significant damage, the oldest and largest of the 4. They range in size and age from a 12 inch seedling planted in fall to a 7 footer I put in as a 3 footer 5 years ago. I know many of you have bid adieu to this tree due to disease issues, but it's not hit here yet, so it's still being widely planted.

Any thoughts on how this tree handled it?

OT, I send my sympathy to those east of the Mississippi. My God, what a winter you're having!

Barb

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Comments (6)

olreader
9 years ago
Yes that was a terrible cold snap. In particular by January there was a lot of damage to my little Zelkova, I hope some of it is still alive, it grew so well in 2014. I think my 4' skinny Austrian pine did fine, but it was a volunteer. My two story Austrian pine is yellow at the very top. My other big trees and newly planted little trees, fruit trees and two little conifers seem to be ok but we will see. May is still a long way off.
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Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
9 years ago
I've seen a few healthy Pinus nigra in Edmonton, Canada (zone 3b)
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treebarb Z5 Denver
Original Author
9 years ago
olreader,

The damage on the 7 ft. Pinus nigra here is also at the top. I'll keep a good thought for your Zelkova, I know you have high hopes for it.

smivies,

That's interesting because Ponderosa, for example, is rated to zone 3 and Nigra to zone 4. 4 of my 5 Ponderosa are completely browned. The buds on them look ok so far, so there's hope.

Thanks to both of you for responding. I'll just appreciate the green that remains!
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wisconsitom
9 years ago
Treebarb, here in Wisconsin, P. nigra has become essentially unusable, primarily due to two foliar blights, Diplodia tip blight and Dothistroma (Sp?). At least, that's my opinion. But heck yeah, where conditions are such that these pathogens either are not or cannot get a foothold, the tree is a good one.

As to sudden weather shifts, they are the bane of gardeners and horticulturists everywhere, and I'm afraid, may become more common in the years ahead. I do hope I'm mistaken about that point.

+oM
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
over the last few years... i have lost just about all my nigra ...

probably due to what tom said ...

i had a couple densiflora.. lose every needle for two straight winters ... heavy yellow dragon eyes ... but apparently ..... once they got fully established.. now they hold the needles.. though the yellow all burns off ...

as you said ... if the buds make it.. you should be all set ... with the caveat.. that they usually dont fail.. until the warm weather sets in .. and then they go black and mushy ...

good to hear from you

ken
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treebarb Z5 Denver
Original Author
9 years ago
wisconsitom,

Thanks for naming the Diplodia tip blight and Dothistroma they get, the names were escaping me when I first posted. We get temp swings like that every couple of years, unfortunately. It does seem like it's been happening more frequently.

Ken,

I thought it was time to quit lurking and say something! Nice to hear from you, too. I remember you saying that the future is in the buds. We've come through a freakishly warm February, think we had 4 or 5 days in the mid sixties for day temps and did hit 70 one day. We had a snow storm this weekend, got about a foot and are sitting at 16 degrees right now, so a more normal pattern has returned. Feb. is supposed to be our coldest month. We'll see what happens come April.

I caught the color bug after visiting your place. I'm trying out a Pinus densiflora 'Burke's Red Variegated' and a Picea orientalis 'Skylands', both planted this fall with screening. Looks like I may have picked a bad fall for testing plants.

Thanks to all for your responses. I appreciate it and am glad so many have made the transition to Houzz.

Barb
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