Hi James, My solver book lists two causes: New foliage yellows and droops New doliage on a Canada hemlock or Carolina hemlock turns yellow and droops. It is often covered with yellow powder. Neeldes fall, leaving a crooked twig. Cones are also attacked. Ona badly infected tree, most shoot tips turn brown and die, makeing the tree look scorched. Cause: Hemlock neele rust can be caused by two closely related fungi. The yellow, dusty spores either overwinter on the dead shoots or drift to an alternate host in the poplar family, which includes aspen and cottonwoods as well as poplar trees. Solution: Spray fungicide and practice good garden sanitation to limit the spread of rust. - If a tree is small, spray organic lime-sulfur fungicide weekly for a month, starting when new growth first emergres. Follow label directions carefully. - To minimize future problems, rake and disposed of fallen leaves of host trees in the poplar family, through summer and fall. - In late winter, spray infected trees with an organic lime-sulfur fungicide to kill overwintering spores. Follow label directions carefully. The other they list is: Large patches of brown needles suddenly appear Brown needles develop in patches, the patches spread, affecting entire branches, which then begin to die. The tree shows no signs of insect damage or disease. Cause: Hemlocks are sensitive to weed killers. They can be accidentally exposed when herbicide spray drifts to them on the wind, or when herbicide applied to the soil migrates into their root zone. - 'be careful with air movement' - Avoid soil-active herbicides, such as tebuthiuron, which damage or kill large hemlocks and other species growing over 100 yards away, through root absorption. There's a start. Dax

Well, now I see the pix. It is not unusual for some cultivars to green up over winter, which one is that? As for the drought, the powers that be changed how drought is measured about 10 years ago. Instead of measuring the moisture in the soil they now look at rainfall over the past year and it is somewhat misleading. tj

Poison Hemlock is a biennial that spreads by seed. If you do not let it grow, bloom and set seed in the vegetable garden and there is a not a patch of it nearby setting seed that blows into the garden you have nothing to worry about. There is no biohazard disposal or soil removal needed. Just don't eat any of it until you are ready. You can post pictures in the comments to make sure your weed is really Poison Hemlock. The carrot family has a lot of look-alike members. Did it look like this? I had been admiring this statuesque plant in my daily drive and stopped to see if I wanted some. It was Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum. I haven't decided if I want to collect some seed or not. It is very statuesque.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, arbordave and tsugajunkie!!!!! I've been searching on-line and never found a photo of a plant that looked like mine, but that king county photo matches exactly! phew! I did NOT need Poison Hemlock.... I'm already struggling with the poison ivy I discovered last year... all these unknown and noxious plants are coming in from the neighbor's wild field and woods! :p lol! Ken, thanks, you crack me up. I doubt if listing the nearest large city would help most people... I'd name Syracuse as the closest anyone might recognize, but it plays like a zone warmer than here. :) And, no, the plant didn't smell like carrot, but it was a VERY windy day. Besides, I know QAL and I was certain that this plant was not QAL. Thank you all!!!