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Evergreens dropping needles

passive_airtight

7 years ago

I have a 30' large Douglas fir and several 12'-18' blue and white spruce trees that are shedding needles this spring. We are on the south side of Lake Ontario with low rainfall conditions last year and not so much yet this year. I wonder if I do not have some kind of Needle Casting disease caused by a fungus? Any suggestions? I can spray with a fungicide but should I also amend the soil to increase acidity.

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Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
interior shedding is normal ... can be increased due to various stresses like drought or winter ...

no conifer holds its needles forever ... its cyclical ...

hard to tell about yours.. without a pic ...

neighbor spent many years.. and many hundreds of dollars trying to spray 30 foot trees... they gave up.. as far as i know ... i cant conceptualize how a homeowner could do it ...

whatever it is.. it isnt a soil issue ... and they arent hungry.. so its not a food/fert issue ... besides.. if you fert your lawn.. they get what they need ...

thoug the picea pungens is a magnet for the needle cast ... it shouldnt be a problem with the dougs ... though i might be corrected on that ....

are we sure on the various IDs ...

need a pic ...

ken
Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
7 years ago
The Douglas Fir NORTH of Lake Ontario have been increasingly affected by one of the Doug Fir needlecast fungi...mature trees being reduced to sparsely needled shadows of their former selves.

I'd be surprised if drought or winter damage was the culprit...the var. glauca is zone 3 hardy and does very well in the very dry interior valleys of the west (eg. yielding only to Ponderosa Pine in the Okanagan Valley).
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The tree was fine less than a month ago ===>>> no it wasnt .... it could have been dead for months.. but being evergreen.. it didnt brown until winter weather dried the dead needles ... i presume you have no clue how it was planted.. when it was planted.. nor if it was a recent planting.. whether it was properly watered all summer and fall ... thank goodness you dont need to blame yourself about it all ... presume the prior owner killed it ... get it out .. and come back here is you want some suggestions about a better replacement ... that plant was not z5 appropriate for me .. and if you are in z6.. a good chill/freeze ... could have done it in.. who knows ... who cares.. its the prime focus of your house... if it were outback on my 5 acres.. i would leave it as an experiment.. to see if it rebuds ... but not in the prime location of the front of your house.. EVEN if it does recover.. it might be 5 years before it climbs its way back to be a beauty ... i would give it until mid may or so.. and if less than 90% of it shows active buds.. i would be done with it ... good luck with your new house and the poop machine... i am so glad i am past that part ... lol ken [stay at home dad]
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squirrels usually attack trees during nest building season ... that said ... they are vermin.. and frankly.. i think they do carp just to be malicious ...been in hibernation too long.. lol .. rabbits do not climb.. but if snow fall is deep enough... they can do damage that appears at height when the snow melts ... i dont know why you opened a 4 year old post.. it would have been better.. to start a new post.. and include pix of your tree today ... lets not confuse the old pix with whatever is going on with your plant today ... live and learn.. maybe next time... but we need pix ... ken
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im wondering about the crazy stone patio .... and about the tree looking telephone poled .... and what would happen to the patio.. if the tree fell over ??? the bark may have lightened due to increased sun since pruning.. normal and irrelevant ... ALL evergreen plants shed needles.. its basically cyclical ... according to the plant ... and also ... as it probably is in this case.. increased due to stress .... not to mention increased sun on parts were newly exposed to sun due to the injury and pruning .... if you note as fall progresses ... around town.. you might notice it happening on various pine trees ... with varying degrees .... there is only one thing you can do about it ... and that is focus on the growth tips.. and if those are properly green.. and look OK .. then you are all set for next year ... if the tree trunk was buried significantly.. when ever the patio was built.... the tree is probably dying in tree time.. and removal is probably the only option ... but counting in tree time .. decades.. this might happen a decade from now .. who knows .... again ... there is little you can do about the tree .. and the decision might be more about the patio ... and its possible destruction .... this MIGHT all happen in very slow motion ... and i am addressing a consideration ... i do not mean to make you flip out and worry about it .. its not like its leaning over the house ... ken
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i’ve had issues before with boring beetlesbut this tree doesnt seem to have the sap deposits i would see. i see some moth activity(webs on the needles). any ideas?
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
be surprised if drought or winter damage was the culprit

==>> if i wasnt clear.. i meant in regard to normal interior needle shed ...

if OPs shed is beyond the usual interior shed.. then its disease ...

hence the request for a pic ... to see whats going on ...

ken

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